Mexico’s Economy Shrank in Third Quarter in Blow to Recovery

•  Mexico’s economy shrank in the third quarter after new legislation banning labor outsourcing hit the services industry and coronavirus cases surged. 
• Gross domestic product declined 0.2% from the previous three-month period, compared to the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of no growth. It’s the first contraction since the second quarter of 2020, when Mexico imposed its harshest set of restrictions to tackle the Covid-19 pandemic. 
• The contraction halts the recovery of Latin America’s second-largest economy, which still has to recoup pre-pandemic levels after suffering its worst recession in almost a century last year. 
• It also complicates plans by President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who has repeatedly said the economy was doing “well” after refusing to stimulate it with additional fiscal spending to help households and companies during the coronavirus outbreak.

(Source: Bloomberg)