Brazil Overtakes Mexico in Economies
The hefty appreciation of Brazil’s currency against the dollar over the last two years has helped Brazil overtake Mexico as Latin America’s largest economy in dollar terms.
Brazil had gross domestic product of $794.4 billion for the four quarters ending June 30, according to a report issued Thursday by the Brazilian Census Bureau, known by its Portuguese acronym IBGE. Mexican GDP stood at $765.7 billion for the same period, Mexico’s government reported earlier.
GDP measures the value of all goods and services produced in any given country, and Brazilian GDP has been growing faster than Mexico’s.
But the biggest reason behind Brazil’s move up is the rapid advance of Brazil’s currency, the real, against the dollar _ driven by huge demand for Brazilian exports and massive influxes of dollars into Brazil from foreign investors.
The real strengthened 9.4 percent against the dollar last year and has gained 17.2 percent so far this year.
For the calendar year in 2004, Mexico’s GDP of $685 billion surpassed Brazil’s $666 billion. The two countries have traded places periodically as Latin America’s largest economy, but the gap was hundreds of billions of dollars in Mexico’s favor in recent years.
Dollars have been pouring into Brazil because the benchmark interest rate stands at a towering 19.5 percent, giving investors big returns on government and corporate bonds they can’t get almost anywhere else on the planet. Meanwhile, exports are surging based on strong demand for Brazilian products such as soy and steel.
Long-term investors are also taking stakes in Brazilian companies in the belief that President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is succeeding at steering Latin America’s largest country on a path toward slow, sustainable growth for the first time in recent memory.
Source: washingtonpost.com
Brazil's economy overtakes Mexico
The hefty appreciation of Brazil's currency against the dollar over the last two years has helped Brazil overtake Mexico as Latin America's largest economy in dollar terms.
Brazil had gross domestic product of $794.4 billion for the four quarters ending June 30, according to a report issued Thursday by the Brazilian Census Bureau, known by its Portuguese acronym IBGE.
Mexican GDP stood at $765.7 billion for the same period, Mexico's government reported earlier.
GDP measures the value of all goods and services produced in any given country, and Brazilian GDP has been growing faster than Mexico's.
But the biggest
Mexico, Brazil Inflation Slows, Paving Way for Rate Reductions
Slowing inflation in Mexico and Brazil, Latin America's two biggest economies, is paving the way for central bankers to cut interest rates and curb gains in their currencies, analysts such as UBS AG's Michael Gavin said.
Government reports scheduled for release today will show Mexico's annual inflation rate dropped to a record low in September while Brazil's rate held near its lowest in 16 months, according to more than a dozen economists surveyed by Bloomberg.
Declining inflation rates may prompt Mexico to reduce its benchmark lending rate for a third straight
Google opens offices in Brazil, Mexico
Search engine Google Inc. on Thursday said that it has opened offices in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and Mexico City, as it looks to accelerate growth in Latin America.
The offices will be charged with boosting use of Google Web sites and increasing advertising sales in the region for the Mountain View, California-based Internet company.
The Mexico operation is led by Gonzalo Alonso, formerly sales director for the T1MSN Internet service. Google's operation in Brazil is managed by Alexandre Hohagen, who was previously Brazil general manager for HBO.
Source: today.reuters.com
Brazil, Mexico Stocks End Down
Mexico and Brazil stocks slid Wednesday, pulled down by weakness in U.S. equities.
Traders said a late-session dip in the Dow Jones industrial average prompted some selling in Latin American markets.
The Dow lost 1.20 points, or 0.01 percent, to 11,102.51 after rising a total of 230 points the first two days this week.
Brazils benchmark Ibovespa stocks index ended 0.24 percent lower at 36,681 points in thin volume.
More : chron.com
Fox wants Mexico in the Mercosur in 2006
- On the final day of the 4th Summit of the Americas, in Mar del Plata, Argentina, the president of Mexico, Vicente Fox, said that he is negotiating his country's entry into the Mercosur in the middle of next year. "The Mercosur is a good example of trade. If it were not a success, we would not be knocking on the door to enter," he commented.
Fox defended free trade and mentioned Chile and Mexico as examples of integration. In his view, the two countries have stable economies and managed to diminish poverty and
Google Opens Offices in Mexico and Brazil
Brad Hill from the theunofficialgoogleweblog posts that Google has recently opened offices in Mexico City and Sao Paulo, Brazil. In July, we posted that Google had acquired San Paulo-based, Akwan Information Technologies and planned to open a research and development center there. Btw, the theunofficialgoogleweblog post also points out that Google is now trading at over $400/share. As I post this item, it's trading at $403.84, an all-time high.
More: blog.searchenginewatch.com
Mexico growth failing to combat poverty - OECD
Mexico is achieving healthy economic growth rates but is failing to filter its wealth downward to narrow the huge gulf between rich and poor, the OECD economic research organization said on Monday.
The Paris-based Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development predicted in a report that Mexico, Latin America's second-largest economy after Brazil, would register annual economic growth of just over 4 percent over the next two years.
The OECD said that level of growth would still be too low to narrow the income gap and urged Mexico to push ahead with structural reforms that
Delta could grow more in Brazil, Mexico
Even as Delta Air Lines Inc. struggles with its own bankruptcy, the airline could capitalize on the financial troubles of two international competitors: Mexicos AeroMéxico and Brazils Varig.
AeroMéxico, Mexicos biggest airline -- which is for sale -- has been reducing flights to some U.S. cities.
And Brazils largest carrier, the bankrupt Varig, made headlines recently by running out of operating cash, canceling hundreds of flights, and threatening to strand about 5,000 customers at the World Cup soccer competition in Germany -- including, some worried, Brazils national soccer team.
Enter Delta (OTC: DALRQ), which
Stocks Up in Mexico, Brazil
Mexican stocks rebounded Monday to close sharply higher as investors snapped up shares that had become attractive after two weeks of selling.
The market's key IPC index closed up 2.6 percent, or 389.85 points, at 15,282.73. Volume was 122.9 million shares valued at 2.51 billion pesos.
Source: news.moneycentral.msn.com
LEIPZIG, GERMANY - The Confederations Cup was supposed to be about the haves and have-nots of world soccer, with Brazil, Argentina and Germany expected to dominate the eight-team championship.
Clearly, no one told Mexico.
"We reckon it's time the world sat up and took notice of us," said Jared Borgetti, who scored on a header in Mexico's 1-0 victory over Brazil on Sunday. "We've proved Mexico can play good football."
The Tricolores look certain to qualify for the World Cup, but this competition has given Ricardo La Volpe's team a chance to make an impact one year earlier.
Mexico started with a 2-1 victory
