UPDATE 1-Mexico’s Pemex reaches deal to see if Talos find reaches its block

9/21/2018 – Reuters

REUTERS/Edgard Garrido

MEXICO CITY, Sept 20 (Reuters) – Mexican state oil firm Pemex has reached a preliminary agreement with a consortium led by Talos Energy to evaluate whether the group’s find in the Gulf of Mexico extends into a neighboring Pemex block, the companies said in a statement on Thursday.

The deal, which covers territory in the shallow waters of the Gulf of Mexico, is the first of its kind for Pemex and will be in force for two years.

The Talos consortium, which includes Britain’s Premier Oil and Mexico’s Sierra Oil & Gas, won development rights for two blocks during the first oil auction launched by President Enrique Pena Nieto. Held in 2015, the auction marked the end of Pemex’s decades-long monopoly.

Read more…

Advertisements

Japan auto lobby says hopes NAFTA will keep current framework

09/20/2018 – Reuters 

Japan’s automakers association said on Thursday it hoped that the North American Free Trade Agreement would maintain its current framework as the United States, Canada and Mexico update the trade pact amid growing trade tensions between the United States and its trading partners.

“Japanese automakers’ businesses in North America are based on the NAFTA framework, and that framework is based on a three-party agreement,” said Akio Toyoda, chairman of the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association (JAMA) who is also president of Toyota Motor Corp.

“We hope that framework continues this way, and that it remains well-balanced.”

Read more…

Oil firm partially returns area won in Mexico energy reform auction

09/14/2018 – Reuters

Consorcio Petrolero 5M del Golfo, a small energy firm operating in Mexico, has returned one-third of an onshore area won in a 2015 auction, the country’s oil regulator said on Thursday, citing studies showing limited potential for production.

Companies operating in Mexico have so far returned all or part of three oil and gas areas mostly awarded during early auctions of the country’s flagship energy reform because of similar reasons, as well as high taxes and development program demands. This has cast doubt on the sustainability of some projects in the reform intended to open the industry to foreign investors.

The partial return of the 172-square-kilometer area, which includes the Benavides and Primavera fields in the Burgos basin in Northern Mexico, was approved this week by the National Hydrocarbon Commision (CNH), the regulator said in a statement.
Read more…

Mexico cenbank governor sees inflation nearing 3 percent in first half of 2020

09/13/2018 – Reuters

Mexico Central Bank Governor Alejandro Diaz de Leon said at an event on Wednesday that he expects inflation to be nearing the bank’s target rate of three percent in the first half of 2020.

Read more: 

CANADA STOCKS-TSX set to open flat, NAFTA talks in focus

09/11/2018 – Reuters 

Photo by energepic.com on Pexels.com

Futures pointed to a flat opening for Canada’s main stock index on Tuesday, with investors keeping a close watch on another round of talks between Canadian and U.S. officials to revamp the North America Free Trade Agreement.

Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland will meet U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer in Washington for another round of talks to renew the NAFTA trade pact, an official said on Monday, as time runs short to seal a deal.

After more than a year of negotiations, Canada and the United States are still trying to resolve differences over the trade agreement, which also includes Mexico.

 

Read more:

Mexico’s industrial output inches up in July

09/11/2018 – Reuters 

Burak Kebapci (Pexels)

Mexico’s industrial output inched up slightly in July from the previous month as manufacturing and utilities strengthened, the national statistics agency said on Tuesday.

Industrial output rose 0.2 percent in July from June and was up 1.3 percent when measured on a year-over-year basis.

Construction led gains, climbing 1.4 percent from the previous month, and utilities rose 1.2 percent. Mining dipped 1.1 percent and manufacturing was flat.

Mexico’s industrial output is tightly linked to the U.S. economy, which receives about 80 percent of its exports, primarily factory-made goods like televisions and cars.

Read more: 

Apple, Ford Urged by Trump to Move Jobs Home. They Probably Won’t.

09/10/2018 – Bloomberg 

President Donald Trump insists his trade war with China will spur more manufacturing jobs in the U.S. Two of the companies he’s targeted — Apple Inc. and Ford Motor Co. — disagree.

In a tweet Sunday, Trump said Ford’s decision not to import a new crossover vehicle from China means the Focus Active “can now be built in the U.S.A.”

The automaker has already said that it has no plans to manufacture the vehicle in the U.S. Ford announced on Aug. 31 that the Trump administration’s 25 percent levy on China-built autos undermined the profitability of importing it.

 

Read more…