Ernesto Cordero told the BBC that the tourism sector also seemed unaffected by concerns over violence.

Mr Cordero, speaking in London, said that Mexico was set to continue its strong economic performance, with growth this year set for 4% to 5%.

The effect of rising oil prices on the US recovery is a key concern, he said.

The minister said that Mexico was facing and solving the problem of criminality, a reference to the drug-related violence that has seen high murder rates in some regions of the country.

“There is no evidence investment is not coming to Mexico or that investors are being put off because of violence,” he said.

Key customer

Mr Cordero said that within this positive picture, it was clear some cities were suffering and missing out on investment which tended to relocate to other parts of Mexico.

“We are trying to help local governments, municipalities and state governments to solve the problem and also retain and attract investment,” he said.

As for tourism, “we have very high rates of occupancy, so it doesn’t seem affected,” Mr Cordero said, adding that the focal points for violence were not areas usually visited by tourists.

Mexico’s economy grew by 5.5% last year, its fastest annual rate in 10 years, according to official figures published in February.

Unlike many emerging market economies, Mexico is not suffering high inflation, running at 3.6%, down from 4.5% in 2010.

Mr Cordero said the economic growth meant Mexico had been able to recover strongly and quickly from the global economic crisis.

He admitted that the government needed to do more to broadcast Mexico’s economic success.

“We lack a good strategy to communicate our achievements in the policy field. People are surprised to learn that living conditions here are better than in Brazil, for example.”

Figures from the International Monetary Fund show that Mexico’s GDP per capita is $14,300 (£8,700), while Brazil’s is $11,300.

Rising oil prices are a concern for Mexico given the potential effects on the world economy, above all in the US.

“We need to have economic recovery in the US,” Mr Cordero said.

Some 80% of Mexican exports are to the US market, down from 90% a few years ago, but Mexico’s markets are still not diversified enough, Mr Cordero said.

He added that his country needed to look more to Asia and Latin America.

“Mexico is not the only Latin American country that is consolidating its middle class and creating a large market,” the minister told the BBC.

Mr Cordero is a strong contender to be the presidential candidate for the National Action Party (Pan) in next year’s election, according to several Mexican political analysts.

Original at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-12818647

Posted on March 23rd, 2011 by Tropicasa Realty
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Gervais believes these 11 nations make good proxies for growth in Africa, Asia and the Middle East

To take advantage of opportunities in the world’s fastest-developing economies, investors need to start looking beyond the obvious emerging markets toward the next stage of growth.

According to Don Gervais, global head of fundamental-equity product management at Goldman Sachs Asset Management, that means investing in countries such as Indonesia, Turkey, Vietnam and Pakistan.

“There’s a 40-year story that considers some of the other economies that will have an impact on the global economic landscape,” Mr. Gervais said.

Specifically, he is referring to what Goldman Sachs has dubbed the “Next 11,” which takes a step beyond the popular BRIC emerging markets of Brazil, Russia, India and China.

By Goldman’s analysis, the next 11 countries to watch are Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Korea, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Turkey and Vietnam.

In making the case for the recently launched Goldman Sachs N-11 Equity Fund (GSYAX), Mr. Gervais said the Next 11 countries “have the potential over the next 40 or 50 years to rival the G-7 nations in terms of economic importance.”

The fund, which was launched Feb. 28, is designed to tap into the potential of the large and young populations that combine to represent 1.3 billion, which is 19% of the word’s population, or roughly the size of China.

“We’re seeing increased levels of wealth taking hold,” Mr. Gervais said. “There are strong and improving economic conditions, and an opportunity for continued domestic consumption in those countries.”

While the Next 11 category takes investors further out on the risk plank, Mr. Gervais compared the opportunity to that of the BRIC economies when the concept was first developed in 2001.

“Geopolitical risk is definitely a factor, and that will be part of the volatility we see,” he said.

The fund is designed with flexibility in mind, which Mr. Gervais said should help investors navigate through some of the most extreme market conditions as they unfold.

The fund is currently most heavily weighted in Mexico, Indonesia, South Korea and Turkey.

Current economic sanctions prohibit the fund from investing in Iran, but it will remain as part of the Next 11, Mr. Gervais said.

For investors ready to make the leap, the fund offers broad international diversity, with exposure to Africa, the Middle East and Asia.

Even within the list of 11 countries, there is a range of emerging economies.

Mexico and South Korea, for example, are considered the most developed of the group, and each represents about 1.6% of the world’s gross domestic product.

The next-largest economies are Turkey and Indonesia, which respectively represent 1.2% and 1.1% of global GDP.

On the other end of the spectrum, Bangladesh, Egypt and Nigeria represent pure examples of frontier markets.

According to Mr. Gervais, combining the BRIC nations with the Next 11 would give investors exposure to the world’s strongest emerging markets.

“Of the 150 non-developed markets, these 15 really make the difference as the most attractive investment opportunities,” he said.

The fund will use individual securities and exchange-traded funds, and will invest in local markets when and where that is possible.

“When you look at the transformation that is taking shape around the world, we think the Next 11 is another concept that has relevance for investors,” Mr. Gervais said.

Portfolio Manager Perspectives are regular interviews with some of the most respected and influential fund managers in the investment industry. For more information, please visit InvestmentNews.com/pmperspectives.

Original at: http://www.investmentnews.com/article/20110314/FREE/110319972

Posted on March 17th, 2011 by Tropicasa Realty
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The Mexican economy recovered from a sharp contraction in 2009 to grow by 5.5% last year, its fastest annual rate in 10 years, official figures show.

The National Statistics Institute said that the agriculture, manufacturing and services sectors all made a strong improvement over the year.

The manufacturing sector was one of the key drivers with a growth rate of 6.1% in 2010.

“Growth is now more balanced,” said Finance Minister Ernesto Cordero.

“Manufacturing was stronger but most importantly the services sector grew significantly,” said Gabriel Casillas at JP Morgan.

The Institute said the final three months of the year grew at 1.3% compared with the previous quarter.

Unlike many emerging market economies, Mexico is not currently troubled by high inflation, which is currently running at 3.8%, down from 4.4% at the end of last year.

For this reason, interest rates are expected to remain on hold at 4.5%, analysts say.

Original at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-12538168

Posted on March 10th, 2011 by Tropicasa Realty
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By Patrick Osio

Here comes Easter break again and young people will be young people – high school and college kids will travel to distant places where the drinking age is either less than it is in the U.S. or where authorities don’t care to enforce minors’ drinking laws. For several decades Mexico has been one such place of choice where the legal drinking age is 18. Mazatlan , Acapulco , Puerto Vallarta and Cancun were the fly to favorite places and Rosarito Beach and Ensenada the favorite drive to places from Southern California . – But not this year, or for that matter neither was it last year.

Our government and the U.S. media have convinced most Americans that Mexico is not a safe place to visit as drug traffickers are fighting it out to see which gang will have the right to sell their illicit drugs to the very group that will not be visiting Mexico . They will have to wait until they return from Easter break to get their Mexican smuggled drugs at home.

But what really struck me was that the preferred country to visit this Easter break in lieu of Mexico is the Dominican Republic . It struck me because Dominica is rated as the number one country with the highest propensity for crime in the world. According to facts gathered by NationalMaster.com, their total crime per 1,000 residents (per capita) is 113.822 -Compared to the U.S. that is 8^th in the world in total crimes at 80.0645 per 1000 residents, making chances of being a victim of a crime in Dominica better than 10%, and slightly less than an 8% chance of being a victim in the U.S.

But here is the real clunker – Mexico, the country our government tells us not to visit and the media has a field day reporting any crime be it significant or not to further put the fear of God into staying away from there – well, it ranks 39^th in total crime in the world with a per capita of slightly less than 13 crimes per 1000 residents that is a 1.3% chance of being a victim of crime in Mexico.

So Mexico is out, Dominica is in, yet the chances of being a crime victim there is greater than in the U.S. and the chances of being a crime victim in the U.S. is greater than in Mexico . But, for our own safety we need to stay out of Mexico .

Have you ever felt like you’re being duped but you can’t quite put your finger on why – what’s the motive? Is it to keep us from facing some bitter truths?  We keep reading how crime is down, how safe we are compared to most other parts of the world. But is it true?

So here are some multiple choice questions for you:

1. Which country has a higher crime rate per 1,000 residents?
   1. Mexico, b. Germany, c. Canada, d.  U.S.
2. Which country has the highest murders with firearms?
   1. Mexico, b. El Salvador, c. U.S.
3. Of the following countries, which has the least number of drug offenses?

a. Germany, b. United Kingdom, c. Canada, d. Switzerland, e. Mexico

4. Which country has the most prisoners?

a. United States , b. China , c. Russia , d. India, e. Mexico
(Answers: 1. d. U.S. , 2. c. U.S. , 3. e.  Mexico ,  4. a. U.S.-  Source: http://www.nationmaster.com)

In one of the only bright spots due to its recent gang related murders, Mexico , on a per capita, ranks as more dangerous than the U.S. occupying No. 24 and Mexico No. 6 in the world, but in total number of murders the U.S. is No. 5 and Mexico No. 6.

In fact, much of the crime data per capita 1000 population suggests that in many respects Mexico is safer than the U.S.: in assaults the U.S. ranks No. 6, Mexico No. 20; burglaries the U.S. No. 17, Mexico No. 34; car thefts U.S. No. 9, Mexico No. 22; fraud U.S. No. 18, Mexico No. 29; Rape (Canada No.5), U.S. No. 9, Mexico No. 17.

No doubt that at the expense of Mexico we are being duped. Is it to hide our insatiable appetite for illicit drugs and cheap labor, and so by pointing the finger of guilt to the biggest supplier of both we exculpate our actions or at minimum pacify our own guilt?

Maybe it’s time for “the home of the free, and land of the brave” to take note.
_______________________________________________________________________
Patrick Osio is the Editor of HispanicVista.com (www.hispanicvista.com). Contact at POsioJr@aol.com and co-founder of TransBorder Communications, Inc. (www.transbordercommunications.com) dedicated to binational economic development.

Article on HispanicVista at:

http://www.hispanicvista.com/HVC/Columnist/posiojr/02152011_Patrick_Osio.htm

Posted on March 10th, 2011 by Tropicasa Realty
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I always find these kinds of lists interesting. Better yet if they come from a collection of believable statistics. These were based on the Orbitz bookings last year. One surprise for me was Thanksgiving week, which I thought always was the heaviest travel period of the year. Oh well, I guess you learn something new every year.

Even with all of the bad headlines and steady stream of problems, Las Vegas stayed at the top of the destination list. Cancun was tops for international travel. London topped the European travel category. And the top airline route in the U.S. was New York-Chicago.

Here are the details.

Busiest Air Travel Weeks in 2010: The top honor of busiest travel week once again goes to Christmas Week (Dec. 19 – Dec. 25), followed by the first week of August and the fourth week of June. Rounding out the top five was the third week of March, when many high schools and universities went on spring break.

Orbitz Insider Index: The Top Five Busiest Travel Weeks (1)

1. Christmas Week (Dec. 19 – Dec. 25)
2. August, First Week (Aug. 1 – Aug. 7)
3. June, Fourth Week (June 20 – 26)
4. June, Third Week (June 13 – 19)
5. March, Third Week (Mar. 14 – 20)

One important note: While Thanksgiving Week (Nov. 21 – 27) did not make the top 5 list, November 24 (Wednesday before Thanksgiving) was the single-busiest travel day of the year, followed by September 3 (Friday before Labor Day) and July 2 (Friday before Fourth of July).

Top 2010 U.S. Destinations: The usual suspects are back atop the 2010 list of the 10 most popular U.S. travel destinations. For the third year in a row Las Vegas, New York, and Chicago claimed the first three spots on the list.

Orbitz Insider Index: The Top U.S. Travel Destinations in 2010 (2)

1 Las Vegas, NV
2 New York, NY
3 Chicago, IL
4 San Francisco, CA
5 San Diego, CA
6 Orlando, FL
7 Honolulu,
8 New Orleans, LA
9 Washington, DC
10 Miami, FL

Notably absent are Boston which ranked ninth last year, and Los Angeles, which ranked fifth in 2009. New entrants include New Orleans, eighth on this year’s list, and Honolulu, one spot ahead at seventh.

Average daily hotel rates rose across the board for the top 10 U.S. destinations in 2010. However, there continues to be excellent value in cities like Las Vegas, San Diego, and Honolulu where hotel rates are still significantly below 2008 levels.

Top 2010 International Destinations: There was a good amount of movement in the top international destinations from a year ago, although Cancun retained top honors in 2010. San Juan took over the second spot this year, dropping London to third. There were a host of new entrants this year including Puerto Vallarta, Niagara Falls, Canada, and Rome.

Orbitz Insider Index: The Top International Travel Destinations in 2010 (3)

1 Cancun, Mexico
2 San Juan, Puerto Rico
3 London, England
4 Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
5 Riviera Maya, Mexico
6 Paris, France
7 Toronto, Canada
8 Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
9 Niagara Falls, Canada
10 Rome, Italy

Warm weather destinations, and in particular Latin America, continued to have the most allure for Americans traveling internationally in 2010. In addition to scenic beaches, travelers benefitted from lower rates in both Riviera Maya and Puerto Vallarta, while Cancun stayed relatively unchanged.

Top 10 Most Popular U.S. Travel Routes: When it comes to the most popular U.S. flight routes in 2010, the City that Never Sleeps was either the origin or destination for every pairing in the top 10. The most popular route was New York to Chicago, followed by New York to Los Angeles. Rounding out the top 10, New York City was the most popular origination city in seven of the top 10 route pairings, as well as the most popular destination for travelers in Los Angeles, Chicago and San Francisco.

Orbitz Insider Index: The Most Popular U.S. Travel Routes in 2010 (4)
Origin City—Destination City
1 New York, NY—Chicago
2 New York, NY—Los Angeles
3 Los Angeles, CA—New York, NY
4 Chicago, IL—New York, NY
5 New York, NY—Fort Lauderdale
6 New York, NY—Orlando
7 New York, NY—Miami
8 New York, NY—San Francisco
9 New York, NY—Las Vegas
10 San Francisco—New York, NY

Original http://www.consumertraveler.com/today/2010-travel-stats-%E2%80%94-busiest-travel-weeks-top-destinations-in-u-s-and-abroad-top-airline-routes/

Posted on March 4th, 2011 by Tropicasa Realty
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