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Non-Tech : The Brazil Board -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: aknahow who wrote (1595)	6/29/2016 6:21:43 AM
From: elmatador	Respond to of 2508

Press is only words written on your screen. I have been concerned about the role of the press since mid 80s. My eye opener was late Summer 1986. I was in Halifax Nova Scotia and reading the local paper as my companion went to hair saloon. There it was: Bank of Nova Scotia blaming losses on Brazil debt, It dawned on me, then, that private interest use the press to sweep bad news under the carpet. The carper was Brazil debt crisis. From there on I started reading the press with a slant. And you always find the cases where the press is for sale. One needs to read a lot to be able to form a balanced opinion of world facts. Because it is expensive to gather, and store information, the average Joe reads mostly only the headline. He would not go and delve into that specific item and try to gather all the relevant acts to make his own opinion. Let me give you an example. Brexit. The public voted just by listening to sound bites. They did not know what they were voting about. The wealthiest people went long on the Pound and got screwed real good and now are using the press to tell the sky is following on top of the heads of the people who voted Exit. They know that scared people do not act logically. Why are they doing that, you may ask. Just to dissuade Austrian Italians and the rest of it to ask for a referendum. We know that the banks would not take off in a flash. They have costly established infrastructure and long term contracts plus workforce on board. It is not realistic to believe that they can just pack off and move to Frankfurt or other European cities. They are writing and talking to the ears of the very people who voted Exit.Yes, the ignorant masses. Unfortunately, the majority of people are ignorant masses.Therefore you can just read a headline and see to whom they are writing to.

To: aknahow who wrote (1595)	7/1/2016 3:11:09 PM
From: elmatador	1 Recommendation Recommended By aknahow Respond to of 2508

Brexit Proves a Blessing for Emerging Markets as Rich Peers Wilt bloomberg.com

To: aknahow who wrote (1595)	7/21/2016 3:18:40 PM
From: pocotrader	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 2508

some of the worst parts look like Jakarta Indonesia, rivers polluted junk everywhere I thought Brazil to be a beautiful country, I doubt if I would ever travel there now

To: aknahow who wrote (1595)	6/26/2017 4:35:21 AM
From: elmatador	1 Recommendation Recommended By aknahow Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 2508

U.S. ethanol sweet deal for Brazil Soaring sugar prices drive higher demand MCHENRY, Ill. — Brazil’s continued growth in soybean and corn production have made the headlines the past several years, but there are other agriculture-related issues in that country impacting global trade, including ethanol and transportation. Pedro Dejneka, a partner at Chicago-based MD Commodities, has had his boots on the ground in Brazil with his firm’s office there and gave some insight into those topics in an Allendale-hosted ag leaders webinar. In a surprising move, Brazil surpassed Canada in 2016 as the top destination for U.S. ethanol exports, reaching 267 million gallons, compared to 259.3 million gallons to Canada. China ranks third in U.S. ethanol exports at 179.2 million gallons last year. The U.S. exported 112.6 million gallons of ethanol to Brazil in 2015. Brazil’s main ethanol feedstock is sugarcane, but relatively high global sugar prices last year encouraged more sugar production over sugarcane ethanol production. In addition, corn ethanol exports to Brazil were further encouraged by that country’s 27 percent fuel ethanol mandate and its zero import tariff for ethanol, which remains in effect through 2021. Economics “It all comes down to an economic choice as to why they’re processing sugar and not ethanol, but right now there’s very little incentive. Brazil is about ready to harvest a nice sugar cane crop again. Sugar prices are far from the highs we’ve seen in the last 12 months, but also far from the lows. I think that’s going to rebalance itself,” Dejneka said. Brazil currently is investing in more corn ethanol production that could replace U.S. exports to that country. “That whole stage is in its infancy, but we have a situation we have to look out for because it’s not just sugar ethanol now. We’re producing so much corn in Brazil, and that corn has got to go somewhere,” Dejneka said. “So, as far as the potential for the U.S. increasing corn exports to Brazil in the years to come, I would be cautious with that. I’m not an ethanol expert, but it’s something we have to pay attention to. Brazil’s got too much sugar right now, they’ve got too much corn, they’ve got to find a way to burn it and they’re going to burn it in ethanol.” Roadblocks On the transportation side, the Agriculture Ministry forecast Brazil to export a record 55.4 million metric tons of soybean and a record 30.4 million metric tons of corn this year. The challenge has been how to move record crops from farms to ports. To put South America’s transportation quandary into perspective, Mato Grosso, the country’s top soybean-producing state, has an area that stretches from Columbus, Iowa, to Grand Island,, Neb., and from Duluth, Minn., to Nashville, Tenn. From Mato Grosso, soybeans are shipped by truck on two-lane roads over 932 miles to southeastern ports on the Pacific Ocean or 621 miles to Amazon River ports to the north. There is limited rail service and no rivers in the state for barges. Brazil is investing in upgrades with plans to have its ports, rail and roads expanded over the next decade. Different Mindset Dejneka said this is a frequent point of discussion when meeting with his international clients. “I say you really almost have to be Brazilian to understand Brazilians. Brazil is a very unique country and a very unique culture. What I mean by that is when the international market looks at the situation in Brazil and see photos, for instance, of the road leading up to the northern ports earlier this year where it rained and it was all muddy and it’s a mud road with these trucks carrying in soybeans, people say how are they going to export because the developed world mainly is used to outstanding logistical conditions,” Dejneka said. “I use a soccer analogy. A lot of the best soccer players in Brazil grew up playing with rolled up socks on a dirt road. In the developed world, kids play with cleats, and they have the uniforms and everything nice and neat because that’s just how things work. But in Brazil you make do with what you have. I don’t think the international market quite understands that. “We have ports, we have roads and even railroads that are developed world quality. The problem is that is not available everywhere. It is such a vast country that it is still a developing nation and still a developing economy and, unfortunately, we have corruption and we have money that doesn’t get where it needs to get when it needs to get there. “Now the private sector is getting more involved, and we’ve had a lot of improvements on the logistical side of things. But I believe we still have much more improvement to come.”