But neither Greece nor Dubai is an oil producer. For energy-focused investors Mexico’s deteriorating fiscal position and the actions of the country’s national oil company (NOC), Petroleos Mexicanos (PEMEX), are cause for concern. Pemex is the third-largest supplier of crude to the US, behind only Canada and Saudi Arabia. To put the company’s operations in perspective, Pemex produced more crude oil than US energy giant Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM) in 2008.
Mexico’s troubles are less severe but also less well-recognized and understood. Standard & Poor’s lowered the country’s long-term sovereign debt rating from BBB+ to BBB on December 14.
read more at [kciinvesting.com]
Same-Sex Marriage in Mexico
Mexico City is enacting Latin America’s first law permitting same sex marriage.
Details of the new law to allow same sex couples to marry in the capital were published Tuesday in Mexico City’s official register. Last week, legislators approved the measure, despite strong opposition from conservatives and the country’s Roman Catholic Church.
The measure changes the definition of marriage from a union between a man and a woman, to the free union of two people. It also grants homosexual married couples rights such as the ability to adopt children, apply for loans and share insurance benefits. The legislation replaces a 2007 law allowing civil unions, and will take effect in March.
Is it Time To Buy Pemex Bonds? they look like a Buy on Spreads, Higher Oil Prices.
The 8 percent dollar-denominated securities maturing in 2019 from the largest oil producer in Latin America are yielding 64 basis points above sovereign bonds with the same maturity. A “fair value” for Pemex yields would be as little as 12 basis points higher, said RBC analyst Eduardo Suarez, who is based in Toronto and rates the state oil company’s debt “outperform.”
“With the rating downgrade uncertainty out of the way, we think they offer an attractive pick up relative to Mexico sovereigns,” Suarez said in an interview last week.
The 2019 bonds have fallen 2.8 cents on the dollar since Nov. 23, the day Fitch reduced its rating on Mexican sovereign bonds. S&P cut its rating on Dec. 14. Pemex 2019 bonds now yield 5.71 percent, compared with 5.07 percent for 10-year sovereigns.
from – bloomberg.com
Mexico’s stock exchange saw a 63 percent jump in average daily trading operations this year as it rebounded from the turmoil in world financial markets.Mexico’s plan to launch direct market access and expand high-frequency trading follows Brazilian exchange operator BM&FBovespa (BVMF3.SA), which in recent years has become one of the world’s largest stock markets.
Mexico looks to Brazil
Brazil allowed algorithmic derivatives trading this year and BM&FBovespa is awaiting approval to offer the same for equities. Despite strong gains in Mexican stocks, with the IPC index .MXX up about 45 percent in 2009, and optimism about returns in 2010, Mexico struggles to entice privately held companies to go public.
Mexico Sees Higher Electricity, Natural Gas Use In Next 15 Years
Mexico’s projected electricity consumption will increase by an average of 3.6% per year through 2024, requiring additional capacity of about 27,300 megawatts, the Energy Ministry said in a report Tuesday.
In order to keep up with demand, the government-run electricity sector will require 37,615 megawatts of new installed capacity, at an estimated investment of $91.3 billion, according to the ministry’s 15-year outlook for the industry.
The plan also foresees the retirement of 10,315 megawatts of existing capacity.
Consumption of natural gas during the same period is expected to increase by 2.8% annually to reach 11.2 billion cubic feet per day, most of which will be used by the electricity and oil industries.
Mexico’s production of natural gas is expected to increase at a slower rate, rising 2.3% a year on average to 8.7 billion cubic feet a day. The first production from deep-water deposits in the Gulf of Mexico is expected in 2013, according to the outlook.
Mexico will likely remain a net importer of natural gas throughout the 15-year period, with net imports rising to 2.5 billion cubic feet a day in 2024.
Imports of liquefied natural gas, or LNG, are projected to grow at a rapid pace, overtaking imports of natural gas via pipeline across the U.S.-Mexico border.
In 2010, Mexico expects LNG imports to rise to 586 million cubic feet a day from 367 million this year, and reach to 2.0 billion cubic feet a day by 2017.
Mexico has two LNG regasification terminals in operation, one on the Gulf coast and another on the Pacific coast. A second Pacific coast terminal is expected to go into operation in 2011.
Paula LaRocca in ‘Playboy México’
Mexican police arrested two people allegedly tied to the murder of four relatives of a Mexican marine who died in a gun battle with a drug-gang boss and his bodyguards last week, a state official said.
Authorities from the southeastern state of Tabasco will offer more details on the arrests later today, said a spokeswoman for the state attorney general’s office, who can’t be identified because of government policy.
The people arrested are suspected of being hit men for the drug cartel run by Arturo Beltran Leyva, the alleged kingpin killed in last week’s gunfight, El Universal reported on its Web site, citing Rafael Gonzalez, the state’s prosecutor. The arrests were made in a hotel in Tabasco, the newspaper reported.
Wyndham Hotels and Resorts and Palace Resorts today announced that four upscale Palace Resorts properties in Mexico will join the Wyndham® brand: Beach Palace®, Cancun; Isla Mujeres Palace®, Isla Mujeres; and Playacar Palace® and Xpu-Ha Palace®, both in Riviera Maya.
Jeff Wagoner, Wyndham Hotels and Resorts president, said the franchise agreements will expand Wyndham brand distribution in Latin America, creating a total presence of 26 Wyndham properties in Mexico and the Caribbean.
“The marriage of our global brand and distribution system with the outstanding Palace Resorts brand and these four all-inclusive properties in Mexico will be mutually beneficial for both companies and our guests,” he said. “We take pride in welcoming these resorts, known for their exceptional service and luxurious all-inclusive amenities, to the Wyndham family.”
Roberto Chapur, Palace Resorts president, said the affiliation with the Wyndham brand will provide a global distribution platform to drive bookings in the growing leisure, bridal and meeting travel segments.
Wal-Mart De Mexico CEO Eduardo Solorzano To Head Latin America Operations
said Friday that Chief Executive Eduardo Solorzano has been promoted to chief executive of Wal-Mart Latin America and will be replaced by current Chief Operating Officer Scot Rank
In this undated handout image from Mexico’s Attorney General’s Office, Arturo Beltran Leyva is seen. A Mexican navy official said alleged drug cartel chief Arturo Beltran Leyva was killed in a shootout with sailors Wednesday Dec. 16, 2009. The official says Beltran Leyva and three other suspected members of his cartel were killed in a shootout with sailors at an apartment complex in the city of Cuernavaca, just south of Mexico City.
Beltran Levya, known as the “boss of bosses,” was one of four brothers who split from the Sinaloa cartelLos Zetas several years ago and aligned themselves with , a group of former soldiers hired by the Gulf Cartel as hit men.
That split is believed to have fueled much of the bloodshed across Mexico, where more than 14,000 people have been killed in the past three years.
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration says the Beltran Leyva cartel is a key organization in importing and distributing tons of cocaine in the United States, as well as large quantities of heroin.
