February 2012
Prison riot death toll continues to rise
Fox News Latino - The death toll from the Apodaca prison riot in northern Mexico has risen to 44, a security official said, making it the Mexican penitentiary system's most violent episode in five years.
latino.foxnews.com/latino/news/2012/02/20/mexico-prison-riot-death-toll-rises-to-44/
Regional pay TV sales are up in Mexico
Variety - A booming subscriber base, more channels and a film industry that is growing in depth and quality are conspiring to turn up the heat on regional pay TV sales for Latin American pics at this year's Guadalajara Film Market.
Mexico posts record $31.65 billion inflows to bonds
Reuters - Mexico drew in a record $31.65 billion of investment into its local-currency debt in 2011, the central bank said, as global investors sought refuge from Europe's crisis.
www.reuters.com/article/2012/02/24/mexico-economy-balance-idUSL2E8DO4EO20120224
Europe could learn from Mexico's tequila crisis, Calderon says at G20 summit
Submitted by mexbiznews on Mon, 02/27/2012 - 4:14amBy Jonathan Roeder and Nacha Cattan
Bloomberg
European nations, struggling to end their debt crisis, should look at Latin America’s triumph over decades of financial crashes as a blueprint for resolving their woes, said officials at a summit of the world’s biggest economies in Mexico.
Mexican President Felipe Calderon used the two-day summit of Group of 20 finance officials to urge policy makers to follow his country’s example and take decisive action to prevent turmoil in Europe from further hurting global economic growth.
Latin America has so far proven resilient to global volatility after countries, including Brazil and Mexico, cut spending over the past two decades.
In contrast, European nations are still trying to halt contagion more than two years after Greece’s debt crisis emerged. The International Monetary Fund forecasts Latin American economies will grow 3.6 percent in 2012, three times the expected pace for advanced nations.
Luis Tellez, chief executive officer of Bolsa Mexicana de Valores, the nation’s stock exchange, said Europe isn’t acting fast enough to staunch the damage.
“While Europe took years to make decisions, we made decisions with the U.S. and the IMF in two months,” said Tellez, who was chief of staff to then-President Ernesto Zedillo during the Tequila crisis that followed devaluation of the peso in 1994.
Morgan Stanley adds fixed-income group in Mexico
Bloomberg - Morgan Stanley, owner of the world’s biggest brokerage, is setting up a fixed-income group in Mexico as part of its expansion in Latin America. The addition of the fixed-income team follows the bank’s move to trade stocks on the Mexican exchange.
www.businessweek.com/news/2012-02-24/morgan-stanley-adds-mexico-fixed-income-group-harland-says.html
IMF sounds global warning on rising oil prices
Reuters - The International Monetary Fund flagged higher oil prices as a rising threat to the global economy on Friday, urging policymakers to keep a close eye on western tensions with Iran, which is facing punitive measures against its crude supplies.www.reuters.com/article/2012/02/24/us-g20-oil-idUSTRE81N1DH20120224
Liverpool plans major store expansion this year
Sentido Comun - Liverpool, Mexico's largest department store chain, announced that this year will invest 9 billion pesos ($700 million) to open eight department stores, shopping malls and various extensions and remodel existing stores.
Tequila industry asks authorities to regulate "agave"
Sentido Comun - New president of the National Chamber of the Tequila Industry, Eduardo Orendain, said the group asked authorities to regulate the word "agave" as a trademark. Over 80 percent of so-called agaves do not meet certification standards.
Aeromexico adds flights to Bogata, San Jose
Sentido Comun - AeroMexico announced that as of March 9 will offer a new flight between Mexico City and Bogota that will operate on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. It will also offer a second daily flight to San Jose, Costa Rica.
Negotiations begun on Piedra Larga wind farm
Sentido Comun - Representatives of those opposed to the construction of the Piedra Larga wind farm began negotiations with Spanish firm Renovalia Energy to resolve what opponents considered violations of land rights in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec.
