Foreign Cash

One of the likely end results of the financial crisis is a greater chunk of the US economy in foreign hands. As far as Mexico goes, the most famous example of this is Carlos Slim and his purchase of a stake in the New York Times. But another billionaire, Ricardo Salinas, has also been extremely aggressive. Salinas, like Slim, has a wide variety of assets: TV Azteka, Elektra retail stores, Banco Azteka, Iusacell mobile phones, et cetera. His purchases in the States seem to reflect that interest in a diverse group of industries. Last year he bought a big chunk of Circuit City (which didn't turn out so well), and now he's talking about bringing Banco Azteka, which specializes in small loans for consumer purchases, into California.

H/T Latin Americanist.