Mexico

Long-simmering social tensions in Mexico are now boiling over as millions of citizens revolt against their deeply unpopular government’s open corruption. Rampant inflation and a severe gasoline crisis have driven the country to the brink of revolution, yet mainstream media in the US continues to suppress the scale of events. Massive protests have forced the closure of the US-Mexico border in San Diego, California, several times in the past week alone as ongoing “gasolinazo” protests – over a 20 percent rise is gas prices – have led to over 400 arrests, 250 looted stores, and six deaths.

Submitted via Duane of Free Market Shooter

On Tuesday, president-elect Trump tweeted about General Motors, stating the GM was building its Chevrolet Cruze in Mexico, importing them to the US tax-free, and selling them at US car dealers:

General Motors is sending Mexican made model of Chevy Cruze to U.S. car dealers-tax free across border. Make in U.S.A.or pay big border tax!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 3, 2017

Having succeeded in turning around Ford's plans to invest $1.6 billion in Mexico last week, and converting it into a US-targeted investment into the US last week, after similar twitter-based confrontations with Toyota and GM also last week, moments ago Trump tweeted his thanks to Fiat which as reported last night, also announced plans to invest $1 billion in Ohio plants, adding some 2,000 jobs.

European shares fell modestly, Asian equities declined for the first day in three, and US equity futures were unchanged before the December U.S. nonfarm payrolls report. China’s offshore yuan fell the most in a year to pare a record weekly rally, while Mexico’s peso climbed after the central bank sold dollars. Oil was trading lower in early trading.

Unbeknownst to most Americans, the Central Valley of California is an agricultural powerhouse producing nearly 50% of all fruits and vegetables grown in the United States, including over 90% of popular items like almonds, carrots and table grapes.  But producing all those fruits and vegetables is extremely labor intensive requiring up to nearly 500,000 laborers each year.  The problem is that those jobs are extremely seasonal (see chart below) and extremely difficult requiring hours of back-breaking work in the 100-degree California sun.