International Business : Global Markets and Economic Update

MEXICAN STOCKS

* U.S. Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan’s warning of potentially higher interest rates hit Mexican stocks even harder than U.S. shares Wednesday. The Bolsa index tumbled 44.35 points to 2,210.95, its lowest close since 2,187.27 on June 24.

* Greenspan’s comments, coupled with another rise in Mexican treasury bill rates, injected new uncertainty about the sluggish economy’s next move. With concerns about the August presidential election’s outcome already high, rising rates are shaking more and more investors out of stocks, traders say. The Bolsa has fallen for eight of the last nine sessions.

Source: Times wire services

SPOTLIGHT: VIETNAM

The communist government has been moving toward a market economy since the late 1980s and inviting increased foreign trade. A mending of relations with other governments, including the United States’, has set off an international race to invest in what many believe will be Asia’s new economic tiger.

Sources: Bank of America; World Information Services