July 2011
Foreign investment grows in states with most violence
CNNExpansión - Foreign Direct Investment has increased or remained constant in areas most impacted by drug-war-related violence, according to the Ministry of Economy. And investing has increased most in border states.
www.cnnexpansion.com/economia/2011/07/27/crimen-no-espanta-a-la-ied-en-mexico-se
IMF predicts global impact if U.S. Congress cannot resolve the debt crisis
Submitted by mexbiznews on Thu, 07/28/2011 - 6:05amBy Sudeep Reddy
Wall Street Journal
A loss of investor confidence in U.S. debt could have "universally large and negative" effects on the rest of the world, the International Monetary Fund said this week in its annual assessment of the U.S. economy.
The IMF delivered its warning as the White House and Congress struggled to reach a deal to increase the federal government's borrowing limit before an Aug. 2 deadline.
The large credit-rating firms have warned they will lower their top-notch ratings on U.S. debt if the government defaults. Standard & Poor's has also said it might downgrade the debt if no credible plan is reached for reining in deficits over the long term.
A debt downgrade or failure to raise the debt ceiling would have "significant global repercussions, given the central role of U.S. Treasury bonds in world financial markets," the fund said in a staff report.
A downgrade would be "very damaging for both the US economy and the rest of the world" by hitting stock markets and pushing interest rates higher, IMF senior adviser Rodrigo Valdes told reporters. It would be new territory for U.S. debt, so "there's a lot of uncertainty," he said. "Nobody really knows what would be the true effect."
The fund said officials from other nations feared that a reassessment by markets of U.S. government finances "could lead to a rapid deterioration in global financing conditions, capital flows and possibly the value of the dollar."
online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111903999904576467992755434916.html
Cemex is worst junk in U.S. bond market
Bloomerg - Bonds sold by Cemex , the largest cement maker in the Americas, are posting the biggest losses among major issuers of junk debt in the U.S. after the company posted its seventh straight quarterly loss.
www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-07-28/cemex-is-worst-junk-in-u-s-market-on-losses-mexico-credit.html
Paper of slain reporter says state AG should resign
Fox News Latino - Mexican daily Notiver published an editorial Wednesday adamantly denying the possibility that slain journalist Yolanda Ordaz de la Cruz had links to a criminal gang and demanding that the attorney general of Veracruz resign.
Rare condition strikes people along Sonora border
Reuters - The rare condition Guillain-Barre Syndrome that can cause paralysis has sickened two dozen people in a small area in Yuma County, Arizona, and neighboring northern Sonora state, on the Arizona-Mexico border.
www.reuters.com/article/2011/07/27/us-arizona-mexico-paralysis-idUSTRE76P7D620110727
BBVA numbers bouyed by Turkey and Mexico
Financial Times - Rising profits in Mexico and Turkey helped BBVA, Spain’s second-largest bank by value, partially offset a slump in earnings in its troubled home market over the first half of the year.
www.ft.com/cms/s/0/654d470c-b8eb-11e0-bd87-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1TPBDPozJ
Pemex oil workers get raise of 4.75 percent
Fox News Latino - State-owned Petroleos Mexicanos inked a new collective-bargaining agreement with the STPRM union that raises workers' salaries by 4.75 percent, Pemex said Wednesday. The contract will go into effect on Aug. 1 and run through 2013.
latino.foxnews.com/latino/money/2011/07/28/mexican-oil-workers-get-raise-475-pct/
Blackbaud opens Mexico City office to sell software
Charleston Business Journal - Blackbaud has opened an office in Mexico City, extending its operations to Latin America a year after releasing Spanish-language fundraising software. ExiteTI, which will sell and support Blackbaud products in Mexico.
www.charlestonbusiness.com/news/40471-blackbaud-opens-mexico-city-office
GAP's 2nd quarter profits rise 8.2%
Reuters - Mexican airport operator Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacifico (GAP) said on Wednesday that profits rose 8.2 percent in the second quarter from a year earlier due to lower tax costs. It earned 189 million pesos during the period ($16 million).
www.reuters.com/article/2011/07/27/gap-idUSN1E76Q2B920110727
Mexico, Guatemala to tighten border security
Peoples' Daily - Mexico and Guatemala agreed to strengthen security along their border to jointly fight organized crime. Human and drug trafficking as well as illegal immigration between the two countries are rampant.
