Mexican Legislature Passes Judicial Overhaul That Has Rattled Investors

Mexico’s legislature approved a contentious overhaul of the country’s judicial system, a reform that has rattled investors and drawn strong criticism in the U.S., the Wall Street Journal reported. The Senate approved a constitutional amendment to replace all of the country’s federal judges in a raucous session that lasted past midnight. The country’s lower house passed the bill last week.

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Mexico Annual Inflation Slows, Keeping New Interest Rate Cut in Play

Mexico’s annual inflation slowed roughly in line with expectations in August as a spike in food prices faded, giving the central bank more room to consider another interest rate cut this month, Bloomberg News reported. Consumer prices rose 4.99% from a year earlier, a touch below the 5.06% median estimate from analysts in a Bloomberg survey, the national statistics institute reported on Monday. Core inflation, which excludes volatile items such as fuel, eased to 4%, at the top of the bank’s target range of 3% plus or minus one percentage point.
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Mexico's Plan to Make Judges Stand for Election Is Indeed Aimed at Foreign Firms, President Says

Foreign business chambers have been warning for weeks that a proposed overhaul of Mexico’s judiciary, that would make judges stand for election, will hurt foreign businesses and endanger investment in Mexico, the Associated Press reported. And President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum has spent weeks trying to calm those fears, saying it’s simply a pro-democracy measure. But on Friday, outgoing President Andrés Manuel López Obrador — who came up with the plan — confirmed that the sweeping changes are indeed aimed directly at foreign firms.
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Mexico Central Bank Shrinks 2024 GDP Growth Forecast to 1.5%

The Bank of Mexico cut its forecast for economic growth this year and next, according to the central bank's quarterly report on Wednesday, citing weaker foreign manufacturing demand while inflation remains stubborn, Reuters reported. The central bank for Latin America's No. 2 economy now expects 2024 gross domestic product growth of 1.5%, down from a previous forecast of 2.4%, and 1.2% growth next year from a prior forecast of 1.5%.
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Analysis-Mexico Central Bank Has Growing Inflation Challenge: Extortion

Beyond the common challenges like currency fluctuations and supply shocks that keep the world's central bankers up at night, in Mexico there is an additional foe for those conjuring monetary policy: protection rackets, Reuters reported. Extortion has become a massive problem in Mexico, with powerful drug cartels exerting deep influence over swathes of the country. Keen to establish new revenue streams, these groups have been turning to extorting businesses by forcing them to pay protection money. One unintended consequence: inflation.
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Mexican Judges Strike in Protest of Planned Judicial Overhaul

Hundreds of Mexican federal judges went on strike Wednesday to protest a judicial-system overhaul that they say is an authoritarian power grab by departing President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, the Wall Street Journal reported. Under the proposed overhaul, judges would be required to step down and be replaced by others elected by voters. Currently, judges are appointed after a lengthy process that includes exams showing their knowledge of the law.
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Altos Hornos de México Falls into Bankruptcy After Failing to Forge Agreement

Mexican steelmaker Altos Hornos de México (Ahmsa) announced that it will enter bankruptcy after failing to reach an agreement with creditors, although it continues to work to attract investors to capitalize the company, Bnamericas reported. A second 90-day extension period to negotiate with creditors to end the bankruptcy proceedings came to an end on August 4 without sufficient agreements being hammered out on the sums owed by the firm.

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