Brazil: weighed down by Argentina
Brazilian industrialists might desperately want to be bullish on the economic recovery hopes of neighbouring Argentina, given close trade ties between the two neighbours. But should they be?
If Morgan Stanley is right, Argentina’s hard landing this year may have cut almost a fifth off Brazil’s industrial production growth this year as exports to its neighbour plummeted. Continue reading »
Mexico IP: up and ahead of Brazil
As Mexicans gear up for this weekend’s celebrations of “El Grito” — “The Shout” — of independence, those who keep a close watch on the economy are puffing up their chests thanks to more good news.
The July industrial production figures published by the government on Tuesday showed a 4.9 per cent year-on-year increase. In seasonally adjusted terms, they also grew by 0.5 per cent on June.
Both figures exceeded most analysts’ expectations. They also compared favourably with those of Brazil, where industrial production fell by 1 per cent over the last four weeks and has been slipping faster since then. Continue reading »
Brazil’s productivity failure: hurting
Another Monday, another gloomy outlook from the Brazilian central bank’s weekly survey of market economists. GDP growth this year is seen at just 1.64 per cent, down from 1.73 per cent predicted last week and 1.85 per cent four weeks ago (and 4 per cent targeted by the government).
That is a fast adjustment. But hardly surprising. As the puff goes out of commodity prices and domestic consumption, the seriousness of Brazil’s failure to improve productivity is becoming increasingly apparent. Continue reading »
Canon sets up shop in Brazil
Here’s some much needed good news for Brazil’s ailing manufacturing scene.
Canon, the Japanese camera and optical equipment maker, on Monday announced plans to set up a production factory in the country’s Amazonas state in the northwest. The investment, at ¥210m ($2.6m), is not exactly jaw-dropping. But it is a symbolic vote of confidence in Brazil at a time when investor sentiments are at a low. Continue reading »
Brazil: industrial growth or mirage?
At first glance, Brazil’s GDP data on Friday just seemed a bit weird.
Industry, which has long been viewed as the economy’s weak spot, jumped 1.7 per cent in the first quarter from the previous three months. While that may not seem like much for a supposedly ‘booming’ BRIC, it was rather miraculous given that overall GDP rose only 0.2 per cent. Continue reading »
Brazilian industry: sending out an SOS
By Iona Texeira Stevens and Joe Leahy in São Paulo
President Dilma Rousseff’s government has returned to the engine room to see if it can get the Brazilian super tanker to sail any faster.
The government has announced another set of stimulus measures – a R$45bn capitalisation of the country’s development bank and about R$5.8bn in tax breaks for its struggling manufacturing base. Continue reading »
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