Mercury News (May 12)
“From Mexico to far-flung Argentina, thousands of Latin Americans are booking flights to the United States to take advantage of one of the world’s most successful vaccination campaigns, as rollouts in their own countries sputter.” The increased demand is evident. “Flight prices from Mexico to the United States have risen an average of 30%-40% since mid-March.”
Tags: Argentina, Boomed, Campaign, Demand, Flight prices, Flights, Latin America, Mexico, Rollouts, Sputter, U.S., Vaccination
New York Times (December 21)
The Twenty-Teens have “been fundamentally shaped by the technological creations of the young, in the form of social media and mobile apps; by the mass migrations of the young, from Africa and the Middle East to Europe and from Latin America to the U.S.; by the diseases of the (mostly) young, notably addiction and mental illness; and by the moral convictions of the young, from the #MeToo and Black Lives Matter movements in the U.S. to mass demonstrations from Cairo to Hong Kong.”
Tags: #MeToo, Addiction, Africa, Apps, Black Lives Matter, Cairo, Demonstrations, Diseases, Europe, Hong Kong, Latin America, Mental illness, Middle East, Migrations, Moral convictions, Movements, Social media, Technology, U.S., Young
The Lancet (October 10)
On a somewhat encouraging note, a recent study on worldwide trends in weight finds “the rising trends in children’s and adolescents’ BMI have plateaued in many high-income countries, albeit at high levels.” On a less positive note, childhood obesity “has accelerated in parts of Asia.” Nevertheless, food security remains an urgent priority because “the number of children and adolescents aged 5–19 years in the world who are moderately or severely underweight remains larger than those who are obese.” Striking the right balance remains challenging as “the experiences of east Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean show that the transition from underweight to overweight and obesity can be rapid, and overwhelm the national capacity needed to engender a healthy transition.”
Tags: Asia, BMI, Caribbean, Childhood obesity, Encouraging, Food security, Latin America, Obesity, Overweight, Study, Underweight, Worldwide trends
New York Times (April 2)
“The prospect of job creation and short-term returns has prompted several governments in Latin America to welcome mining companies and keep regulation to a minimum,” sometimes with disastrous consequences. “The surge in reckless mining operations has provoked anger and controversy throughout the region, and it was a driving force for a remarkable law passed Wednesday in El Salvador banning mining for gold and other metals in the tiny Central American nation.” This bold new ban is unlikely to inspire copycats, but it may “prompt other countries to consider more carefully the toll mining takes on vulnerable communities and the need for tighter regulations and stronger enforcement of environmental rules.”
Tags: Anger, Controversy, El Salvador, Gold, Job creation, Latin America, Mining, Reckless, Regulation, Short-term returns
New York Times (October 9)
“Large parts of the world seem to be on the verge of a recession. In many countries in Europe, Asia and Latin America, economic growth has already stalled.” Nevertheless, too many officials “are unwilling or ill prepared to respond.” German officials “continue to insist that countries that use the euro meet restrictive fiscal rules” and “officials in Japan, meanwhile, have hurt that economy by raising a sales tax too fast.
Tags: Asia, Economic growth, euro, Europe, Germany, Japan, Latin America, Officials, Recession, Stalled, Tax
Euromoney (August Issue)
“Mexico’s strategy of diversifying its investor base is succeeding… following the sovereign’s multi-tranche samurai transaction which was priced on July 15 and included a 20-year tenor,” the first of any Latin American country. The highly oversubscribed placement also marked “the first emerging market sovereign to place a 20-year bond in Japan’s domestic market since 2008.”
Tags: 20-year tenor, Diversification, Emerging market, Investor base, Japan, Latin America, Mexico, Oversubscribed, Placement, Samurai bonds, Sovereign, Strategy
Wall Street Journal (May 7)
“Good political news is scarce in Latin America these days, so it’s worth noting the upset victory on Sunday by Vice President Juan Carlos Varela in Panama’s presidential election.” This anti-corruption underdog prevailed against the former mayor of Panama City, the incumbent’s hand-picked successor who had already made moves to subvert the constitution. “The real victor is Panama’s young democracy.”
Tags: Anti-corruption, Constitution, Democracy, Incumbent, Juan Carlos Varela, Latin America, Panama, Politics, Presidential election, Underdog, Upset, Victory
The Dallas Morning News (November 21, 2013)
“From Europe, from Asia, from Latin America, they’re here to be the eyes of their nations, here from places like Serbia, Germany, Spain and Japan. Five decades have passed, but even beyond America, the Kennedy charisma still charms, the mystery still intrigues.” Over 900 members of the press from around the world requested credentials for the official 50th anniversary ceremony to be held in Dallas where JFK was fatally wounded.
Tags: Asia, Ceremony, Charisma, Charm, Dallas, Europe, Germany, Japan, JFK, Kennedy, Latin America, Mystery, Press, Serbia, Spain, U.S.
Institutional Investor (March Issue)
Chile is facing a “Paradox of Prosperity: Strong growth puts Chile on the verge of becoming Latin America’s first developed economy while fueling popular discontent.”
Tags: Chile, Discontent, Economy, Growth, Latin America, Prosperity
The Economist (November 10)
“Greece will remain a disaster until it gets the treatment given to heavily indebted poor countries in the past.” Short-term rescue loans won’t work. “The experience of dozens of debt-ridden countries in Latin America and Africa holds lessons that Greece’s rescuers ought to heed…. The most indebted started to recover only when their debts, including those owed to official creditors, were slashed.”
