Thursday, November 21, 2024
Moody blues south of the border
Moody blues south of the border - American Thinker https://t.co/A9yip1pyCs
— Silvio Canto. Jr. (@silvio_canto) November 21, 2024
Well, a funny thing happened on the road to a new presidential term. Yes, Moody’s, the investment firm, dropped some bad news about the Mexican situation.
This is a summary from Kelin Dillon in Mexico City:
Big three credit rating agency Moody’s has revised its growth forecast for Mexico for the near future, lowering it to 1.5 percent for the current year and predicting a decline in dynamism for 2025 from 1.5 percent to 1.3 percent.
Moody’s predicted slowdown in Mexico is expected to accompany similar trends in Latin America, particularly in Brazil and Argentina.
“There will be a slowdown in Mexico, driven in part by high interest rates, and a rebound in smaller economies,” read Moody’s report. “Growth will also slow in Argentina due to austerity measures aimed at correcting long-standing fiscal and external imbalances. Likewise, Brazil will experience a slowdown as high interest rates weigh on economic activity. However, growth has been stronger than expected, and ongoing structural reforms could boost it further.”
In its recent economic outlook update, the rating agency — which downgraded Mexico’s credit rating from stable to negative just last week — noted that a gradual stabilization in global and local macroeconomic conditions could support the credit quality of governments, companies, and financial institutions in emerging markets by 2025.
So maybe things will improve next year but for now it’s thumbs down.
The official reason for the downgrade is increases in government spending creating a fiscal deficit. Or as my Mexican friend said: former President Andres Lopez Obrador bought every point in approval rates by handing out “pesos.” It certainly helped current President Claudia Sheinbaum run for election with a happy days are here again message.
The other reason, and the governing party is in the middle of this mess, is the overhaul of how judges are selected. From now on, the judges will be elected by the people — the ones who get benefits from the federal government. The investors and business class are not pleased with the risk of doing away with the checks and balances that come with an independent judiciary.
For most of my Mexican contacts, it’s the concerns about the judiciary driving concerns about investing in Mexico. There are also concerns with PEMEX, the oil monopoly, and the company’s massive debt. Why would an oil company have such massive liabilities? Well, it’s what happens when an oil company is nothing but a source of finance for every social program conceived by politicians.
So Moody is singing the blues in Mexico and it’s not the famous rock group.
Last, but not least, this situation south of the border will strengthen Trump’s hand because any slowdown in exports to U.S. will be devastating to Mexico.
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November 1964 and "Leader of the pack" was # 1 on the radio
In late 1964, The Shangri-Las hit # 1 in the US charts with "The Leader of the Pack."
The girls were Mary Ann Ganser, Marge Ganser and Mary Weiss. They had a unique style of singing and speaking in their songs!
The girls were very young and had a few other hits but nothing came close to the success of "The Leader of the pack".
According to songfacts:
"This is a tale of young love, parental disapproval and death by motorbike."
The other DiMaggio got lots of hits…also served in World War II
One of my favorite things is to read about baseball players who served in World War II, from Bob Feller in the U.S. Navy to Jerry Coleman in the U.S. Marines.
Dominic made his major-league debut on April 16, 1940, and had little trouble adjusting to the big leagues, hitting .301 and scoring 81 runs in 108 games in his rookie season. Going into spring training, Dom was concerned that he might not get to play because Boston was loaded with good outfielders: Ted Williams in left, Doc Cramer in center, Lou Finney in right, and Joe Vosmik, a 10-year veteran, as backup.But Dom, at age 23, had a solid spring and was able to beat out Finney, a .300 hitter the year before, for the starting right fielder’s job. Later in the season, Dom was moved to center field, and there he remained for the rest of his career. The Red Sox showed confidence in DiMaggio by trading Doc Cramer to the Senators during the offseason.Dom had fond memories of the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry, and especially the media interest in the DiMaggio brothers in center field. He recalled that the newspapers made a big deal out of the first time in 1940 when the Yankees visited Boston for a five-game series.Dom had 11 hits to Joe’s nine, or as Dom said, “Twenty hits for the family in one series.”One week later in New York, Joe advised his younger brother to move back because the ball carried well in that part of the ballpark. The next day Dom, taking Joe’s advice, was able to run down a fly ball hit 460 feet to deep center – off the bat of brother Joe.
During the ’42 season, as World War II expanded, many ballplayers were drafted into military service. Around this time Dom was labeled the “Little Professor” because of his 5-foot-9, 168-pound frame, his serious expression, and his glasses – necessary to correct his nearsightedness. Dom earned his second All-Star selection that season while on his way to hitting .286 with 110 runs scored, good for third in the league, 272 total bases, and 36 doubles. Early in the season, Dom tried to enlist in the Navy but was told that his vision was an issue. “I had to fight my way into the Navy,” said DiMaggio. “They rejected me because of my eyesight, and for the longest time, I told them I wanted to be in the Navy. I was not about to sit out the war.” Despite a 4-F classification, he was able to enlist after completing the season, and left work and home for a three-year stint in the United States Navy. While in the service, DiMaggio played for the Norfolk Naval Training Station team in Virginia and saw overseas duty as well.Dominic returned to baseball in 1946, along with Ted Williams, Johnny Pesky, Bobby Doerr, and many of the more than 500 professional baseball players who had served during wartime. The Red Sox had an amazing year, finishing 12 games ahead of the Tigers and 17 games ahead of the Yankees, with 104 wins and only 50 losses. Dom was once again an All-Star, hitting .316 and driving in 73 runs. The Red Sox were exuberant about playing in their first World Series since 1918 and very confident.
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We remember Stan "the Man" Musial (1920-2013)
The great Stan Musial was born in Donora, PA, on this day in 1920. He died in 2014.
Nevertheless, it did not take me long to learn about his amazing career:
A few years ago, I wrote a post about Stan Musial. I recalled his last at bat, a ground ball to right field that Pete Rose, the Reds rookie second baseman, could not catch. Of course, Rose passed Musial later on his way to breaking Ty Cobb's all time hits record."Musial's rank in several career offensive categories is significantly closer to first despite missing the entire 1945 season to serve in the United States Navy. When he retired after the 1963 season, he shared or held 17 big league records and 29 National League records. He currently ranks in the top 10 in five career categories -- second in total bases (6,134), third in doubles (725), fourth in hits (3,630), sixth in RBIs (1,951) and ninth in runs (1,949). His .331 career batting average stands 30th. He received MVP votes in 18 seasons, finishing as the runner-up four times after winning his third award in 1948. He was second in the balloting in 1957, when at age 36, he won the NL batting title for the final time. He won his seventh title -- only Ty Cobb (11), Honus Wagner and Tony Gwynn (eight each) won more -- 14 years after his first."
Stan the man was great! I'm sorry that I never got the chance to watch him play.
Happy # 55 Ken Griffey, one of the best players ever!
We say happy birthday to Ken Griffey, perhaps the best player of our generation. He was born in Pennsylvania on this day in 1969.
Ken broke with Seattle in 1989 at age 19. He was awesome in the 1990's winning 3 HR titles and several seasons with 140-plus RBI's.
Injuries caught up with him in Cincinnati and we never saw the offensive numbers that he put up in Seattle.
Griffey retired with 630 HR & 1,836 RBI. He was also an amazing center fielder!
2013 podcast: Dr. Carlos Eire and the Castro regime
Carlos Eire, author & historian, joins me for a look at Cuba, 54 years after Castro.
Carlos wrote an amazing article about Cuba today. Read here!
World War II and the great military leaders with Barry Jacobsen
World War II and the great military leaders with Barry Jacobsen.....click to listen.....
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