Tag: Brazil

From FT.com May 7, 2013

Brazilian pension funds go global

A freighter at the Ponta da Madeira Maritime Terminal, owned by mining company Vale, in northern Brazil.

As little as a year ago, Brazil’s greatest concern was the currency war – a tsunami of international funds that it believed was threatening to inundate its financial markets and those of other emerging countries.

Now, Brazilian real interest rates have fallen so low that, in a dramatic reversal, the country’s own pension funds are looking abroad. While their initial offshore investments will not amount to anything like a tsunami, it marks the start of what may prove to be an important step in the maturing of Brazil’s financial industry. Continue reading »

Tags: Brazil, LatAm pension funds, pension funds Posted in Brazil, LatAm | Permalink

Banco do Brasil: borrower’s delight

Feb 21, 2013 11:15pm by Thalita Carrico

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On the homepage of Banco do Brasil, Brazil’s largest bank, you can take out a loan to buy a car, renovate your house or buy electronics and home appliances. Indeed, never before in Brazil has it been so easy to borrow money from a bank. Record-low interest rates are expected to make things even more attractive for borrowers.

Tipping things even further in favour of borrowers is a push by President Dilma Rousseff to encourage banks, all of them but especially those controlled by the government like Banco do Brasil, to reduce borrowing costs to further fuel lending and get the economy moving. Continue reading »

Tags: Banco do Brasil, Brazil, Brazil banks, Brazil credit, Brazil credit bubble, Brazil economy, Brazil interest rates Posted in Brazil, LatAm | Permalink

Brazil bonds: 2012′s must-have asset?

Jan 12, 2012 10:15pm by Samantha Pearson

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They have got attractive yields, promising growth prospects and they’re unlikely to let you down. If you have to put your money somewhere, it might as well be in Brazilian bonds, it seems.

After the bumper $825m offering at the beginning of the year by the Brazilian government, the country’s companies have rushed to follow suit. Continue reading »

Tags: bonds, Brazil, Brazil economy Posted in Brazil | Permalink

Paccar joins the Brazil carry trade

Jan 11, 2012 9:50pm by Joe Leahy

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Another year, another investment in Brazil’s truck industry. Paccar, the US-based truck maker, announced a $200m plant to build its DAF heavy vehicles in Ponta Grossa, in Brazil’s southern Paraná state.

Paccar chairman and CEO Mark Pigott was on the scene for the ground-breaking ceremony this week. Continue reading »

Tags: Brazil, Brazil economy, Brazil trade Posted in Brazil, LatAm | Permalink

Brazil: taxes that don’t add up

Jan 9, 2012 10:59pm by Samantha Pearson

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Brazil’s unwieldy tax system never ceases to amaze.

A new study by the Brazilian Institute for Tax Planning (IBPT) has worked out exactly how much parents and schools have to pay in tax for the basic stationary kids need at school. And the results aren’t pretty. Continue reading »

Tags: Brazil, Brazil economy, education Posted in Brazil, Global, LatAm | Permalink

2011: A year of two halves for the real

Jan 4, 2012 10:49pm by Samantha Pearson

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No wonder Brazil’s finance minister, Guido Mantega, got in such a huff about the strength of the real last year, inciting a global currency war wherever he went.

New data from the central bank on Wednesday shows that a whopping $65.28bn in dollar inflows poured into Brazil in 2011 — almost triple the previous year’s total of $24.35bn. Continue reading »

Tags: Brazil, Brazil central bank, Brazilian real Posted in Brazil, LatAm | Permalink

Happy 2012! Brazil’s new year bond sale

Jan 3, 2012 10:36pm by Samantha Pearson

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What better way to start the new year than by holding a bond sale and showing everyone who is boss.

Brazil once again flaunted its enviable position in global debt markets on Tuesday by selling $750m of its 2021 dollar-denominated bonds at a yield of 3.449 per cent (150 basis points above comparable US Treasury bonds). Continue reading »

Tags: bonds, Brazil, Brazil central bank, Brazil economy Posted in Brazil, LatAm | Permalink

Brazil: Vale’s ship strategy on the rocks

Dec 21, 2011 12:26am by Samantha Pearson

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They haven’t even all been built yet but it looks like Vale’s ill-fated mega-ships are already up for sale.

José Carlos Martins, pictured, the mining company’s executive director for iron ore and strategy, told reporters on Tuesday that it is now “preferable” to sell the so-called Valemaxes and then lease them back.

Tags: Brazil, China-Latin America, Vale Posted in Brazil, China, LatAm | Permalink

Brazil: Dilma made out of Teflon

Dec 16, 2011 8:30pm by Joe Leahy

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Brazil’s president Dilma Rousseff must have a non-stick coating. A study released on Friday by the National Confederation of Industry (CNI) found that her personal approval rating remains at 72 per cent compared with 71 per cent in September. This comes in spite of or maybe because of her loss of six ministers to corruption scandals this year.

“The president has managed to shield herself. The allegations of corruption were restricted to her ministers,” said CNI’s executive manager of research, Renato da Fonseca. Continue reading »

Tags: Brazil, Brazil politics Posted in Brazil, LatAm | Permalink

China eyes LatAm agribusiness

Dec 16, 2011 12:13am by Naomi Mapstone

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What do Peruvian fishmeal, Chilean wine and Brazilian soy beans have in common?

They’re all on China’s shopping list as the nation of 1.3bn people steps up its agribusiness acquisitions and investments overseas to overcome considerable supply constraints at home. Continue reading »

Tags: agriculture, Brazil, China-Latin America, commodities, peru, trade Posted in China, LatAm | Permalink

Brazil: a taste for dim sum

Dec 14, 2011 12:20am by Joe Leahy

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It seems that like many foreigners who visit Hong Kong, Brazilian finance officials have picked up a taste for dim sum during a visit to the Chinese territory.

They have begun talking for the first time about issuing Chinese currency-denominated debt in Hong Kong, or so-called dim sum bonds. Continue reading »

Tags: Brazil, China-Brazil, dim sum bonds, renminbi, Rmb internationalisation Posted in Brazil, LatAm | Permalink

Brazil: Euro deal exerts no charm

Dec 12, 2011 11:50pm by Joe Leahy

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The Brazilian real has greeted last week’s European summit deal with about as much enthusiasm as a child being forced to eat Brussels sprouts.

The Brazilian currency lost 2.5 per cent of its value against the dollar to hit a two-week low of 1.8440 on Monday, amid concern over a weaker outlook for commodity prices. Continue reading »

Tags: Brazil, Brazil economy, Brazil inflation, Brazilian real, China-Brazil, commodities Posted in Brazil, LatAm | Permalink

Vale: big ship springs big leak

Dec 9, 2011 9:45pm by Samantha Pearson

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We’ve all been there. You buy something on the cheap made in China or South Korea, but as soon as you get home it breaks. Unfortunately for Vale, Brazil’s mining giant, the same thing seems to have happened with their 400,000 ton iron ore carrier.

The ship is part of the company’s brand-new fleet of 35 mega vessels being built at Asian yards – a wildly ambitious multi-billion dollar plan by the (ousted) former chief executive to cut freight costs. Continue reading »

Tags: Brazil, Brazil economy Posted in Brazil, LatAm | Permalink

Brazil: more ministers walk the plank

Dec 8, 2011 10:22pm by Joe Leahy

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Brazil’s seemingly endless corruption sweep has two more ministers in its sights – the minister of cities, Mario Negromonte, and more significantly, minister of trade and industry, Fernando Pimentel.

You will recall, President Dilma Rousseff has already sacked seven ministers in less than 12 months in office, six of them following allegations of corruption or questionable ethics. Continue reading »

Tags: Brazil, Brazil politics Posted in Brazil, LatAm | Permalink

Mexico gives go-ahead to Latam exchange fusion

Dec 6, 2011 12:45am by beyondbrics

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Bolsa Mexicana de Valores (BMV), the Mexican Stock Exchange, has signed a letter of intent to join the exchanges of Colombia, Peru and Chile in what is Latin America’s first stock market tie-up.

The FT’s Adam Thomson in Mexico City reports on the country’s decision to give a nod to the Mercado Integrado Latino Americano (MILA). He says: Continue reading »

Tags: Brazil, exchanges, peru Posted in LatAm, Mexico | Permalink

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Tag: Brazil

Brazilian pension funds go global

Banco do Brasil: borrower’s delight

Brazil bonds: 2012′s must-have asset?

Paccar joins the Brazil carry trade

Brazil: taxes that don’t add up

2011: A year of two halves for the real

Happy 2012! Brazil’s new year bond sale

Brazil: Vale’s ship strategy on the rocks

Brazil: Dilma made out of Teflon

China eyes LatAm agribusiness

Brazil: a taste for dim sum

Brazil: Euro deal exerts no charm

Vale: big ship springs big leak

Brazil: more ministers walk the plank

Mexico gives go-ahead to Latam exchange fusion

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