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Mexico is one of the world's geopolitical disasters waiting to happen.

There's a brutal, costly and ineffective war on drug cartels; big government deficits (debt is nearly 40% of GDP); and less and less oil (Mexico could be a major energy importer within 10 years).

Peter Zeihan, VP of Strategic Analysis at Stratfor, a global intelligence company, recently put the looming oil crisis this way to us: "What happens when all of a sudden its primary source of income disappears? Mexico is flirting with failed state status now."

Dire stuff. But two unlikely silver linings to Mexico's financial crisis may help turn the country around.

Stratfor summarizes:

Standard & Poor’s on Dec. 14 cut Mexico’s credit rating to BBB, the second-lowest investment grade. Faced with declining oil profits and an increased budget deficit, Mexico will be at risk of underinvestment in the years to come, which may force the government to ramp up borrowing. This is not an unfamiliar situation for Mexico: Capital shortages are built into its geography. However, there are two possible silver linings for the Mexican economy: the weakening peso and the drug trade.

How does that work? First, the weakening peso may have a positive effect on trade and may dampen negative effects of declining remittances.

Again, Stratfor:

Despite the decline in the value of the peso — 17 percent since January 2008 — the depreciation is not really a problem for Mexico compared to past bouts of peso devaluation. This time around, Mexico’s government debt is a relatively manageable 39.3 percent of GDP. Private sector debt is at 30.9 percent of GDP, but it is mostly peso-denominated, with only around 30 percent of all private sector debt denominated in foreign currency...The peso’s loss in value, therefore, will not have a devastating effect on the economy due to sudden appreciation of foreign currency loans that were denominated in U.S. dollars.
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Furthermore, peso depreciation helps with two other key economic factors for Mexico: remittances and exports...Even though fewer U.S. dollars are going back to Mexico in absolute terms, they have a greater purchasing power.

Also, an influx of money from Mexico’s lucrative drug trade into local banks may have helped them weather the worst of the recession.

Stratfor: Ironically, the solution to Mexico’s revenue problem may be the drug trade. Trafficking in drugs brings Mexico’s drug cartels more than $40 billion of estimated annual revenue. That is equivalent to around 5 percent of Mexico’s GDP and is double what Mexican migrants send back as remittances. Most importantly, it constitutes an indigenously produced source of foreign capital, a boon that every emerging/developing economy would want access to. This capital has to go somewhere: the mattress of a local sicario (essentially cartel enforcers), investments in the entertainment and tourism industry or offshore bank accounts.

Feliz Navidad.

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• How To Short Mexico Ahead Of The Coming Oil Production Collapse
• Mexico Spends Over $1 Billion To Hedge Against Looming Oil Collapse
• 10 Looming Geopolitical Disasters

Media Create has released the Japanese hardware sales numbers for the week covering December 14 to 20. The PS3’s still on top of the heap, followed by Nintendo’s monstrous Wii and DS combo.

Guest contributor: Karen Collins, M.S., R.D., C.D.N.
Karen Collins holds a B.S. degree from Purdue and an M.S. degree from Cornell, both in nutrition. When she’s not writing or speaking, she conducts a private nutrition practice in Jamestown, New York.

Q: Do the various kinds of winter squash differ in nutrients or recommended preparation?

Winter squash come in many sizes and shapes, but nutrient content probably varies as much within any given variety as between varieties. Almost all winter squash is an all-star source of beta-carotene and its antioxidant carotenoid “cousins.”

It’s also a good source of vitamin C, potassium and dietary fiber, all with about 75 calories in a cup of cooked squash cubes.

Spaghetti squash, however, is a little lower in calories, fiber and nutrients. Its preparation is unique, too, since after cooking it can be pulled out with a fork to form strands similar to spaghetti. It’s often served like pasta.

The other squash each have a slightly distinctive flavor and texture, but all make savory additions to soups, stir-fries, stews, curries and mixed oven-roasted vegetables. On their own, they can be baked, steamed or microwaved to serve stuffed, in chunks or puréed, often accompanied with sweet spices (cinnamon, ginger), fruits (such as apples or cranberries) or nuts.

Acorn squash are small with a very hard rind, so they are often best cut in half and baked without peeling. Butternut squash is sweet and moist with a slight nutty flavor, and the skin is easy to peel, so they are great when you want chunks to roast or add to stews.

Buttercup squash has a delicious sweet flavor, but because it can be a bit dry, use it especially in moist dishes so you won’t feel the need to drown it in butter. Don’t be afraid of delicious large squash like Hubbard, because amounts beyond what you can use at one time can be frozen, either in raw slices or (ideally) after cooking, in cubes or puréed.

Q: Are frozen berries as high in antioxidant phytochemicals as fresh ones?

Frozen berries are generally somewhat lower than their fresh counterparts in the antioxidant compounds called flavonoids, but they are still good sources. USDA data shows vitamin C content is also modestly lower in frozen compared to fresh berries, yet raspberries and strawberries in both forms are extremely high in this nutrient.

Research providing direct comparisons of the overall antioxidant power of fresh versus frozen berries is quite limited. When fresh berries are not readily available, frozen options are an excellent choice, especially since the fresh berries in the research comparisons probably do not reflect values found in out-of-season berries transported long distances.

Q: Are CoQ10 supplements recommended for cancer patients?

Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10, also known as ubiquinone) is a naturally occurring antioxidant supplied mainly by production within our bodies, but is also found in trace amounts in meat, poultry, fish, and some oils and nuts. Supplements are often promoted as a way to prevent heart disease and cancer, but research-established benefits are not nearly as clear as some claims suggest.

Certain highly effective chemotherapy medications face limited use because of heart-damaging effects. Some researchers suggest that CoQ10 supplements could help prevent this damage and allow more effective treatment doses, but studies show inconsistent results.

Other studies, which used the supplements along with tamoxifen in breast cancer treatment, demonstrated increased signs of DNA repair enzymes and decreased signs of cancer cells spreading throughout the body. However, larger clinical trials to test these possibilities are needed; some animal research suggests boosting CoQ10 antioxidant levels could work against chemotherapy and radiation therapy.

CoQ10 could also work against blood thinner medications like warfarin. On the other hand, statin medications that lower blood cholesterol may decrease body production of CoQ10, so doctors may advise supplements for some people.

Bottom line: We need more research, and anyone considering CoQ10 supplements should discuss benefits and risks carefully with their doctor.

(This article was provided by the American Institute for Cancer Research in Washington, D.C. A registered dietician is available to respond to questions about diet, nutrition, and cancer at the free AICR Hotline at 1 (800) 843-8114 during business hours.)

From the RSS feed of CalorieLab News (REF3076322B7)

Karen Collins on winter squash, berries and coenzyme Q10

Rob Hyndman points us to the news that the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) is facing a copyright lawsuit for sneaking into a fashion show and filming it. As the article notes, since the event was held on private property, you can make a reasonable argument for trespassing. But copyright? The fashion company is claiming that it should be able to copyright its fashion shows as a “performance,” but it’s difficult to see how a fashion show, by itself, is covered by copyright (what’s the fixed expression?). A film of it would be covered, but in this case, the filming was done by the CBC, so it should own the copyright. The fact that only a limited number of press were invited, and they signed agreements limiting how they would distribute any recordings of the event shouldn’t have any bearing on the copyright question at all. There are some other odd claims in the complaint, such as the fact that the cameraman acted “aggressively” when confronted. I’m unaware of any part of copyright law in which that would matter. All in all, this seems like yet another attempt to abuse copyright law based on a false belief over what it covers, and a misguided sense of “ownership.”

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Lotus is celebrating its return to F1 by paying a tribute to its Lotus Type 72 Formula One car, which won 20 Grand Prix victories between 1970 and 1975. The new Lotus Exige S Type 72 features a black and gold exterior finished by the same sign writer who painted the race cars for Team Lotus. The special-edition model also gets a Sport Pack as standard, which consists of bespoke high quality interior, including black micro fiber ProBax sports seats with gold stitching.

Power still comes from the 1.8L 4-cylinder making 220-hp. That allows the Exige S Type 72 to sprint from 0-60 mph in 4.5 seconds with a top speed of 145 mph.

Lotus will only make 20 units for the UK to commemorate the number of Grand Prix wins achieved by the Type 72. Other markets including Europe and Japan will get a limited run of the Exige S Type 72 (nothing announced for the U.S.).

Hit the jump for the press release.

2010 Lotus Exige S Type 72:

Press Release:

Lotus Exige S Type 72

The Lotus Exige S Type 72 celebrates the most successful F1 car of all time, the Lotus Type 72 Formula One car, which achieved 20 Grand Prix victories between 1970 and 1975.

The Lotus Type 72 was driven by such Lotus greats as Jochen Rindt, Emerson Fittipaldi, Ronnie Peterson and Jacky Ickx and won three Formula One Constructors’ Championships (1970, 1972 and 1973) and two Drivers’ World Championships (the first being won by Jochen Rindt in 1970 and the second by Emerson Fittipaldi in 1972).

The colour scheme of the Exige S Type 72 commemorates the famous and easily recognisable black and gold Lotus Type 72 livery and is finished by the same sign writer who painted racing cars for Team Lotus.

Performance through light weight has long been a Lotus philosophy. The 935kg Exige S Type 72 sprints to 60 mph in just 4.5 seconds and to 100 km/h in 4.7 seconds, before reaching a top speed of 145 mph, 233 km/h. The Exige S Type 72 also offers class leading fuel economy and emissions, with fuel economy of 6.5 litres/100 km (43.5 mpg) on the Extra Urban Cycle and CO2 emissions of 199 g/km.

The Exige S Type 72 is a powerful supercharged mid-engined sportscar that is equally at home on the racetrack or open road. The intercooled engine has VVTL-i technology ensuring impressive performance all the way to the rev limiter at 8500 rpm.

The Sport Pack comes as standard on the Exige S Type 72 which has a bespoke high quality interior, including black micro fibre ProBax sports seats with gold stitching. Each car comes with a special build plate commemorating one of the F1 car’s 20 Grand Prix victories. The exterior of the Exige S Type 72 features unique black and gold light weight wheels and is finished with hand-painted gold Type 72 and Exige S logos, (the Sport Pack also includes a T45 steel main roll hoop, Lotus Traction Control, twin oil coolers and an adjustable front anti-roll bar).

All Lotus cars offer outstanding handling and performance, and the Exige is no exception offering excellent dynamics and great driver involvement. Lotus ride and handling gives an inspiring driving experience and the mid-engined layout of the Lotus Exige S Type 72 offers fantastic balance and agility.

Luke Bennett, Operations Director for Lotus Cars Limited stated, “The Lotus Exige S Type 72 is an evocative sportscar, combining cutting edge handling and performance with the iconic Type 72 colour scheme, one of the most famous racing liveries of all time. The Exige provides an intense driving experience either on road or track and this limited edition is a worthy car to celebrate such a legendary racing car.”

Clive Chapman, Director of Classic Team Lotus said, “The Type 72 was a very significant car for Team Lotus and indeed for the world of F1. It was a revolutionary design that pioneered the use of side mounted radiators to achieve its distinctive ’wedge’ profile, which delivered a significant aerodynamic advantage. Furthermore, by minimising unsprung weight and using a torsion bar, rising rate suspension, tyre performance was excellent. The Lotus Type 72 design was so advanced that it was competitive for an extraordinary six years.”

The Exige S Type 72 options include: Air Conditioning, Limited Slip Differential and the Performance Pack, which includes a power increase to 240 PS, larger AP Racing brakes, enlarged roof scoop (compared to the standard Exige S) and Lotus variable traction control and Lotus launch control.

To commemorate the impressive number of Grand Prix wins the Type 72 achieved, Lotus will be producing 20 of this special edition for the UK, a further 20 cars for mainland Europe and there will be a limited run of cars in Japan and selected markets around the world.

Lotus Exige S Type 72 prices:
UK Price: £35,995 MRSP, excluding on the road costs of £950
Euro zone price: €40,332, including delivery and other on the road costs, excluding local country tax.

Exige S: 199 g/km CO2
8.5 l/100 km (33.2 mpg) Combined Cycle
11.9 l/100 km (23.7 mpg) Urban Cycle
6.5 litres/100 km (43.5 mpg) Extra Urban Cycle

– By: Kap Shah

At The Business Insider, we currently have a standard vacation policy–a certain number of weeks a year. 

That said, for the past 15 years, I’ve never had any idea how much vacation I or my teammates have actually taken (going back to when I was working on Wall Street). 

I’ve taken some time off, of course, and I’ve worked remotely some, the way most of our team has.  I’ve let my teammates take as much time off as they’ve asked for without recording the days on some official log.  I’ve encouraged everyone to work intensely, efficiently, and effectively but also to make sure they’re creating a work-life balance they’re happy with (which many haven’t–including, sometimes, me).  The only thing I have been frustrated by is when folks disappear without arranging for their responsibilities to be covered while they’re away (because this screws the rest of us, as well as our readers and our clients).

In practice, therefore, our vacation policy seems to be “We’re all adults here, so take as much time as you want.  Just make sure you communicate clearly ahead of time and make sure your responsibilities are covered.  And, of course, make sure that you do a great job.”

That’s the way most effective executives and companies I know approach vacation.  Still, it was startling to be forwarded an email the other day written by a CEO who is taking the step of eliminating the normal concept of vacation:

I wanted to share a change in our vacation policy…  Starting January 1st, we will no longer have a defined number of vacation days.  Instead, you’ll be free to take vacation days as you desire, consistent of course with the timely completion of your responsibilities.  Before you go on vacation, you’ll also need to make sure other members are aware of your absence and that your responsibilities will be attended to in your absence.  We’re all adults here, and I assume that we are all working at ______ because we choose to be part of building a world-class company.  Therefore, we don’t need to track vacation days.  One consequence is that we will also no longer accrue for vacation days, so if you end up leaving the company in the middle of the year, you won’t get paid for unused vacation days, and there will be no year-to-year carryover of unused vacation days.

I made some inquiries, and it turns out that this decision was inspired by Netflix’s decision to eliminate its own vacation policy.  This decision is outlined in an amazing presentation on Netflix’s “culture” posted online (and below) by CEO Reed Hastings.  I’ll come back to other points in this presentation in future posts, but here’s the part on vacation:

So, what do you think?  Should we follow Netflix’s example and formalize what we’re already doing anyway? 

We don’t want to end up with an empty office all the time (though, if we do, folks probably won’t be satisfying the requirement that they do a great job–and we will have hired the wrong folks).  On the other hand, we don’t to encourage people to count the hours and minutes of vacation they are “owed” and treat the job like an annoying chore.  And the “no pay for accrued but untaken vacation days” will probably help encourage the great folks on our team to take as many days as they feel they need.

Thoughts?  Recommendations? 

More on this next week.  For now, it’s Christmas Eve and time for all of us–you, too, hopefully–to head off for some unofficial vacation. 

Merry Christmas!

Here’s Netflix’s presentation:

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See Also:

• How To Know You’ve Hired A Killer Team

 
lenka | lenka (2009)
what a lovely debut album from australian television actress / singer-songwriter. her most famous song would be “the show” which was served as her debut single, followed by her second single “trouble is a friend”. the original debut album contains 11 tracks, most of them are quite catchy and easy to listen to. the special edition comes with additional bonus dvd containing three tracks of audio; all my bells are ringing, trouble is a friend )rac maury remix), don’t let me fall (the grass rem remix) and five videos including the original and new version of of the show, trouble is a friend, don’t let me fall (woodstock video) and lenka in montreal working on the album documentary. it is a lovely album indeed.

Sweden, Europe | Rites and Rituals

The small Swedish town of Gavle harbors a history of repeated sustained vandalism, unexpected in the polite mild-mannered Nordic country.

Making of Yule Goats, straw goat figures are an ancient Christmas tradition in Nordic countries, dating back probably even to pre-Christian times and pagan celebrations of winter solstice. In 1966 an advertising consultant, Stig Gavlén, came up with the idea of making a giant version a Yule Goat and placing it in the town square. Ironically the “chief engineer” on this project was his brother Jesper Gavlén, also the towns fire department chief.

At the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve, the goat went up in flames. Thus the tragic history of Gavel Goat began.

In following years the goat has been burned a total of 23 times, in a few instances in mere hours after being assembled, sometimes even before being actually being built. In addition to that, it has been smashed to pieces several times, and once even run over by a car.

Vandalizing of the Yule goat has become something of a dark tradition for the town. The organizers went through a long list of measures to try to protect the goat, or at least ensure its survival until Christmas. The list over the years includes protection by police, firemen, hired guards, bands of volunteers, webcams and fireproofing the material with chemicals. The price tag of goat construction went up ten fold in years between 1996 and 2005, reaching 100,000 Swedish kronor. The 2005 attack sparked the biggest wave of inanimate-goat violence in Sweden so far, with half a dozen copycat goat-burnings all over the Sweden.

Nowadays people can even place bets on goat’s survival with certain Swedish and British bookkeepers.

Since 1986, two goats are built, one by a society of Southern Merchants and the other one by Natural Science Club of Vasa School. This split is a result of goats complicated history, though both goats suffer the same inevitable fate.

In 2009, the Southern Merchants version survived an arson attempt on December 7. It was finally stolen on December 14. Someone tried to throw the Natural Science Club goat into the river on December 11. On December 23 this goat was torched after a coordinated DDoS attack on the two websites hosting live video webcam feeds.

Nothing, it seems, can save the Yule goat.

The folks at Mint are working on an Android version of their software, and I can’t wait. I’ve been using their service to help manage our home finances and investments for nearly two years, and the iPhone app is stellar. Since it’s all but certain that an Android device is in my future, Mint’s efforts (Intuit’s really) are timely. The company estimate for a software launch is by the end of the first quarter, says ZDNet, but the software won’t sacrifice quality for a schedule. That’s important when dealing with something as crucial as people’s financial information. Also in the works is a method for manual transaction entry at the point of purchase, making Mint more like a checkbook register.

The latest version of Mint for iPhone got a big boost when it hit a few months back. Alert notifications arrived, which give me a heads up when a bill is due or when I’m approaching my budget limit in a particular category. Clearly, I’m not doing too well from a budgetary standpoint this month — I’m over on three categories! And aside from basic tracking and reporting on all expense activities, the latest version allows for modification of transactions on the iPhone.

While that might not sound like much, it comes in handy for check transactions in particular. I often see transactions listed as “Check 123″ for example — that doesn’t tell me who the check was made out to, nor does it specify what expense category the amount is associated to. With support for manual modification, I can make the appropriate changes right on my phone and have them sync back up to my Mint account on the web. Not everyone wants to trust their data to Mint, but for me, it’s a must-have app on my handset.

On this Christmas Eve version of “This Week In BlackBerry,” there’s quite a bit of BlackBerry news to cover.  Let’s get to it!

Optical trackpad vs. trackball?
BBerryDog’s newest writer, Taylor, wrote a great opinion piece about the debate between the optical trackpad and the trackball.  Personally, I’m a huge fan of the trackpad over the trackball (dust, grease, and problems no more), but to each their own.  He makes some great points regarding benefits to both, all of which can be found here.

Fandango application arrives on the BlackBerry platform
Stay tuned for a full review at BBerryDog in the coming days, but the Fandango application is finally available for download.  Offering the ability to check showtimes, theaters, and purchase tickets, it’s a handy application to have installed.  Go here for the details.

BlackBerry Messenger 5.0.0.57 available
Hit www.blackberry.com/messenger for all of the details and to download.

AT&T BlackBerry Bold 9700 gets updated to 5.0.0.405
AT&T launched OS 5.0.0.405 earlier in the week for the BlackBerry Bold 9700.  Though there’s no clear benefit to upgrading to it from the .296 build that shipped at launch, I will say that battery life is slightly worse as a result of upgrading.  Check it out here.

Sprint and RIM launch the BlackBerry Curve 8530
Though the device has been available on Verizon for quite some time, Sprint customers can now pick up the BlackBerry Curve 8530 from the carrier’s website.  Offering 3G connectivity, Wi-Fi, and a 2.0-megapixel camera, it is priced at $49.99 after mail-in rebate.  Check it out here.

Tis that time of the season–gift buying and crappy bowl games. But we have had some good bowl games so far–if you’ve been watching them at all. The Utah-Cal game was pretty good last night, but upsets have abounded on the rest of them. Here’s to you and yours this holiday season!

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Asia, Globe | Incredible Ruins

Both eerie and impressive to behold, this half-sunken sea-liner has been laying, tipped to one side, and half-submerged for over nine years. Once a globetrotting cruise ship, and the first ship to ever transit the Northwest Passage, a fateful date with an uncharted reef ended it’s seafaring career for good.

While everyone aboard was safely evacuated, the ship began to list as it was brought into Roderick Bay and the captain had no choice but to ground it, lest it sink entirely. The ship still rests there to this day and has become something of a tourist’s attraction.

Several salvage companies have made attempts to retrieve the ship, but found that it had already been ransacked by locals during the civil war the Solomon Islands endured. In addition, tidal activity has caused further damage to the structure and surface rusting. It is likely that this ship will remain in its place for a long time to come, until it slowly crumbles into the ocean.

Norway, Europe | Natural Wonders

Though the Jostedal glacier had bucked the trend by advancing throughout much of the last decade, the glacier’s winning streak came to an end in 2006 when it began retreating along with its other icy brethren.

Soon after, in the autumn of 2007, researchers discovered a spectacularly large, pristine ice cave beneath the Nigardsbreen region of Norway’s Jostedal Glacier National Park. What they found when crawling through the cave’s five-meter opening was so magnificent that one scientist went so far as to beatify the grotto by calling it an “ice cathedral.”

Once inside, the cavernous dome measures up to eight meters in height, 30 meters deep and 20 meters wide. Its water and ice formations appear in deep crystalline blues, while the ceiling is punctuated by large icicles. Due to the literally fluid nature of the ice, the cave’s appearance is constantly changing.

Experts have attributed its unparalleled formation as an bi-product of glacial melting resulting from a steadily warming climate. Huge amounts of water melting from the glacier continue to erode the its innermost surfaces. The lagoon within the grotto simultaneously accumulates the runoff, while encouraging further melting as it ever-so-slightly warms the air trapped within the cave.

Despite its location on one of the most easily accessible glaciers on Earth, the Nigardsbreen grotto is not to be entered by the general public without a guide. This is particularly the case throughout the summer months when warm temperatures and an active melting cycle dramatically increase the likelihood of the cave’s collapse.

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For the first time on US soil, American manufacturer Chrysler will present the entire Fiat 500 lineup at the 2010 North American Auto Show (NAIAS), including the 500C and the 500 Abarth. But the most exciting 500 appearance will be that of an electric version of the 500.

At least this is what some sources told Autoweek, adding that, despite the unveiling, Italian carmaker Fiat has no intention of selling it in the US in the near future. Chrysler officially declined to comment on… (read more)

Uncharted 2 is ringing in the holiday weekend with another Double Cash event, according to a post on the PlayStation.Blog. For the uninitiated, all of the multiplayer unlockable skills and loadouts in the game cost money, so a double cash weekend is like a double experience event in other games. It’s set to kick off today at 10 a.m. PST, and last until Sunday at 11 a.m. PST. So if Nathan Drake’s award-winning adventure is waiting under your tree, you’ll still have a little time to rack up the cash and catch up with other players.

The blog also revealed that for the weekend, characters will be sporting seasonal hats to show some Christmas spirit (above). If you’ve unlocked the Fat Drake character model, you can just imagine you’re playing as a young, smart-ass Santa Claus as voiced by Nolan North.

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Sydney reviews the Instinct HD from Sprint and shows off it’s HD video recorder. Is it better than previous Instincts? Is it worth the $249.99 price tag even though it’s not a smartphone?