IT'S TIME FOR AMERICA TO WAKE UP...TO THE RISING GIANT IN THE SOUTH

Is Brazil's Economy Getting to hot?

BILLIONAIRES

Is Brazil’s Economy Getting Too Hot?

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Last night 60 Minutes featured a segment on Brazil entitled “The World’s Next Economic Superpower.” Eike Batista, Brazil’s richest man and the world’s eighth richest man (profiled by Forbes  in March) told Steve Kroft that it’s time for Americans to “wake up” to the economic giant to their south.

Many Americans have already been awake to Brazil for at least some time.

Just today, General Electric demonstrated its interest in Brazil when it announced a plan to buy subsea pipeline manufacturer Wellstream Holdings, which derives a “substantial portion” of revenues from Brazil, for $1.3 billion.

Get It Together Brazil | World Cup Protests

Brazil appears to have hit a hiccup on the way to the World Cup taking place next year.  In all honesty the government and big investors should have seen this coming.

They have been lucky all of these years to have a (for the most part) population pacified enough to put up with the over-the-top corruption and blatant misuse of public funds.  Now it appears that the relatively quick completion of shiny new multi million dollar soccer stadiums across the country has provided a collective focus for the frustrations of many.

Citizens in this country are accustomed to third-rate construction jobs that tend to go over schedule and budget however the sudden appearance of first-rate quality stadiums all over the country present a contrast that is difficult to ignore.  In Salvador da Bahia the metro rail system is still twenty years in the making.  The Metro has become a running joke for most Soteropolitanos (term referring to the inhabitants of Salvador, Bahia).  It has taken so long to complete that the situation is ridiculous.

It is completely understandable why people would be upset given the conditions of the school system, hospitals, amongst other things.  The corruption is nothing new.  Brazilians did not just find out about it and start to get upset.  Most people just complain about the condition of the country but feel powerless to do anything about it.

Maybe things will finally change.  That remains to be seen.

If they want to really push these issues to the forefront they are going to have to do something about the looting and other issues that are spiraling out of control.  The protest is going to have to be organized and focused on a collective goal.  Otherwise the government will wind up lowering the cost of public transportation for one year and build a few new schools and that will be it.

Here is a video that went viral where a Brazilian girl shares her take on the matter (in English):

BRAZIL RANKS AMONG TOP DESTINATIONS FOR INTERNATIONAL EVENTS

A recent article by IstoÉ Dinheiro (www.istoedinheiro.com.br), a leading Brazilian business magazine, highlighted Brazil as one of the top destinations for international events. Below we reproduce fragments from the online article introduced by the printed edition as of June 29, 2011:

"The world discovers Brazil

The country is one of the hottest destinations for international events. Last year, the sector generated R$ 84 billion and is expected to triple in size by 2014

By Flávia Gianini - São Paulo

The market for concerts and events in Brazil is already comparable to that of

CHECK OUT THE PLANS FOR RIO FAVELAS TO GET FACELIFT

Check this out.  Rio de Janeiro has some big plans for their favelas...

Plans for Rio Favelas to Get Facelift

By Patricia Maresch, Contributing Reporter
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – It’s one of Rio’s biggest challenges before the start of the World Cup of 2014 and the Olympic Games of 2016: the transformation and urbanization of the city’s favelas (slums) while simultaneously pacifying them with the special UPP police force unit.

Urbanization plan for Penha, photo Divulgação.

The government plans to invest US$600 million remodeling the favelas at the Complexo do Alemão and Complexo da Penha’s Vila Cruzeiro. Last month these two hillsides in Rio’s Zona Norte (North zone) were the scene of some of the worst violent episodes Rio has seen in recent memory.

The army and police now claim to have restored order, and now it’s time for the new phase of remodeling and development. In the wake of the city-wide violence and global media attention, Rio’s mayor Eduardo Paes announced the construction of 600 houses, 19 creches, five health clinics, a library, a garden, a cinema and a completely renewed infrastructure for this are of Zona Norte.

It’s all part of a bigger program named PAC 2, Brazil’s Growth Acceleration Program 2. A plan initiated by federal government to build US$800 billion worth of infrastructure between now and 2016 as the second phase of an economic stimulus program whose first phase has yet to be completed.

PAC 2 presentation photo by Ministerio de Educação/Wikimedia Creative Commons License.

Apart from remodeling Alemão and Penha, PAC 2 also entails a six kilometer long monorail linking the heart of Tijuca, the Praça Saens Peña, to the favelas Salgueiro, Formiga and Borel. However, overhauling the favelas won’t be exclusive to Zona Norte, Rio plans to have all, almost 600, inner-city favelas redesigned and improved.

Rio’s largest favela, Rocinha in the Zona Sul (South zone) which already benefited from PAC 1, will get a 2.5 km high cable-car which will eventually hook up the favela with the future metro line Barra – Zona Sul. Other favelas that will benefit from the billion dollar project are Mangueira, Cidade de Deus, Batam, Juramento, Rio das Pedras and Favela Kelsons.

Some community leaders wonder if installing cable cars, monorails and swimming pools will be effective, and critics warn that it could all end up in a superficial makeover. The fear is that all plans will result in failure without major investment in education and job creation for residents of the favelas.

During the presentation of PAC 2 earlier this year, President Lula recognized the bureaucratic shackles that are delaying PAC 1 projects. After more than three years, just a little over 50 percent of the scheduled projects have been completed. Last week however, Lula said 82 percent will be finished by the end of this year.

http://riotimesonline.com/brazil-news/rio-politics/plans-for-rio-favelas-to-get-facelift/

BRAZIL'S RISING STAR - VIA 60 MINUTES CBS NEWS

Brazil's Rising Star

December 12, 2010 5:20 PM

As the U.S. and most of the world's countries limp along after the crippling recession, Brazil is off and running with jobs, industry, and resources. Steve Kroft reports.

Read more: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/12/09/60minutes/main7134185.shtml

ROUSSEFF, BRAZIL'S PRES-ELECT SPEAKS ON CURRENCY WAR / CHINA INVESTS HEAVILY IN BRAZIL

Rousseff speaks on the currency war

November 2, 2010 5:10pm

by Barney Jopson

 

Dilma Rousseff, Brazil’s president-elect, has made her first comments on the “currency war” since winning Sunday’s election. This is the war in which Brazil’s outgoing finance minister told us the world was engaged and Rousseff, broadly speaking, stuck to the policy line he set out.

In separate television interviews, she said that “manipulating” exchange rates cannot resolve anything, that she would not do anything that “created confusion”, and that international organisations such as the G20 should be strong enough to “force certain countries” to value their currencies realistically.

We can only gather from those words that she does not view as problematic the kind of capital controls introduced - and recently tightened - by the government of her mentor, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Continuity is the watchword, but her comments leave plenty of questions unanswered. When she makes her international debut at the G20 meeting in Seoul next week, alongside Lula, she will no doubt deal with some of them.

GOOD NEWS FOR PROPERTY INVESTORS IN BRAZIL

Really good info.  Bahia is in the Northeast or Nordeste region of the country.  It has the longest stretch of coastline of any other states in Brazil.  There is a long stretch of protected land called the "Green Coast".  This was was started to keep the Atlantic Forest from disappearing if I am not mistaken.

Overall, lots of great opportunities for people looking to take part of the next wave of economic development.  The keyword is "Emerging Markets".  The so-called Third World is on the rise.  This is the future, now.  You are either riding the wave like a surfer or getting drowned in the tide.
Do not get caught up in the falling economies.

Focus on the positive & keep it moving!
Sharif Ali

check out this info
Click Here For Original Article

Good News For Brazil Property Investors

By author | Oct 30, 2010

Grab you holiday clothes and set of to the place of sun, sea and samba this winter season as Brazil is the top holiday destination in South America according to the latest statistics from Cheapflights.co.uk.

The number of property searches for Brazil increased by nearly 200% with the coastal town of Porto Seguro located in Bahia state in the unspoiled north east having the highest increase in searches (194%) in the first half of this year in relation to the same period in 2009.

Steven Worboys, MD of Brazil property agents, Experience International, comments,