CEO Executive Summary
As we enter the month of October, we are excited to announce an important new addition to the Monarch team: Giselle Fernandez, a five-time Emmy Award winning broadcast journalist, has joined Monarch Global Strategies as a Senior Advisor in our Los Angeles office. Giselle will be advising clients on strategic communications, brand development and management, capital formation, and marketing strategies, with an emphasis on accessing multicultural markets. We are thrilled to welcome Giselle and look forward to introducing her to clients who would benefit from her vast experience in multi-cultural communications and cross-border business development. Our press release announcing Giselle’s addition to our team, along with her bio, can be found here.
On a more difficult front, we are saddened to share the news, now well known, about the disastrous earthquakes that struck Mexico in September. Our hearts are with the Mexican people, and as a company doing business in Mexico, we are determined to help Mexico recover from this terrible tragedy. As has been widely reported, on September 7 and 19 Mexico was hit by two massive earthquakes. Damage from the first was concentrated in the isolated Tehuantepec isthmus region of Oaxaca state, while damage from the second was concentrated in Mexico City generating economic and political consequences in addition to the loss of lives, livelihoods, and homes. The loss of life was a painful consequence of the quakes, but it could have been much worse given the magnitude of the quakes, 8.2 and 7.1, respectively. Earthquake resistant building codes helped keep the loss of life to less than 500 people. The economic impact of the quake is expected to be limited, slightly reducing growth in the third quarter and increasing it a bit in the fourth, with reconstruction unlikely to break the federal government’s budget. Politically the impact looks to be much greater, although it remains unclear who the winners and losers will be. What is clear is that public tolerance for politicians and the government waste and corruption they perpetuate has reached a new low.
Meanwhile round three of the NAFTA negotiations took place in Ottawa, September 23-27. Contrary to expectations, the United States did not formally present text for the most controversial issues. This made the round workman-like, making progress on non-controversial chapters but raising doubts about the negotiators’ ability to finish the talks before the end of 2017.
Full Newsletter: Monarch News – October 2017