Inflation

Agricultural prices contracted in each of the first three months of 2011. When they rose in the first half of April, energy prices stepped up to fill the role of the factor suppressing inflation. After posting a cumulative increase of 2.27% in the first quarter, energy prices contracted 3.48% in the first 15 days of April, which resulted in deflation of 0.09% in the first half of this month.

Would you have believed that tax rates have fallen in the US?

A fascinating graph on the evolution of the tax rates paid in the US in the last half century...

Source:http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/13/taxing-the-rich-over-time/

An updated version of the DENUE is out...

Check the following link to access Denue 2.0, the Directorio Estadistico Nacional de Unidades Economicas.

http://www.inegi.org.mx/Sistemas/denue/Default.aspx

US home sales

At the peak of the US housing boom in 2005, new home sales constituted 15.3% of total home sales. In 2010, new home sales were 5.4% of a market that was 34.1% smaller than in 2005.

The US budget...

If you're interested in a quick, non-partisan rundown on the implications of Rep. Ryan's budget proposal, see the following link to the Director of the Congressional Budget Office's blog.

http://cboblog.cbo.gov/?p=2128

Risks to Mexico's banking sector

When the official body charged with assessing the stability of Mexico's financial system (Consejo de Estabilidad del Sistema Financiero) issued its first report yesterday, it gave Mexico's financial system a clean bill of health. The Council (CESF) is presided over by Hacienda and its members include Banco de Mexico, the CNBV (National Banking and Securities Commission), the CNSF (National Insurance and Bond Commission), the Consar (National Commission for Retirement Savings), and the IPAB (Institute for the Protection of Savings in Banks).

The CESF, the latest in the string of anacronyms overseeing the financial system, did observe that "an abrupt reversion of capital flows toward Mexico" could have have "unfavorable impact" but that it would be limited, thanks to actions taken by the government in recent years. The CESF also stated that "the Mexican economy has been capable of absorbing in an orderly manner the elevated capital inflows it has received recently and without generating distortions in the principal financial variables". The CESF goes on to assure us that "(T)he underlying conditions of the Mexican economy are solid and growth perspectives, favorable."

Finally, the CESF concludes that although "the indebtedness of states and municipalities does not presently represent an important problem for Mexico's financial system, it is necessary to generate adequate incentives to improve transparency and promote prudent fiscal policies by states and municipalities." Amen.