Plasma Gasification Corp. Converts Waste to Energy

For the past three years, Plasma Gasification Corp., based in Monterrey, Mexico, has been developing a microwave-induced Plasma2Energy cellulose-to-energy system. The Plasma2Energy technology involves converting waste to energy through the biomass gasification process. By working with post-sorted municipal solid waste, the company’s technology has the power to help establish a more sustainable environmental economy...More on MexicoToday.org.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Shines in U.S. Slow Economy

According to studies found by NPD Group, the number of annual restaurant visits by a typical Millennial (person from 18-24 years old) has plummeted from 245 visits five years ago to 192 this year. As the economy in Europe and the U.S. lags, fast food restaurants are focusing on deals and cost-cutting measures again, something that can be challenging with high commodity costs and spikes in the price of some meats like pork. So what's Chipotle's secret? Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. has managed to handle the downturn quite well because its tip-less at-the-counter service is more attractive to consumers trying to save money.

Emerging Market Currencies, Peso and Real, Rebound on Hopes for Greece

Late Monday trading yielded positive results for Mexico and Brazil's currencies. The expectation that the euro zone and the European Central Bank will take stronger measures and take a more active role to prevent a Greek default from spreading to Portugal, Ireland, Spain and Italy helped markets rebound in late in the day yesterday. Mexico's peso (MXN=D2) rose 0.60 percent to 13.5019 to the dollar.

Greek Crisis Affects Mexican Peso Today

The 120-day correlation coefficient between Mexican bonds and Treasuries dropped to a nine-month low of 0.29 from a high of 0.57 last week.

Mexico’s bonds, the emerging-market securities most correlated with U.S. Treasuries, are no longer moving in lockstep with debt from its northern neighbor as Europe’s debt crisis curbs demand for all but the safest assets.

“We expect the European authorities to finally react,” said Alonso Madero, who helps manage about $5.5 billion at Corp. Actinver SAB, in a telephone interview from Mexico City. “We would expect confidence to return to the markets little by little and see the same correlation return.”

Euro Debt Crisis: Possible Bail-out from BRIC Nations?

Since the greek debt crisis began, economists and economic analysts alike have been thinking of new solutions to the economic debt crisis in Europe. One of the possible solutions being debated is whether it would make sense for the developing BRIC countries to step in and alleviate the crisis. Why? Well, the booming Bric nations alone have more than $4,000bn in reserves between them -- meaning they have the resources to fund a great deal of deficit.

As the Wall Street Journal reports today, national governments are suffering from skewed incentives, so that actions benefiting individual countries in the short term may hurt Europe as a whole in the future.

Apparently there are more negatives than positives to a BRIC nation bail-out: right now, Europe runs an account surplus. "By definition, this means that far from being starved of capital, European savings exceed European investment, and it exports the excess to the rest of the world. Any big increase in the amount of official foreign capital directed at purchasing the bonds of struggling European governments would inevitably cut the European trade surplus" -- one of Europe's major strengths at the moment.

If foreign central banks sold large amounts of dollars to buy euros, this would strengthen the euro against the dollar, making European manufacturers less competitive in the global trade market and their exports would drop, leading to multiple negative consequences such as higher unemployment in the region.

Click here to read more on the pros and cons of this new solution to the European debt crisis being debated.

Honda Plans 50 Millon Dollar Expansion in U.S.

Honda Motor Co. will invest $50 million its Logan County transmission plant in Ohio. The company announced this past Wednesday that it plans to add a 75,0000-square-foot expansion in Russells Point to increase capacity for the casting of aluminum transmission cases. When the project is complete, Honda's Transmission operations will encompass 1 million square feet. Honda officials said the expansion will create more than 100 jobs by 2013. Currently, the transmission plant has more than 1,000 employees.

Mexico follows Thailand, South Korea and Russia adding Gold Reserves to Its Coffers

Gold had its worst weekly performance in more than four months after investors sold metal alongside global equities and other commodities on growing concern that the global economy will enter a second phase of economic crisis. Global stocks entered a difficult market for the first time in more than two years this week: oil touched a six-week low and copper fell to the lowest level in a year, numbers that display worries that the debt crisis in Europe may escalate as the U.S. faces another recession. The Federal Reserve said Sept. 21 there are “significant downside risks” to the outlook. Although its value has decreased, last month Russia’s central bank increased its gold reserves from 27 million at the end of July to 27.2 million troy ounces. This Sept. 20, Bank Rossii joined Thailand, South Korea and Mexico in adding the metal to their coffers.

Mexico Annual Inflation Slows in September

Mexico inflation climbed less than expected in the first half of September, allowing Banxico to lower borrowing rates. Compared with the 0.36 percent rise that analysts expected, the consumer price index was 0.15 percent lower than expected. The annual inflation rate slowed to 3.16 percent through the first half of September.

Spirited Business Travelers: Must-see Mezcalerias in Mexico City

Mexico is known for being the home of tequila as well as ice-cold, refreshing Micheladas. Now, however, what is most popular is the Mexican liquor called Mezcal, an agave-based spirit similar to tequila. What used to be demeaningly considered 'for construction workers', "now has a very good image", says Junior Merino, owner of a cocktail consultant company, The Liquid Chef. "What's trending now in Mexico is the mezcalerias," he adds explaining that, "A lot of people are opening places dedicated to mezcal, not tequila. You find artisanal products, different varieties; sometimes the bottles don't even have labels." Place like Nobu and China Grill are both trending in the renovated Santa Fe district of Mexico City.

Italy's Credit Rating Lowered by Standard and Poor-Austerity Measures Labeled 'Insufficient'

Due to its higher-than-expected levels of government debt and weakening economic growth, Standard and Poor has lowered Italy's credit rating a notch - to "A/A-1" from "A+/A-1+." "We believe the reduced pace of Italy's economic activity to date will make the government's revised fiscal targets difficult to achieve," S&P said. The downgrade comes after the European Central Bank demanded this summer that Italy apply stiff austerity measures to calm investors facing doubts about how capable Italy is about handling its outrageous debt. Italy is the eurozone's No. 3 economy and has a deficit to gross domestic product ratio of 120 percent, one of Europe's highest. From NPR.org:

The bank has spent billions over the last month buying up Italian government bonds in a bid to lower Italy's borrowing costs and keep it from becoming the next eurozone nation to need an international bailout. The S&P downgrade, however, could lead to higher borrowing costs for Italy because it implies that investors face greater risks when buying Italian debt.

Mexican Soft Drink Company Coca-Cola Femsa to Acquire Grupo Cisma Bottler

Today, in Invest in Mexico news, it's been reported that Coca-Cola Femsa is going to buy local Mexican bottler company Grupo Cimsa. Putting refreshments in the hands of over 5 million people by working with over 70,000 retailers, Cimsa has been valued at $838 million by Coca-Cola Femsa. Read more about this piece of manufacturing news in the official release by the Mexican soft drink maker.

Turkish Stocks Rebounds to World's Best this Month as Banks Cut Rates

“Foreigners are just starting to realize that our central bank is doing great things for bank earnings at the moment, and the ISE is going to outperform as long as banks are being bought,” said Isik Okte, a trader at Finans Invest, an Istanbul-based brokerage. As this Bloomberg.com article suggests, Turkey “may actually be at the forefront of central bank policy-making,” and countries including Mexico, South Africa, Hungary and Poland may follow, Anne, the head of emerging-market strategy at Societe Generale, said in an interview.

Mexico Investment: SunPower Corp. Plans to Build Factory in Mexico

The American solar power company, SunPower Corporation, is taking advantage of the low interest rates in Mexico (and year-around sun) with plans to build a manufacturing plant in Mexicali, Mexico. SunPower Corporation announced on August 5 its plans to own and operate a solar panel manufacturing plant in the state of Baja California, Mexico. The Industrial Development Commission of Mexicali assisted SunPower in choosing the facility location where SunPower has finally decided to build its 320,000 square feet facility. Solar power is becoming more prevalent throughout North America, with opportunities for investment in the energy market ever-expanding.

Mexico May Ease Foreign Investment Caps

Mexico has recently noticed that it is time to revamp its foreign investment laws in order to increase the possibilities of greater foreign investment. Easing the limits on industries with little or no competition such as the airline, communications and energy sectors would improve the environment for investment in these promising markets. Additionally, the new competition among companies would lower prices for the general consumer and create a more dynamic economic landscape. "We think that investment restrictions have to be revisited systematically in tandem with the country's economic growth," Jose Antonio Torre, deputy minister for competition and standard-setting at Mexico's economy ministry, said. The economy ministry and regulators will be part of the study by Mexico's Foreign Investment National Commission to reconsider investment caps last reviewed in 1993. Currently, foreign investment in airlines is capped at 25 per cent and at 49 per cent for fixed-line telephony.

Mexico Considering Cutting Interest Rates

Mexico’s central bank recently stated that it may raise its interest rates. The country has earned a great deal of attention lately for being the only major Latin American country to hold off on raising interest rates, an aspect of its economy that has attracted billions of dollars in foreign investment. As the global economy is experimenting an uncertain recovery from the 2008 financial crisis, Banco de Mexico stated this past August 26 that if the growth outlook worsened it would consider "adjusting" its economic policy, including interest rates.

News on Bond Funds in the Emerging Market

Lately all of hottest bond funds on the market stem from emerging-market debt funds. Not only are these bond funds offering better returns than most U.S. funds and even generous returns (Mexican issues have paid more than 6 percent), but they are a way to get away from the weak dollar. In only 4 weeks, investors have poured more than $1.7 billion into emerging-market bond funds, according to fund researcher Lipper Inc., more than any other fixed-income fund category. Investing in government and corporate debt from developing nations like Mexico, Brazil and Russia, has seen inflows of $11.4 billion, up 20% from a year earlier. "A larger portion of portfolios that have historically been dominated by developed countries are increasingly flowing to emerging markets," says Ramin Toloui, one of the leaders of the emerging markets portfolio management team for Pimco.

Timmins Gold's Drilling Finds New Resources in Mexico

Timmins Gold Corp. recently reported in July that it found additional gold deposits within its San Francisco mine located in Sonora, Mexico. The mining company said their current drill program has the potential to significantly increase the amount of gold deposits in the mine. Furthermore, Timmins announced that they found gold minerals at their open-pit called La Chicharra, which is only about a mile from the San Francisco mine located in Sonora, Mexico.

Brazil's Poor Middle Class

Although Brazil attracts a slightly larger amount of FDI, Mexico's general population is much closer to the American definition of 'middle class' than Brazil's. Lately the cliché ‘the rise of the middle classes’ reveals itself when talking about any of the emerging economies. But what does 'middle class' really mean?

For Brits, this might mean anyone who shops at Brazil’s version of Waitrose or who has golf clubs in the back of their Volvo. Alternatively, if you’re in the US, maybe it’s an image of white picket fences springing up across the Amazon.

But Brazil’s middle class is, by most of our standards, poor. The Brazilian government’s definition is any household with a combined monthly family income of between R$1,000 ($631) and R$4,000. In other words, a whole family surviving on about $20 a day is still considered middle class. Aspirations are high. Since the US has a strong cultural influence on Brazil, when Brazilians think of the middle class, they also often think of a much higher standard of living than $20 a day could afford.

Mexico's Economy Secretary Says Another Economic Crisis Unlikely

Last week the Mexican Economy Secretary Bruno Ferrari said in an interview with Agencia Efe that the current economic situation is nothing like in 2009, when Mexico's economy contracted by 6.5 percent, but the government should remain "cautious."
"We have to be very cautious. What could happen now, I see it as remotely possible or very far from looking like the global crisis we already went through, the biggest since the 1920s."

Carlos Slim increases his stake in NY Times

Just weeks after the New York Times repaid the emergency $250m loan that it took from the Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim Helu in 2009, it has been reported today that the billionaire has increased his stake in the New York Times Company. Mr Slim’s Inmobiliaria Carso SA also increased his stake in Saks, the luxury retailer, from 15.7 per cent to 16 per cent on the same day. “We are buying because we feel that the shares are at a very good price, and we are increasing our holdings in the two companies,” said Arturo Elias Ayub, Mr Slim’s son-in-law and head of strategic alliances at Telmex, Mr Slim’s fixed-line phone company. Through the purchase of 553,000 class A shares, Mr. Slim upped his stake from 6.9 per cent to 7.3 per cent, according to a regulatory filing. The new holdings, acquired on August 18 for between $6.83 and $7.09 per share, were purchased by Mr Slim’s Inmobiliaria Carso SA investment fund and came at the end of a volatile week on the stock market.