North America

Mexico’s economy grew more than expected in the second quarter as private consumption remains robust and the country benefits from strong exports to the US, its largest trading partner, Bloomberg News reported. Gross domestic product rose 0.9% from the previous three months, above the 0.8% median estimate of analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. From the same period a year ago, GDP grew 3.7%, more than economists’ 3.3% forecast, according to preliminary data released by Mexico’s national statistics institute Monday.
Read more
Lighthouse Immersive Inc., the company behind an interactive Vincent van Gogh exhibition displayed across the U.S., has filed for bankruptcy, Bloomberg News reported. The Toronto-based company filed for chapter 15 bankruptcy in Delaware yesterday alongside affiliates, a move that protects its U.S. assets while insolvency proceedings play out in its home country. While the company is best known for its van Gogh exhibit, it has also launched displays that feature Disney animation, as well as works of Frida Kahlo and Claude Monet.
Read more
Petroleos Mexicanos’s profits fell in the second quarter as the company struggles with soaring debt, Bloomberg News reported. Pemex also confirmed it received fresh funds from the government in a capital injection worth 64.97 billion peso ($3.9 billion), said Alberto Jimenez, associate managing director of finance at the company, on a conference call with investors on Friday. In total, support under Lopez Obrador has amounted to nearly $49 billion in capitalizations, tax breaks and other assistance. “The amount of the contribution for 64.97 billion pesos is confirmed,” he said.
Read more

Canada's BRON Files for Bankruptcy

BRON, the Canadian holding company for animation studio Bron Digital, live-action production company Bron Studios, and feature film studio Bron Creative has filed for bankruptcy in the U.S. and creditor’s protection in Canada, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Citing the pandemic as well as the current WGA/SAG-AFTRA strikes, the company “had no choice but to take this step in light of its financial circumstances,” said CEO Aaron Gilbert in a letter to shareholders.
Read more
Mexico’s inflation extended its gradual slowdown in early July, roughly in line with forecasts, helped by double-digit interest rates and the strongest peso since 2015, Bloomberg News reported. Consumer prices rose 4.79% in the first half of the month compared to the same period a year earlier, down from 4.93% in late June, the national statistics institute reported Monday. The result was just above the 4.77% median estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg.
Read more
Economists now see a soft landing for the Canadian economy, with no recession this year despite interest rates at a 22-year high, Bloomberg News reported. The economy will stall in the second half of 2023 but it won’t contract, according to a monthly Bloomberg survey of 27 economists. The median forecast sees the Bank of Canada holding its overnight rate at 5% well into next year — with no rate cuts until April. The results support the Bank of Canada’s view that economic growth is moderating, while core inflation remains elevated.
Read more
Mexico has been hit with three sets of trade arbitration proceedings in the past few days, according to the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), Reuters reported. First Majestic Silver and Silver Bull Resources, both Canadian companies, as well as U.S. food firm Arbor Confections have filed cases against Mexico, ICSID said in brief statements issued between Thursday and Friday. The proceedings all invoked the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) which replaced NAFTA.
Read more

Bron, the finance and production company that backed films including Joker, Licorice Pizza, Bombshell and Judas and the Black Messiah, has filed for bankruptcy, its co-founder Aaron J. Gilbert said Wednesday, Deadline reported. In a letter to “friends, partners, team members and backers,” Gilbert wrote today that Bron — the parent company of Bron Studios and Bron Digital — had filed for creditor protection with the Supreme Court of British Columbia in Canada, where it is based, concurrent with chapter 15 in the U.S.

Read more

Perativ Holdings Ltd., a leading Canadian operator of ATMs, has filed for creditor protection after several years of operating losses, citing a pandemic-related decline in consumers’ use of cash, as well as two major thefts, the Globe and Mail reported. The company supplies banks with ATM management software and operates more than 7,000 “white label” ATMs. Such ATMs aren’t owned by banks, and are often located in small businesses that offer cash discounts or don’t accept credit payments.

Read more

An investor who allegedly kidnapped self-described crypto king Aiden Pleterski after investing $740,000 with him is asserting his innocence, iHeartRadio reported. Toronto police charged 39-year-old Akil Heywood, along with three others, with kidnapping Pleterski for ransom for three days last December. He has been released on bail for $10,000. Pleterski allegedly owes at least $35 million to cryptocurrency and foreign exchange investors, which petitioned the 24-year-old from Whitby, Ont., into bankruptcy almost a year ago.

Read more