Calderón Extends Tax Break Incentives

Mexico is an attractive location for many international corporations due to its low manufacturing costs and favorable regulations. The nation’s IMMEX system plays a large role in this, and Mexican President Felipe Calderón recently extended corporate tax break incentives under IMMEX until December 31, 2012. Find out more on Mexico Today.org.

America Movil Deals with Regulation and Lower Rates

Yesterday it was announced that concerns over regulations for America Movil are going to be shadowed by lower rates.

America Movil's (AMX.N) (AMXL.MX) Mexico earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization margins dropped 330 basis points to 50.5 percent in the quarter ended in June from a year earlier.

America Movil Posts Impressive 2Q Earnings

The largest telecom carrier in Latin America and also a Mexican company, America Movil, has reported second quarter earnings per ADR of $1.04, much higher than most analysts predicted. Total costs and expenses in the reported quarter were up 12.0% year over year at around MXN$97.7 billion ($8.3 billion).

According to analysis, America Movil continues to dominate the Mexican wireless market by expanding data and Pay TV services. Click here for a more in depth analysis of the increases in America Movil's 2Q earnings.

New Emerging Economies to Enter BRIC term?

Jim O’Neill, the chairman of Goldman Sachs Asset Management, who coined the term BRIC to describe a group of emerging economies that comprises Brazil, Russia, India and China, said he planned to redefine growing markets and will explain the new approach to clients this month, the Financial Times reported. Read which countries he expects to include, here.

Mexico’s Marcatel Acquires 50% of STX Communications

The largest distributor of phone cards in U.S., STX Communications, sold 50 percent of its stocks to Marcatel SA, a closely held Mexican telecommunications company, the company said today in an e-mail statement made by PRNewswire. Through STX Communications, Marcatel aims to strengthen its business structure.

Manufacturing Increases in Mexico

In the Latin American economy, there is a lot of talk about Mexico. The Mexican economy is “growing considerably faster” than that of the United States, according to an article by The New York Times.

The New York Times stated, “The Mexican economy, the second largest in Latin America after Brazil, grew 5.5 percent last year, its fastest pace in a decade, and is expected to grow 4.5 percent this year, driven largely by manufacturing as well as internal growth from an expanding middle class.”

International business expansion to Mexico has become very common with more manufacturing plants installing themselves in Mexico every year.

What are your thoughts on the subject? Do you have any news or insight you'd like to share?

Feel free to leave me your comments below.

Asia Stocks Decline After Weak US Jobs Report - TheStreet

The Street, an economic blog, reports on how the world stock market fell after new data on the U.S.'s job market was released last Monday.

"Economic news in the U.S. was disappointing," said a Barclays Capital report Monday. "The employment report was weaker than expected across the board: employment, unemployment, hours, and wages all reflected the same worrisome trend."

Data released Saturday showed a negative outlook; China's inflation accelerated to a three-year high in June even as the overheated economy began to cool.

See the rest of the story and what this could mean for international stocks.

Increased Employment Rate Advances U.S. Stocks

Via WSJ:

Positive data in both U.S. employment and retail sales numbers sent investors back to risky assests.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 82 points, or 0.7%, to 12708 by midsession, setting the index up for a seventh gain in eight sessions.

Investors' spirits were risen by an employment survey that showed U.S. private-sector jobs rose by 157,000 last month, outdoing economists' forecast by over 50%. The WSJ article states taht the figure "contrasted with months of weak readings on U.S. employment."
Click here for the full article.

Mexico "Making Huge Investment in Greening the Country"

Via MexicoToday.org

Watch this video with Andrew Selee from the Mexico Institute, who gives us an idea about how Mexico and the U.S. have teamed up to make more cross-border investments in renewable energy.

Mexico's Prices Fall, Led by Food

Mexico’s consumer prices unexpectedly declined in the first half of June, significantly brought down by food and beverage costs in Latin America’s second-biggest economy. Even though economists had forecasted a 0.11% rise, prices fell 0.05% in the first two weeks of June, with food and beverage prices falling 0.40 percent.

The central bank reported these numbers today, and HSBC Holdings Plc economist, Sergio Martin, added that controlled prices are allowing the central bank to keep borrowing costs at a record low: “There are no inflationary pressures that could make the central bank raise rates,” Martin said in an over the phone interview from Mexico City. The report “was much more positive than what you could have expected.”

According to Martin, Mexico’s exchange rate is 'keeping a lid' on prices. The peso is up 10% since the end of 2009, the biggest advance among Latin American currencies after the Colombian peso.

Click here to read more on how Mexico's exchange rates are assisting it's economic boom.

"Mexico's Bullet-Proof Economy"

Today the Financial Times has published an article on their economic blog, "beyondbrics", that talks about how Mexico's economy is doing very well, surpassing all predictions, despite the unrest at the U.S.-Mexico border.

Mexico, more and more, is proving to be extremely stable in macroeconomic terms and in its relations with other countries, providing a sound platform for business activity.

The article mentions that this actually isn't an uncommon scenario. If you take Columbia for instance, the economy grew remarkably between 1980 and 2010, when the country was at a zenith in it's fight against crime. Mexico's economy is rapidly growing, proving a stable place for investment. What has your experience in investing in Mexico been in the recent years or months?

All comments are welcome.

The Rise of Mexico's Aerospace Industry

From The Financial Times:

Aerospace is the latest technical sector to spring up in Mexico. In the last 10 years, the total of aerospace companies operating in the country has risen to 238, with exports of roughly $3.5bn a year. Annual average growth has been 20 per cent a year since 2002.

“Simply put, Mexico is becoming more competitive,” says Bruno Ferrari, the country’s economy minister.

Carlos Bello, director-general of the Mexican Federation of Aerospace Industries (Femia), says he expects exports to reach $12 billion by 2020. He also stated that he expects a rise in Mexico's place from 14th place today to one of the top 10 most important aerospace manufacturers.