South America Inc
Investing
Breeding a new generation of millionaires
Thanks largely to a commodities and credit boom, Brazil is seeing a burst of economic growth that is lifting millions out of poverty. On top of that wave, riding a stock market that tripled in four years, is a breed of millionaires like Calderaro being created at a breakneck pace - at least 23,000 in 2007. Nowhere is the jump in disposable income more apparent than in Sao Paulo, the country's financial capital and most cosmopolitan city. The stores on Rua Oscar Freire - Sao Paulo's version of Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills - claimed that shoppers nearly tripped over each other as they vied for the latest in designer clothing.
Brazilian Stocks Cap Worst Year Ever After Commodities Plunge
Brazilian stocks fell the most ever this year as slowing economic growth in the U.S. and China reduced demand for commodities and the global financial crisis prompted investors to shun riskier assets. The Bovespa index of 66 stocks has lost almost half its value after reaching a peak on 73,516.81 on May 20. For the year, the main index has fallen 41 percent, compared with a 36 percent decline for the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index and a 55 percent drop in the MSCI Emerging Markets Index. It was the third-worst performer in Latin America in 2008 after Argentina and Peru’s main indexes and suffered the first annual drop in six years.
Emerging Markets-Brazil's real rallies, stocks gain broadly
Brazil's currency rallied more than 3 percent after the central bank intervened twice to add liquidity to the market, capping a tumultuous year in which the real took a pounding....The real BRBY surged 3.5 percent to 2.333 per U.S. dollar, clawing back a 2 percent drop on Monday after the central bank sold $530 million in dollar repurchase agreements and an unspecified amount of dollars on the spot foreign exchange market.