Mexico's central bank on Tuesday raised its forecasts for inflation and economic growth this year, and warned that price pressures could be stronger than expected in the months ahead, Reuters reported. Setting out its latest quarterly forecasts, the Bank of Mexico projected annual consumer price inflation would be 5.7% in the final quarter, up from a prior prediction of 4.8%. Mexican gross domestic product (GDP) growth was seen at 6.2% in 2021, up from 6.0% previously, the bank said.

A business plan that aims to put Mexico’s troubled Interjet back in the skies in 2022 is ready, according to the firm the airline hired to advise on restructuring $1.25 billion in debt, Bloomberg News reported. Argoss Partners submitted the plan to Interjet management at the end of July. It calls for debt forgiveness of over 90%, partial payment to workers, preliminary agreements for new aircraft leases and a management team revamp.

Mexico's new finance minister Rogelio Ramirez de la O said on Friday that the 2022 budget will not increase taxes, and that the government will instead focus on combating tax evasion, Reuters reported. Speaking to lawmakers in Congress, Ramirez de la O said the budget would not include tax rate hikes, and would be balanced, responsible and realistic. Read more.

Mexico’s President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Thursday he’ll seek central bank approval to use $12 billion in International Monetary Fund reserves to pay down debt, as he presses ahead with austerity, Bloomberg News reported. Lopez Obrador thanked bank Governor Alejandro Diaz de Leon for being open to the idea of using the windfall, which is being transferred to the monetary authority from the IMF, to prepay liabilities. He declined to comment on Diaz de Leon’s prior remarks that the government must purchase the reserves from the bank.

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Wednesday backed the central bank's recent moves to raise interest rates, but took a swipe at a board member for criticizing his plan to allocate International Monetary Fund resources to pay off debt, Reuters reported. "I respect that decision they're taking because inflation must be kept under control," he told a regular news conference. "This should be something that matters to all of us." Inflation in July stood at 5.81%, well above the bank's target of 3%, and the bank last week raised its key interest rate by 25 basis points to 4.5%.

Mexico can use a multibillion dollar transfer from the International Monetary Fund to prepay debt, as the country’s president is considering, but the government would need to purchase the funds from the central bank, Banxico Governor Alejandro Diaz de Leon said, Bloomberg News reported. The IMF’s transfer to the central bank of the recently-approved reserves, worth roughly $12 billion, isn’t a “donation,” Diaz de Leon said in an interview late Thursday.

Mexico is considering using its share of recently-approved International Monetary Fund reserves, worth about $12 billion, to repay the country’s debts, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said, Bloomberg News reported. Although the funds add to the central bank reserves, Mexico has enough bandwidth to use them to pay down debt, Lopez Obrador said at a daily press conference Wednesday. “The reserves have grown a lot and they pay very little interest,” he said.

Bankrupt units of a Mexican and Colombian payroll lender have secured court approval to access part of a $45 million loan to fund operations during their chapter 11 case after agreeing to install a chief restructuring officer, Reuters reported. During a virtual hearing on Wednesday, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Kate Stickles in Wilmington, Del., signed off on Alpha Latam Management LLC's request to tap $17.5 million of the full loan. A hearing on the rest of the loan will be held at a later date. ALM is an affiliate of Mexico’s Alpha Holding SA de CV, which is not part of the chapter 11 case.

Creditors said that Alpha defaulted earlier this year when the privately held nonbank lender disclosed accounting errors in its Mexican segment, sending its bond prices tumbling, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. Alpha has $768.4 million in debt, mostly unsecured bonds, and has lined up $45 million in emergency financing to get through chapter 11 proceedings in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del. The Mexican segment didn’t file for bankruptcy.