Strong Mexican Economy Boosts Trade of US States

A strong Mexican economy is helping boost trade of several US states. The top five exporting states to Mexico for all of 2010 include:
1) Texas, $163 billion
2) California, $21 billion
3) Michigan, $7 billion
4) Arizona, $5 billion
5) Illinois, $4 billion

The Arizona Star offers more about the Mexican economy and trade environment for these US States.

Banco de Mexico Maintains an Interest Rate at 4.50 Percent

With the Mexican economy showing consistent growth, the bank of Mexico is holding its overnight interest rate at 4.50 percent.

Mexico's Biggest Retailer Reports Profit Up in Third Quarter

Walmex or Wal-Mart de Mexico, Mexico's biggest retailer, is reporting a higher third-quarter profit driven by new store openings and aggressive promotions to encourage customer spending. The Mexican retailer reported a net profit of 4.824 billion pesos ($347 million) for the July-September period, an increase of 13.5 percent.

"Mexico Economy to Grow 3.8% This Year, Banamex Survey Shows" via BusinessWeek

The Mexican economy continues to receive consistent, positive news - here's another forecast,"Mexico’s economy will grow 3.8 percent this year, according to the median estimate of economists surveyed by Citigroup Inc.’s Banamex unit."

Mexican Peso Up After Bernanke's Statement

Via Reuters - "Mexico's peso gained on Tuesday after the head of the U.S. Federal Reserve raised hopes of more economic stimulus." Read more about the peso and other Latin American currencies.

Mexico's Carstens Sees Low Risk Of Disorderly Capital Outflows

Bank of Mexico Governor Agustin Carstens said Friday there is a low risk that higher interest rates in developed countries will trigger capital outflows from Mexico.

"There is the risk of observing some turbulence in our markets when those flows are reversed, especially if they are reversed in a disorderly fashion. But at the same time I feel that the danger of that is not that large," Carstens said in an interview with Dow Jones Newswires in Argentina.

Source: Wall Street Journal 

Ariz. Gov says State Must Continue to Advance Economic Relationship with Mexico

In a speech last Saturday, Arizona Governor Jan Brewer said the state must continue to push to be economically competitive by developing new roads and infrastructure, improved ports of entry and a secure border. The governor's remarks were part of a three-day symposium that focused heavily on trade and commerce between the Arizona and Sonora, Mexico.

"Everything we have done has been around competitiveness," said Margie Emmerman, executive director of the Arizona-Mexico Commission. "It's about what we need to do in order to have commerce and trade flow through our region. In this global world, it isn't one person we are competing against. It's a very tight market. It's everyone."

Mexico is Arizona's largest trading partner. The state exported $3.6 billion in the third quarter of 2010, Brewer said, adding that such an investment is "critical to continuing the trade growth between Arizona and Mexico."

Faber Believes Mexican Economy Will Continue to Outperform Other Emerging Markets

Dr. Marc Faber (author of the Gloom, Boom and Doom Report) is optimistically bullish about the Mexican economy, as noted in a recent interview with Bloomberg News.

Faber states that despite being the 13th largest economy in the world, Mexico is overlooked by many. He notes that Mexico is one of the world's largest developing economies as measured by GDP. On a per capita basis, the Mexican economy is larger than China's, India's and Brazil's. In fact, Dr. Faber believes that the Mexican economy will continue to outperform many emerging markets in the long-term. Some of this can be attributed to wage rates; for example, if Mexican wage rates continue to trend lower than China's, Mexico will attract more manufacturing jobs, in turn growing its middle-class and its economy.

This chart shows Mexico's outperformance:

Mexico Doing Well, Investors Take Note

According to this article by the Financial Times, "Mexico is in an undeniable sweet spot right now" with regard to its economy and inflation. A report by HSBC notes that the combination of high oil prices and low domestic inflation sets the nation apart from other emerging markets. In the report, the authors revised their estimate for the Mexican peso, "which they now see as ending the year at 11.30 against the US dollar compared with their previous estimate of 11.80."