Reuters breaks news on Mexico Peso, GDP shrinks

Reuters was first to report the surprise move by Mexico’s central bank to support the peso in a great example of the power of a global reporting operation. The currency has tumbled 4.5 percent this year alone against the U.S. dollar and hit 14.70 on Feb 4, its lowest level since new pesos were introduced in 1993. Reuters got the initial tip of currency action and learned from well-placed market sources the central bank was selling dollars directly to market players in an attempt to pull the local currency from its all-time low. The intervention was later confirmed to Reuters by a central bank source, and the action relieved some pressure on the currency which settled at 14.47. Bloomberg was 11 minutes behind with its first story and Dow Jones lagged behind by half an hour. The beat followed a Reuters Jan. 30 report10 hours ahead of Bloomberg that the Mexican finance ministry estimated its economy contracted by 1 percent in the fourth quarter economic activity — its first decline in six years. Dow Jones was unsighted.