* Texas says Cemex owes at least $558 mln in royalties
* Lawsuit latest concern for debt-laden Mexican company
* Cemex says sand, gravel not subject to royalties (Recasts; adds background, Cemex debt details)
By Robin Emmott
MONTERREY, Mexico, June 23 (Reuters) – The U.S. state of Texas said on Tuesday it filed a lawsuit against Mexico’s Cemex SA for $558 million in royalties owed in the United States, the latest headache for the debt-laden cement maker.
Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson said Cemex (CMXCPO.MX)(CX.N), the top cement maker in the United States, was mining a quarry near El Paso, Texas, without paying royalties to the owner, the state’s Permanent School Fund.
*Jabil to build SunPower solar panels at Mexican plant
*First step in implementing regional panel assembly
*Financial terms not disclosed
LOS ANGELES, June 8 (Reuters) – Solar power company SunPower Corp (SPWRA.O) said on Monday it had signed a contract with electronics maker Jabil Circuit Inc (JBL.N) to build solar panels in Mexico beginning in the second half of 2009.
Jabil will start making solar panels for SunPower’s North American solar customers in the second half of 2009, SunPower said in a statement. The San Jose, California, company said the deal was the first step in its long-term strategy to implement regional panel assembly to reduce costs.
SunPower currently produces its solar panels in the Philippines and has a partnership with SunEnergy in China. It is also looking at establishing manufacturing in large solar markets in the United States, the company said. – [reuters.com]
Mexico Swine-flu outbreak linked to Smithfield factory farms
LINK AND INFO FROM “grist.org”
Is Smithfield Foods, the world’s largest pork packer and hog producer, linked to the outbreak? Smithfield operates massive hog-raising operations Perote, Mexico, in the state of Vera Cruz, where the outbreak originated.
“According to physicians from the state of Vera Cruz and the Mexican health agency IMSS, the epidemic’s vector could be the clouds of flies created by hog CAFOs and the manure lagoons where the U.S.-Mexican company (Smithfield’s Granjas Carroll subsidiary) through tons of manure.” read more: [swine-flu-smithfield/]
Mexico’s Health Secretary Jose Angel Cordova, center, speaks during a news conference in Mexico City Saturday April 25, 2009. Federal authorities have extended school closures in the capital and two other states with swine flu outbreaks for 10 more days and he said in the news conference that the new strain has killed as many as 81 people in Mexico, though only 20 deaths have been confirmed. At left is Mexico’s Secretary of Education, Alonso Lujambio, second from left, is the Secretary of Economy, Gerardo Ruiz, second from right, is the Secretary of Labor, Javier Lozano and at right, is the presidential spokesman, Maximiliano Cortazar.
The Westin Resort in Los Cabos Mexico
A Picture Submited of Las Rocas Resort – Rosarito, Mexico part of Baja California.
If your traveling to Mexico City then you have many Mexico resorts that you may fall in love with , why? mainly because you have lots of Mexico City hotels to choose from, the presence of so many hotels gives you the opportunity to choose the ones that are in your budget. (more…)
By Tony Allen
Mills BY THE hair-raising standards of torture, murder, kidnapping, extortion and other drug-related mayhem that has become tragically routine along the US border with Mexico, the inspection of a battered red Ford pickup truck travelling south through the Arizona desert this month hardly seemed worth recording.
US border patrol agents stopped the vehicle as it headed towards Mexico through the Organ Pipe Cactus national park. A search quickly uncovered seven assault rifles – two of them Russian-made AK47s – a couple of handguns and thousands of rounds of ammunition. (more…)
Soldiers guard alleged drug cartel lieutenant Hector Huerta Rios after a press conference to show him to the media in Mexico City, Wednesday, March 25, 2009. Huerta Rios, who allegedly ran operations for the Beltran Leyva drug cartel, was detained Tuesday in Monterrey, northern Mexico
Soldiers take part in an operation to capture drug kingpin Hector Huerta Rios in the suburb of San Pedro Garza Garcia in Monterrey, northern Mexico March 24, 2009. Soldiers on Tuesday captured Huerta Rio from the Beltran Leyva cartel who is accused of the killing of a police chief in this industrial city. Huerta Rios was seized along with five persons, weapons and money at his car dealership.
MEXICO CITY (AFP) — A suspected drug cartel hitman accused of organizing an attack on the US consulate in the northern Mexican city of Monterrey in October has been arrested by security forces, said President Felipe Calderon.
“The Mexican army has arrested Sigifredo Najera, aka El Canicon, (who was) directly responsible for the torture and killing of soldiers and the attack on the US consulate,” Calderon announced late Friday. (more…)
