International Business

MEXICAN STOCKS

* Mexican stocks closed higher for the fourth day as investors bet an economic recovery in the second half of the year will boost company earnings, analysts said.

* Concern continues that Mexico’s telephone giant, Telefonos de Mexico, won’t fare well when telephone services are opened to competition. The government today gave its first long-distance telephone concession to Avantel, a joint venture between MCI Communications Corp. and Grupo Financiero Banamex Accival. Other concessions are expected to follow.

* The peso weakened against the U.S. dollar. It closed at 6.26 pesos to the dollar, down 0.4% from 6.24 at Tuesday’s close.

The Bolsa Index

Wednesday closes: 2,601.09

Source: Bloomberg Business News, Dow Jones

SPOTLIGHT: DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

Indebted and politically unstable, the government of the Dominican Republic has been unable to stimulate badly needed industrialization. About 33% of the labor force lingers in agriculture, forestry and fishing, accounting for only 9.5% of the gross domestic product.

Sources: Bank of America, World Information Services