The Optimist’s Case for Mexico
November 2nd, 2025
Via Bloomberg, commentary on Mexico: David Arana always had a thing for numbers. That passion took him to MIT to study mathematics and later to New York, where he traded credit derivatives for Deutsche Bank AG. In 2013, after returning to Mexico, he co-founded Konfío, a start-up seeking to disrupt a market long ignored by the country’s […]
Read more »Mexico, Malaysia, and India Want to be the Next Big Semiconductor Hubs
August 12th, 2025
Via Rest of World, an article on how manufacturing powerhouses Mexico, Malaysia, and India want to become less reliant on expensive imports — without competing with Nvidia or TSMC: Mexico, Malaysia, and India are ramping up their semiconductor manufacturing capabilities. One of the goals is to make legacy chips, which can be used in electronics […]
Read more »America’s Avocado Obsession Is Destroying Mexico’s Forests
February 28th, 2025
Via Grist, a look at how America’s avocado obsession is destroying Mexican forests: Avocados are entrenched in American cuisine. The rich, creamy fruit, swaddled in a coarse skin, is often smashed into guacamole, slathered on toast, or minced into salads. The nation’s demand for Persea americana has surged by 600 percent since 1998. Most of the avocados consumed […]
Read more »Does Made in Mexico Mean Made by China?
January 6th, 2025
Via The Economist, a report that Donald Trump believes Mexico is a trojan horse for Chinese mercantilism: In 2018 United States President Donald Trump started a trade war with China. Mexico benefited; companies seeking to avoid tariffs by diversifying production out of China saw the country as a good option thanks to affordable labour, decent infrastructure […]
Read more »Mexico Gets Cold Feet Over New Chinese EV Plant After Trump Win
November 26th, 2024
Via the Wall Street Journal, an article on Mexican fears that a new Chinese EV plant will provoke President Trump if BYD gets clearance to build autos south of U.S. border: Chinese electric-vehicle maker BYD is finalizing plans for a factory in Mexico, a push that will test Donald Trump’s trade policies and the Mexican government’s appetite […]
Read more »What A Shuttered Quarry Says About Mexico’s Investment Climate
November 16th, 2024
Courtesy of The Financial Times, a report on how the forced closure of a US-owned site in Yucatán says about Mexico’s investment climate: The closure of a large US-owned limestone quarry in Mexico has jolted investors and the world’s largest bilateral trade relationship, in a case seen as a thermometer for the political and legal […]
Read more »Focusing primarily on The New Seven Sisters - the largely state owned petroleum companies from the emerging world that have become key players in the oil & gas industry as identified by Carola Hoyos, Chief Energy Correspondent for The Financial Times - but spanning other nascent opportunities around the globe that may hold potential in the years ahead, Wildcats & Black Sheep is a place for the adventurous to contemplate & evaluate the emerging markets of tomorrow.