UPDATE 1-Bank of America sells Mexico asset management firm
Bank of America Corp. (BAC.N: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Thursday it will sell its asset management business in Mexico to Grupo Financiero Santander Serfin, the Mexican subsidiary of Madrid-based Grupo Santander (SAN.MC: Quote, Profile, Research)(STD.N: Quote, Profile, Research).
Terms of the deal, expected to close no later than the end of first-quarter 2006, were not disclosed. The Mexico business has about $1.8 billion under management.
Bank of America said it decided to sell the business because it did not have sufficient synergies with the company’s corporate and investment banking and cash management businesses in Mexico.
The business being sold formerly operated under the BankBoston name and was acquired as part of Bank of America’s acquisition of FleetBoston Financial.
Banc of America Securities LLC advised Bank of America on the deal.
Bank of America owns 24.9 percent of Grupo Financiero Santander Serfin, the third-largest bank in Mexico.
More: today.reuters.com
Pulte sells Mexico operations to investment firm
Home builder Pulte Homes Inc.(PHM.N: Quote, Profile, Research) on Tuesday said it sold its Mexico home-building operation to investors led by affiliates of Walton Street Capital, allowing the company to focus on its U.S. expansion.
Pulte, the No. 2 U.S. home builder, did not release financial terms of the deal.
"As previously announced, we have been evaluating long-term strategic alternatives with regard to all of Pulte's international operations," Roger Cregg, Pulte chief financial officer, said in a statement. "With the sale of our Mexico home-building operation, we have effectively exited our international business allowing us to
Pulte sells Mexico operations to investment firm
Home builder Pulte Homes Inc.(PHM.N: Quote, Profile, Research) on Tuesday said it sold its Mexico home-building operation to investors led by affiliates of Walton Street Capital, allowing the company to focus on its U.S. expansion.
Pulte, the No. 2 U.S. home builder, did not release financial terms of the deal.
"As previously announced, we have been evaluating long-term strategic alternatives with regard to all of Pulte's international operations," Roger Cregg, Pulte chief financial officer, said in a statement. "With the sale of our Mexico home-building operation, we have effectively exited our international business allowing us
UPDATE 1-Houston Exploration to sell Gulf of Mexico assets
Houston Exploration Co. (THX.N: Quote, Profile, Research) on Tuesday said it plans to sell its entire asset base in the Gulf of Mexico, which has historically accounted for about 40 percent of its total production.
The company said it would open a data room for the offshore assets in January and expects to complete a sale in the first quarter. Wachovia Securities is acting as financial adviser on the sale.
The company said it would use the proceeds to potentially acquire new onshore assets, reduce debt or buy back stock. Its year-end 2004 offshore
UPDATE 1-Mexico posts $650 mln 3Q current account deficit
Mexico posted a $650 million current account deficit in the third quarter of this year following a $19 million deficit in the second quarter, the country's central bank said on Tuesday.
The accumulated current account deficit in the first nine months of the year was equivalent to 0.7 percent of gross domestic product.
Analysts in a Reuters poll had predicted Mexico would post a third-quarter current account deficit of $1.226 billion.
"It's clearly far better than expected, and another sign that exports are doing much better than had been feared," said Christian Stracke, lead
A Clarion Call: Do what's Best for America, NOT Mexico!
By engaging a PR firm to represent Mexico against American interests in the debate on illegal immigration, Vicente Fox & his gang of banditos have escalated the attack on America to an unprecedented level. It now includes nefarious meddling in US internal affairs, just short of a formal declaration of war.
Enough is enough! Those who genuinely care about America must demand that this latest Mexican incursion be soundly defeated. Unfortunately, the current occupant of the White House seems unconcerned with American interests; a despicable & cowardly position shared by far too
UPDATE 1-Mexico 28-day T-bills edge lower to 9.60 pct
The yield on Mexico's benchmark 28-day Cetes, or T-bills, edged one basis point lower to 9.60 percent on Tuesday as investors expect the central bank to hold monetary policy steady at a policy meeting this week.
Longer-term rates moved lower, reflecting growing expectations that interest rates could come down in coming weeks.
T-bill rates have drifted slightly lower in recent weeks as the inflation fears eased and the central bank set an informal reference rate in the secondary market.
Mexico's central bank is due to hold its twice-monthly monetary policy review on Friday and most
UPDATE 2-Mexico central bank pushes interest rates lower
Mexico's central bank on Friday pushed interest rates 25 basis points lower for the second straight month to revive a tepid economy.
The bank said it would allow the overnight lending rate, which has held at around 9.50 percent for the last month, to fall a quarter of a percentage point. The move was widely expected as inflation has come under control in recent months.
After a long period of tightening monetary policy to bring inflation down, the central bank changed tack last month and began pushing rates lower to help the struggling economy.
"The
Morgan Stanley Ups Mexico's Soriana To Overweight
Morgan Stanley raised its recommendation Monday on Mexican retailer Organizacion Soriana SA (SORIANA.MX) to overweight from equal weight, citing the attractive valuation of the shares.
Morgan Stanley said Soriana remains one of the better-valued retailers in Latin America, while downplaying risks from the company's expansion plans, setting a price target of $5.50 a share.
"e have increased confidence that Sorianas expansion program won' result in a meaningful deterioration in asset returns, based on our analysis of the company's new stores/formats and on the pattern of new store openings," the firm said in a report.
More:
UPDATE 1-Mexico's central bank holds monetary policy steady
Mexico's central bank held monetary policy steady on Friday, pausing in its current loosening cycle as expected, despite record low inflation and a weak economy.
The central bank said in its twice-monthly policy review it was keeping its money market "short" steady at 79 million pesos a day. The short is one of the Banco de Mexico's main monetary policy tools.
A decrease in the short increases overnight lending to banks and tends to push interest rates lower, which encourages borrowing to stimulate economic growth.
At its last policy review on Aug. 26, Mexico's central
UPDATE 4-Mexico pushes rates lower in historic move
Mexico's central bank pushed interest rates lower on Friday for the first time in over three years to give the soft economy a boost, now that inflation is under control.
It was the first time the bank has explicitly told markets where it wants interest rates to go, and analysts said it was a major step toward a U.S.-style reference rate system.
"Considering the balance of risks versus inflation, the central bank has decided to allow a relaxation of domestic monetary conditions of no more than 25 basis points," the central bank said in
