Bad News

The economic calamity brought on by the collapse of Lehman Brothers is tugging Mexico's economy downward, as seems to be the case everywhere on the planet. (I wonder how and when the effects of the downturn reach places like Papua New Guinea and indigenous Amazon communities.) The local stock exchange fell by 4 percent yesterday, reaching its lowest point since November 2006. A trickier obstacle looms as well: Mexico's 2009 budget is based on revenues coming from an $8o barrel; Mexican crude presently stands at $87 and continues to decline.