Mexican economic slowdown

From the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, news of an economic slowdown in Mexico. Exports fell 3.6% in August, the sharpest drop in two years, but year to date are still up 17.1% (though that is down from 32% last year in the same period).

Nonetheless, GDP in the third quarter of 2011 is expected to be 3.5% higher than last year. Given the high-profile violence, that's nothing to sneeze at.

In sum:

The latest data suggest a slowing is under way in the manufacturing and international trade sectors; both industrial production and exports dipped in August. Retail sales also ticked down in August and although employment growth picked up in September, third quarter job growth was down from earlier in the year. The peso fell consid-erably relative to the dollar in September, and inflation eased.