NEW RICH CLASS: BRAZILIAN YACHT MARKET ON THE RISE

This Aug. 10 photo shows Marcio Christiansen, CEO of Ferretti Group Brazil, at the company's show room in Sao Paulo.

If the rising wealthy class in any indication, business is doing good in Brasil.
By BRADLEY BROOKS

SAO PAULO — Marcio Christiansen reeled off tales of the growing ranks of rich Brazilians who visit his luxury Ferretti yacht showroom, where clients sip espressos on an oversized sable sofa and electronic music bubbles in the air.

One man paid $2 million for a ship, Christiansen said, after succumbing within 30 minutes to his kids' pleas of "Buy it, daddy, buy it!" Another toured the sparkling 53-foot yacht on the showroom floor, then asked to discuss it over lunch.

"The waiter comes over to take our order and the client asks to borrow a piece of paper from his pad," said Christiansen, CEO of Ferretti's Brazil group. "He starts working out a contract on it and we've agreed to it before I've asked for a sandwich."

BRAZIL'S STILL SPENDING! NO SLOWDOWN IN SIGHT

No Major Slowdown As Brazil Consumers Still Happily Spending

 As consumer confidence dwindles in the U.S. , farther south in Brazil the local consumers are still happily spending and not even double digit interest rates are enough to truly scare them away. That’s because Brazilians on balance are fast moving into the middle class. More than half of the population is now solidly middle class compared to well less than that five years ago.  When looked at month over month, consumer spending rose a meager 0.2% in June as the government’s macroprudential measures to slow inflation by raising interest rates all year showed their strength.

BUSINESS IN BRASIL EXPANDING THROUGH ASIA

Source

BNDES eyes opening of Asian office

By Michiyo Nakamoto in Tokyo and Joe Leahy in São Paulo

The Brazilian Development Bank, which is larger than the World Bank, is considering opening an office in Asia to support the international expansion of the country’s leading companies.

The plan reflects a boom in trade between Brazil and China and comes as the bank, known as BNDES, this week signed an agreement with the Japan Bank for International Co-operation to jointly invest up to $3bn in infrastructure projects.

BRAZILIAN BANK IS THE LARGEST LENDER IN WESTERN HEMISPHERE

BNDES, Largest Lender in Western Hemisphere

Source

By Sarah de Sainte Croix, Contributing Reporter

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – With disbursements totaling over R$178 billion last year, pundits are calling the BNDES (Banco Nacional do Desenvolvimento, or Brazilian National Development Bank) the most significant lender in the Western hemisphere. However, some economists have criticized the bank’s lending policies as being inconsistent with its own goals and priorities.

Luciano Coutinho, president of the BNDES, photo by Bel Pedrosa/World Economic Forum (www.weforum.org).

According to the BNDES website, “The Brazilian Development Bank is the main financing agent for

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

BRAZIL & CHINA WILL LEAD GROWTH IN ENTERTAINMENT & MEDIA

A recent article in the Brazilian newspaper Valor Econômico - the country’s leading business daily -, as of June 14, highlighted a study by PwC that points Brazil among the highest-growth markets in the entertainment and media sectors worldwide in the next five years:

"Brazil, China to Drive Global Media Growth

By Gustavo Brigatto - São Paulo

Brazil and China will lead all markets in growth in the entertainment and media sectors in the next five years, according to a PwC study. During that period, Brazil’s compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) is expected to be 11.4%, with Chinese CAGR slightly higher at 11.6%.

By comparison, the growth rate in the U.S.—the world’s largest entertainment and media market, with US$ 443 billion in revenues in

BRAZIL TAKES OVER SOUTH FLORIDA

Brazilians are not only visiting  Sunny Isles Beach, but in record numbers, they’re investing and keeping real estate in Miami and most of South Florida going.

Suddenly, everything seems to be turning hot green and yellow. Brazilians are snapping up beachfront luxury properties specially in the city of Sunny Isles and going all the way to downtown Miami, they are investing in everything from real estate to big franchises, and shopping like there is no tomorrow.

“The trend now is Brazil in Maimi”  they are here to stay and buy Real Estate. Brazil has become one of the most important economies in South America and we see it every day. Their power of aquisition keep the Brazilian visitors coming to Miami to bring us part of their culture and most importantly “Their money”.

BRAZIL'S GROWING IMPORTANCE TO SOUTH FLORIDA (and the USA)

Source: Miami Herald
The U.S. is taking its relationship with Brazil for granted, and that may hurt South Florida’s economy.

South Florida has long been Brazil’s primary gateway to the U.S. marketplace. During the first 11 months of 2010, Florida’s merchandise trade with Brazil topped $14.4 billion, a 27 percent increase over 2009.

Brazilian tourists spend more money in Florida than in any other state. Thirty-five percent of real-estate buyers in downtown Miami are Brazilians.

However, in 2009, China became Brazil’s primary trading partner, surpassing the U.S. for the first time ever. The following year, China and Brazil signed several trade agreements boosting trade and energy co-operation.

By 2010, China took top honors as Brazil’s largest foreign investor.

BRAZIL NEIGHBOR ARGENTINA POISED TO GROW IN 2011, BUT HIGHLY DEPENDENT ON BRAZIL ECONOMY

Argentina poised to grow 6% in 2011, but highly exposed to Brazil dependency

Strong demand in Brazil and Latin America has created the conditions for a stronger-than-expected economic rebound in Argentina, an IMF official said on Monday.

 

IMF economist Jorg Decressin recommends anti cyclical policies

“As far as growth is concerned, we are seeing a stronger rebound in Argentina than what we had expected, partly driven by very buoyant demand in the region including in Brazil” IMF economist Jorg Decressin told reporters in Washington.

However, he said Argentina needs to change some policies to be in stronger shape to withstand future shocks.

“Over time we believe that policies in Argentina will need to become somewhat less pro-cyclical than they are right now to rebuild policy space for the future. And if that happens, then the economy will also be in good shape to weather new shocks, if and when they arrive,” Decressin said.

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

BRAZIL IS NOW A BIG LEAGUE PLAYER

In this article it says of the top 10 banks in the world in terms of market capitalization, five are Chinese and three are Brazilian (Itau Unibanco no. 5, Bradesco no. 7 and Banco do Brasil no. 9)!-You heard it from the experts now.
Brazil is a key player.  Not even just that, but she is at the head of world powers!

Brazil as a key player

Tuesday, 13 April 2010 12:23

The US is trying to contain Brazil by creating conflicts on its border, argues Uruguayan analyst, Raúl Zibechi.
By Raúl Zibechi*
Brazil is now a big league player. In the decade in which it begins its ascent, the country is so important that it is forcing its main competitor in the region, the United States, to redesign its foreign policy to take into consideration Brazil's prominence, a tactic that might destabilize all of Latin America.

"Bit by bit, quietly, like a spider weaving its web in the middle of the night, an

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.