October 2011
Mitt Romney's Mexican relatives are wary
Dallasnews.com - As Mitt Romney campaigns for the White House, his Mexican cousins and supporters would like to weigh in on some of the most contentious issues of the campaign: immigration, border security and religion.
Five years into drug war, eradication efforts have languished
Submitted by mexbiznews on Mon, 10/24/2011 - 4:21am
By Nick Miroff and William Booth / Washington Post
The Mexican government is allowing domestic marijuana and opium poppy production to climb to record levels, as soldiers who once cut and burned illegal crops in the Sierra Madre mountains are being redeployed to wage urban warfare in the cities.
Since President Felipe Calderon ordered his troops into the streets in late 2006, the acreage dedicated to marijuana farming has nearly doubled.
The acreage devoted to opium poppies has also soared, making Mexico the second-leading heroin producer in the world, after Afghanistan.
Slim is eclipsing Coca-Cola Femsa as America Movil bonds rally
Submitted by mexbiznews on Mon, 10/24/2011 - 4:05amBy Jonathan J. Levin and Nacha Cattan
Bloomberg
The rally in America Movil’s bonds is putting the company close to eclipsing Coca-Cola Femsa as the safest corporate debt in Mexico as more investors turn to the wireless carrier controlled by billionaire Carlos Slim for refuge from Europe’s debt crisis.
Yields on America Movil dollar bonds due in 2020 have tumbled 52 basis points this month to 3.77 percent, or four basis points above that of similar-maturity debt sold by Coca- Cola Femsa, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The yield differential has narrowed from 52 basis points, or 0.52 percentage point, on Sept. 6.
America Movil is benefitting from investor demand for companies that are best positioned to weather a global slowdown.
While America Movil and Coca-Cola Femsa share an A-rating from Standard & Poor’s, the biggest wireless carrier in Latin America is outperforming because some investors have more confidence in the track record of Slim, the world’s richest man, said Alejandro Hernandez, who helps manage about $1.5 billion of debt at Interaciones Casa de Bolsa.
“Carlos Slim has obviously shown that he has made the right investments,” Hernandez said in a telephone interview from Mexico City. “Everything he touches turns to gold.”
An America Movil official who asked not to be named under company policy declined to comment on investors’ perceptions of its bonds.
September jobless rate hits five-month low
Reuters - Mexico's jobless rate fell to a five-month low in September but significant labor market slack and the impact of slowing U.S. economic growth still point to an interest rate cut soon, analysts said.
www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/21/mexico-economy-jobless-idUSN1E79K0G320111021
Spanish investors might save Mexicana, says Lozano
Europa Press - Mexican Secretary of Labor of Mexico Javier Lozano has confirmed that Mexicana Airlines could fly again thanks to the entry of Spanish investor group Med Atlantic. The airline also is evaluating proposals from five other groups.
Slim fortune dips $11 billion; he's still world's richest
Milenio - Carlos Slim's fortune has dropped by almost $11 billion since last February due mainly to the decline in America Movil shares, but the Mexican mogul remains the world's richest man in the world, according to Forbes magazine.
Calderon says U.S. shouldn't dump criminals at border
Fox News Latino - Mexican President Felipe Calderón says the U.S. should stop using the border as a place to get rid of their criminals because the practice is responsible for fueling violence in Mexico's border areas.
latino.foxnews.com/latino/news/2011/10/21/mexico-to-us-stop-leaving-criminals-at-border/
Car explodes in Monterrey; bodies dumped in Veracruz
AP - Drug violence escalated Thursday in two Mexican regions when a vehicle exploded during a car chase in the northern city of Monterrey and later eight bodies were dumped in the Gulf coast state of Veracruz.
Juarez shelter director faces pimping charges
AP — Prosecutors say the director of a women's shelter in Ciudad Juarez was forcing the female residents to work as prostitutes. Sixty-three-year-old Soledad Griensen will face charges of pimping at least five women who lived in the shelter.
Modelo posts 33% rise in profits on exports
Reuters - Mexican brewer Grupo Modelo said its third-quarter net profit rose almost 33 percent as a sharp depreciation in the peso boosted profits from exports. Modelo reported a profit of 3.310 billion pesos ($238 million) July to September.
www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/21/grupomodelo-idUSN1E79K0DQ20111021
