Mexico’s air competition taking off
Mexico’s domestic airfares, often more expensive than international flights, may plunge as much as 50 percent after new discount carriers begin flying and the government sells two airlines to private investors.
Mexican billionaires Carlos Slim and Emilio Azcarraga unveiled plans last week for a low-fare domestic startup, bringing to four the number of such airlines the Transportation Ministry says will offer service by early next year. The government also completed its bidding process for the nation’s two state airlines, Aeromexico and Mexicana.
“Our main objective is to make air travel affordable for the portion of the population that currently cannot afford to benefit from the efficiency, comfort and safety of flying,” said Gilberto Lopez Meyer, Mexico’s civil aviation director. The competition may cut domestic airfares in half, Lopez Meyer said.
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MEXICO'S WATER ALWAYS A CONTENDER
What makes the village of Mexico's water taste so good?
That's the question raised by Mexico's winning the Oswego County Health Department's drinking water contest yet again.
Mexico's and Sandy Creek/Lacona's water was judged best-tasting in 1991. Mexico won the honor alone in 1992, 1993, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004 and 2005.
Mexico, Sandy Creek/Lacona, Pulaski, Oswego and Orwell entered the latest contest in May at the Lake Ontario Bird Festival.
The water was judged in an informal taste test. Visitors to the festival sipped from unmarked cups of water and noted their first and second choices. 112 people voted
MEXICO: Coke fined by competition authority
Coca-Cola’s Mexican subsidiary and some of its bottlers have been fined US$15m after failing to convince Mexico's competition watchdogs that it had not broken trade laws.
The Federal Competition Commission upheld a fine imposed on Coke and its bottlers for allegedly pressurising small shops into refusing to stock other brands of cola.
The Commission received a complaint from Raquel Chavez in 2003. She accused a Coca-Cola distributor of refusing to sell to her small shop because she had started stocking the rival brand Big Cola.
Big Cola, a Peruvian-based supplier of cheap-end colas, joined the action against Coca-Cola.
Mexico defeated Jamaica 1-0 and South Africa held out Guatemala 1-1 on Wednesday to close out Group C play of the CONCACAF Gold Cup competition.
Mexico finished first in Group C with six points, ahead of South Africa on five and Jamaica on four. Guatemala is now eliminated from the competition after coming last with one point.
In the quarterfinals, Jamaica will play the United States on Saturday, while Mexico faces Colombia and South Africa takes on Panama on Sunday.
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Front-runner in Mexico's presidential race suddenly has competition
Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, a fiery leftist who captured the hearts of Mexico's poor and disenfranchised, has been the man to beat in the early race for Mexico's president.
But three out of four polls released in the past two weeks show his two main competitors _ Roberto Madrazo of the Institutional Revolutionary Party and Felipe Calderon of President Vicente Fox's National Action Party _ catching up.
There are still more than seven months to go before the vote on July 2. But the recent polls _ two of which showed the three candidates
Mexico's drug runners taking to the skies
The little Cessna raced across the Sierra Madre, flying low over the shrub forest, southbound and moving fast. The deal was done, the marijuana was delivered, and with the help of a nice tailwind, the two smugglers on board would be home by sunset.
They weren't exactly being stealthy. It was broad daylight, the single-engine plane had gray duct tape covering its registration number, and there were holes in the wings and tail where its navigation lights should have been.
But this was Sonora, the Mexican state bordering Arizona that is the Chicago O'Hare of
Grupo Mexico, Axtel, Gol, Tractebel: Latin Equity Preview
The following stocks may make significant gains or losses in Latin America today. Symbols are in parentheses after the company name and stock prices are from the last session.
Mexico
Grupo Mexico (GMEXICOB MM): Mexico's antitrust agency may block Grupo Carso SA, the Mexican industrial group controlled by billionaire Carlos Slim, from selling its railroad to copper producer Grupo Mexico SA, said Eduardo Perez Motta, president of Mexico's Federal Competition Commission yesterday. Grupo Mexico, which operates the Mexican railroad Ferromex, announced on Nov. 25 it agreed to buy Ferrosur SA in exchange
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
Mexicos new Congress could revive stymied reforms
The conservative PAN partys strong showing in Mexicos recent legislative elections could end a deadlock in Congress that stalled tax overhauls and other market-friendly reforms sought by outgoing President Vicente Fox.
The PAN, or National Action Party, won about 41 percent of the seats in Congress in the July 2 elections, taking the No. 1 position in Congress from the long-dominant centrist Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, which finished a weak third in the general elections.
Nobody expected before the election for the PAN to be that big in Congress, said Standard and Poors
In Mexico, Taking Fizz Out of the Cola Giants
The founders of the upstart cola maker Ajegroup know a thing or two about guerrilla marketing.
When Shining Path rebels took to hijacking Coca-Cola Co. trucks in the late 1980s during Peru's civil war, the Ananos family started peddling its own line of soft drinks in recycled beer bottles to meet local demand. Today the company controls more than one-fifth of the cola market in Peru.
Ajegroup is still taking potshots at Coke, but the battle has shifted north to Mexico, where the Peruvians are once again making gains through unorthodox methods. In a
Mexicos Soriana quarterly net profit ticks up
Soriana, one of Mexicos top retailers, posted a 4 percent rise in net profit for the first quarter on Tuesday, below analysts estimates, with moderate growth in sales and operating results.
Soriana (SORIANAB.MX: Quote, Profile, Research) said net profit reached 548 million pesos ($50 million), compared with 525 million pesos in the same quarter of 2005. Analysts polled by Reuters Estimates had forecast a 14 percent rise to 597 million pesos.
Soriana, which operates 202 stores mainly in northern Mexico, said its quarterly sales rose 11 percent year on year to 12.395 billion pesos. Operating profit,
