As another year comes to a close we can’t help feeling some frustration that the economy just doesn’t seem to want to take off, both around the world and here in Mexico. Between the Eurozone debt crisis and stubborn unemployment in the United States, among other topics, we’ve got plenty to keep us fretting for the foreseeable future. But since the holidays are upon us and presumably it’s a time for good cheer, here are some of the talking points we’ll have in our pocket as we hit the punch bowl hard in the coming days:
GDP growth: Banco de México and Banamex are projecting final 2011 GDP growth in the range of 3.8%. OK we’re not talking China numbers here but compared to 2009’s -6.1 we’ll take it.
Hot industries: While most sectors of the economy are merely shuffling along, certain industries are getting, or remaining, seriously hot. The big star this past year was automotive manufacturing, which after suffering a rough patch during the recession has roared back, with production and exports well up over 2010 and a number of significant new investments announced. Aerospace manufacturing also continued its unchecked expansion, with new international investments announced and exports projected to post double-digit growth for the year. Outside of manufacturing, mining surged this year, led by demand for gold, silver, copper and industrial minerals, and is on track to exceed 2010’s record setting production value for the year. Read the rest of this entry »
