Unemployment in the US: who's to blame?

In a survey of people who have lost their jobs, unemployed Americans apportioned the blame for the high unemployment rate as follows:

26% -- President Bush

12% -- banks

8% -- jobs going overseas

8% -- politicians

3% -- President Obama

That 8% of the unemployed blame job flight is bad news for free trade. See the article on the impact of unemployment in the following link:

www.nytimes.com/2009/12/15/us/15poll.html?th&emc=th

Mexico's share of US imports picks up

In the first ten months of 2009, Mexico's exports accounted for 11.2% of US imports, a percentage point more than in the same period of 2008. China's share rose 3.5 percentage points, to 19.1%.

The US imported more vehicles and autoparts to the US (by value) in the first ten months of this year than any other country: nearly one out of every four dollars (23.9%) spent by Americans on imported vehicles and autoparts went to Mexico. Canada was close on Mexico's heels (US$28.2 billion compared to Mexico's US$29.5 billion), followed by Japan (US$25.9 billion). More than two-thirds (67.8%) of US vehicle and autoparts imports came from the three countries in the first ten months of 2009.

Mexico's exports to the US are heavily tilted towards autoparts, which are almost four times as large as the value of exported vehicles. Japan was the largest exporter of cars (US$18.2 billion), followed by Canada (US$17.4 billion), Germany (US$8.5 billion), with Mexico in fourth place (US$7.5 billion).

Changes...

Today President Calderon nominated Finance Minister Agustin Carstens to replace Guillermo Ortiz, whose term as Governor of the central bank (Banxico), ends on December 31. Carstens' nomination was well received.

Ernesto Codero, who was head of Sedesol (the Ministry of Social Development) until today, will replace Carstens in Hacienda. There's the rub. The President knows Cordero well but the markets don't.

Furthermore, putting Hacienda in the hands of a man so closely identified with the PAN and the President virtually ensures that the fiscal reform on tap for 2010 will be dead on arrival when it gets to Congress.