| BUSINESSWEEK ONLINE : DECEMBER 6, 1999 ISSUE | ||||||||
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| INTERNATIONAL -- INTERNATIONAL FIGURES OF THE WEEK
Country Focus/Mexico (int'l edition) Mexico's economy grew faster than expected in the third quarter, and consumer spending played a key role. Real gross domestic product rose 4.6% from a year ago. Economists generally projected 3.2%. The data show that the economy is recovering from last year's malaise and that the upturn goes beyond exports. While a complete GDP breakdown of spending will not be available for a couple of weeks, preliminary indications from key areas of service-sector GDP suggest that consumers are getting in on the act as well. Consumer demand is the key to a sustainable recovery, and the outlook is upbeat. Policy is stimulative, made more flexible by rising oil prices and their revenue impact on the state-run oil industry. Labor markets are tight, and lower inflation is lifting the buying power. So far, bank lending is sluggish, as banks struggle with bad loans and tighter standards following the 1995 peso crisis. Next year, more loans will add support to consumer spending. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ |
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RELATED ITEMS International Figures of the Week (int'l edition) Country Focus/Mexico (int'l edition) CHART: Mexico's GDP INTERACT E-Mail to Business Week Online | |||
