Mexico's first economic contraction since a recovery began from the coronavirus pandemic poses a challenge to the central bank's monetary policy tightening cycle, but stubbornly high inflation appears likely to take precedence, analysts said on Friday, Reuters reported. The Mexican economy shrank 0.2% in the July-September period compared with the previous quarter after a resurgence in the coronavirus pandemic dragged down service sector activity and disrupted global supply chains, preliminary data showed.

Mexico’s President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador may be poised to foot a titanic bill for the world’s most-indebted oil producer. Petroleos Mexicanos Chief Executive Officer Octavio Romero told lawmakers on Wednesday that the federal government will take over its bond payments, fueling a rally in notes from the beleaguered company, Bloomberg News reported. Payments could total $36 billion if the government takes on all the debt coming due by the time Lopez Obrador’s term expires in September 2024, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Mexico's Grupo Posadas has filed for chapter 11 protection in a U.S. court, the hotel chain said yesterday after its business was hit by the global coronavirus pandemic, Reuters reported. The pre-packaged chapter 11, filed in the Southern District of New York, is expected to be complete in about 60 days, Posadas, one of Mexico's biggest hotel groups, said in a statement to the Mexican stock exchange.

Grupo Aeromexico, which operates Mexico's largest airline, reported on Tuesday a net loss of 2.24 billion pesos ($108.7 million) in the third quarter, versus a net loss of 2.88 billion pesos from the same period last year, Reuters reported. Aeromexico, which has been undergoing a reorganization under chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code in the U.S., posted 13.23 billion pesos in revenue for the third quarter, up from 4.67 billion a year earlier.

Mexico’s consumer prices are rising at a phenomenal pace and might not peak until the end of 2021 or early 2022, requiring an appropriate response by policy makers, central bank deputy Governor Jonathan Heath said, Bloomberg News reported. Both internal and external supply shocks have led to an upward inflation trend, leaving no room for expansive monetary policy, Heath, one of the five Banco de Mexico board members, said on a Grupo Financiero Banorte podcast released Wednesday.

Mexico’s president presented details on Monday of a proposal that is likely to squeeze out hundreds of private power generating plants and may provoke complaints under the Mexico-U.S.-Canada free trade accord, the Associated Press reported. The constitutional reform presented by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador would cancel contracts under which 34 private plants sell power into the national grid. The plan declares “illegal” another 239 private plants that sell energy direct to corporate clients in Mexico.

Grupo Aeromexico SAB sees emerging from Chapter 11 by the end of this year with an exit plan worth about $1.7 billion, Bloomberg News reported. The airline, which filed for bankruptcy protection in June 2020 as the Covid-19 pandemic brought travel to a halt, filed a motion late Thursday to extend the period to issue a complete plan to Dec. 9. The step was taken “out of an abundance of caution” as it seeks to resolve pending matters. Aeromexico is “working fervently to resolve outstanding issues,” the airline said a filing to the court, some of which relate to its fleet.

The Mexican president's proposal to reform the country's electricity sector is "negative" for the sovereign credit rating of Latin America's second-largest economy, Moody's Investors Service said on Wednesday, Reuters reported. The ratings agency warned in a statement the bill would likely trigger international legal disputes, affect foreign investment competitiveness as well as take the country further away from reaching its climate goals.

Mexican airline Grupo Aeromexico SAB de CV has filed a reorganization plan that includes a financing proposal largely backed by a group of senior noteholders and unsecured creditors and allow the carrier to shed $1 billion from its debt stack, Reuters reported. In court papers filed late Friday, Aeromexico says it is continuing to “actively negotiate with various stakeholders regarding an exit financing package” based on the noteholders and trade creditors’ joint proposal to bring in as much creditor support for the plan as possible.

The Bank of Mexico's cycle of rate hikes is not yet over and one or two increases are likely forthcoming amid concerns about inflation, though any monetary policy moves will depend on incoming data, Deputy Governor Jonathan Heath said on Monday, Reuters reported. Expressing concern about above-target inflation, Banxico, as the bank is known, raised its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to 4.75% on Thursday, as expected, in a four-to-one vote by its governing board. Heath voted with the majority for the rate hike.