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Strategies & Market Trends : Telebras (TBH) & Brazil -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: djane who wrote (7735)	9/10/1998 1:24:00 PM
From: Steve Fancy	Respond to of 22640

AP Top News at 12:20 p.m. EDT AP Online, Thursday, September 10, 1998 at 12:38 Thursday, Sept. 10, 1998 Source: Starr Cites Clinton Perjury WASHINGTON (AP) - Sources say Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr in his voluminous report of evidence against President Clinton shows Clinton committed perjury, obstruction of justice, witness tampering and abuse of power. The report specifically alleges Clinton lied under oath both in his sworn deposition in the Paula Jones lawsuit in January and again in his grand jury testimony last month, sources said. The report details what prosecutors believe was a pattern of lying by Clinton and the effort to sustain those lies by using government employees and resources after the investigation began into his relationship with Monica Lewinsky. Some of Starr's Report To Be Released WASHINGTON (AP) - Key House Republicans announced plans to release tomorrow 445 pages of Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr's report against President Clinton. Rep. Henry Hyde, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, said House passage of legislation will trigger the immediate release of a portion of the material Starr delivered to the House yesterday. Sources familiar with the report said it lays out evidence of alleged obstruction of justice, perjury and abuse of power by Clinton in his effort to conceal his affair with Monica Lewinsky. Gingrich Warns Against Clinton Cracks WASHINGTON (AP) - Speaker Newt Gingrich warned lawmakers today against personal attacks on President Clinton as the House moves quickly to release some of the ''substantial and credible'' information gathered by prosecutors against the president. Republican and Democratic leaders pledged today to be fair and nonpartisan in reviewing the 36 boxes of impeachment material delivered to Congress by Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr. Dow Falls About 200 Points NEW YORK (AP) - Stocks fell sharply today, extending yesterday's losses, as new worries about possible impeachment of President Clinton added to uneasiness over a growing global economic crisis and its impact on U.S. corporate profits. Just before noon EDT, the Dow industrials were down 184.86 points to 7,680.16. Declining issues on the New York Stock Exchange led advancers 2,338-533. The Nasdaq was down 35.17 to 1,589.38. Rep. Chenoweth Admits to Affair BOISE, Idaho (AP) - Rep. Helen Chenoweth, R-Idaho, a long-time stalwart of family values, today admitted to having a long-term affair with a married man during the 1980s. In a story from The Idaho Statesman, the two-term representative, who once used information of an affair against an opponent, says she regrets her six-year liaison, but finds her situation markedly different from that of President Clinton, whose resignation she has sought since April over the Monica Lewinsky affair. Irish Discuss Compromise Government BELFAST, Northern Ireland (AP) - Protestant leader David Trimble, who long had refused to speak to the Sinn Fein as long as the IRA-allied party refused to disarm, met with group leader Gerry Adams today to discuss in detail the formation of a new compromise government for Northern Ireland. Trimble in July was elected first minister of Northern Ireland's envisioned cross-community government. Also today, Northern Ireland's police commander announced that British army patrols in support of his police forces would be withdrawn this weekend in Belfast. Russia Launch Destroys Satellites MOSCOW (AP) - A Russian rocket intended to place 12 U.S. commercial satellites into orbit failed minutes after blastoff today, exploding over a sparsely populated area in southern Siberia, officials say. The Ukrainian-made Zenit-2 booster and its accompanying Globstar satellites were launched shortly after midnight by Russia's space agency from a facility Moscow rents from the former Soviet republic of Kazakstan. Financial losses stemming from the failure were unavailable, but a usual price for such launches stands at around $30 million. Microsoft Request Could Delay Trial WASHINGTON (AP) - Microsoft's long anticipated antitrust trial with the U.S. government is likely to be delayed by the firm's recent demand for internal documents from some of the nation's leading high-tech firms. A company spokesman has called the documents ''critical'' to Microsoft's efforts to defend itself against charges of trying to muscle rivals to protect its lucrative Windows operating system franchise. The late move almost certainly will delay the trial beyond Sept. 23, particularly if any of the companies object to Microsoft's request to surrender the documents by the end of the week and decide to fight in court. Coronado's Quest To Be Retired Soon BALTIMORE (AP) - Coronado's Quest, the 3-year-old colt who has won 10 of 14 races, is to be retired to stud in two months, according to his owner. Plans are for Coronado's Quest to race at least twice more, in the Woodward at Belmont Park on Sept. 19 and in the Breeders' Cup Classic on Nov. 7 at Churchill Downs. A value of $15 million has been placed on Coronado's Quest, The (Baltimore) Sun reported. AP NewsBrief by VINCENT CINISOMO

To: djane who wrote (7735)	9/10/1998 1:26:00 PM
From: Steve Fancy	Respond to of 22640

US investors wonder whether Brazil can defend real Reuters, Thursday, September 10, 1998 at 12:39 By Apu Sikri NEW YORK, Sept 10 (Reuters) - With Brazil's foreign exchange reserves eroding at an average rate of about $1 billion a day despite rising short-term interest rates, international investors were questioning whether the country can avoid a currency devaluation. "The outflows of capital are huge. The question is, what is the pain threshold of the government. How low are they willing to let the reserves go," said Raul Elizalde, fixed-income strategist at Banco Santander. "If this continues, the possibility of a change in foreign exchange policy is high." The government of President Fernando Henrique Cardoso, facing re-election on October 4, has announced a series of measures, including emergency cuts in fiscal spending. Meanwhile, the central bank has hiked short-term interest rates has been selling dollars on the foreign exchange markets to slow the real's decline. But analysts said these measures have not restored confidence in Brazil. Investors were unimpressed the fiscal spending cuts announced on Tuesday. To complicate matters, analysts noted, government hopes for more revenue from privatization of public companies could be dashed as bank financing for mergers and acquisitions has dried up. Given these limitations, some analysts wondered how long the government can continue to support the currency through reserves, which are currently estimated at $55 billion. "The noose is tightening on Brazil," said Hari Hariharan, portfolio manager at Santander New World Investments. "It has a huge fiscal deficit, it has huge reliance on external financing, and it needs to roll over a large amount of short-term debt. It is no different from the set of issues that plagued Russia towards the end," he said. Russia effectively defaulted on domestic debt last month after declaring a restructuring that returned investors as little as 10 cents on the dollar. Pressures building on the Brazilian real have pummeled currencies across Latin America, pulling down stock markets across the region and boosting interest rates. The overnight rate on Mexican cetes soared 6.5 percentage points to 40 percent Thursday after the peso weakened to 10.535 to the dollar. Short-term rates in Brazil are now at 29 percent. Meanwhile, the Brazilian central bank was again seen selling dollars in the foreign exchange market to keep the real within a pre-set currency band. The real was trading at 1.17 to dollar on Thursday. Investors and bankers contend that President Cardoso will do everything in his power to defend the currency - a strategy that has been central to his economic policy, known as the "real plan." "Cardoso has so much at stake with the real plan, he can't let it fall apart three weeks before the elections," said Michael Rosborough, senior portfolio manager at Pacific Investment Management Co. (PIMCO). "The government could raise interest rates again, announce yet another set of fiscal measures. They will do everything in their power to muddle through 'til the elections," said Rosborough. Additionally, Brazil could set import tarriffs and introduce new hedging instruments in the foreign exchange markets, said Jaime Valdivia, strategist for Latin American debt at Morgan Stanley Dean Witter. But some experts doubted whether Brazil could do much to protect the currency. They noted that the country's fiscal deficit towers at 7.27 percent of GDP and it has about 100 billion reais in short-term debt coming due by the end of the year. About 60 percent of that debt pays floating interest rates. The central bank could raise rates again to keep wealthy local investors attracted to the local debt market. But higher short-term rates would also increase the government's spending on interest payments, further widening the budget deficit. Citing these concerns, major rating agencies have either lowered their ratings on Brazil or put them on watch for a downgrade. Copyright 1998, Reuters News Service

To: djane who wrote (7735)	9/10/1998 1:29:00 PM
From: Steve Fancy	Respond to of 22640

Brazil Cenbank says will not change forex policies Reuters, Thursday, September 10, 1998 at 12:39 SAO PAULO, Sept 10 (Reuters) - Brazil's Central Bank does not plan to change its foreign exchange policy, Francisco Lopes, a Central Bank director, said on Thursday. "There is no alternative for the Central Bank to change foreign exchange rules," Lopes told reporters in response to market speculation that the Central Bank is mulling ways to put a lid on heavy dollar outflows.

To: djane who wrote (7735)	9/10/1998 1:31:00 PM
From: Steve Fancy	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 22640

Brazil interest rate mkt nervous on gloomy outlook Reuters, Thursday, September 10, 1998 at 13:07 SAO PAULO, Sept 10 (Reuters) - Trading in Brazil's interest rates came to a virtual standstill by midday Thursday as nervous dealers became increasingly uncertain about the outlook on lending rates and the country's currency markets. Brazil's interbank money markets saw practically no deals after a Central Bank move earlier in the day, to sell Central Bank Bonds (BBCs) with an annual interest prefixed at 31.5 percent, confused players, dealers said. The bank sold the pre-fixed papers for the first time since June 2 in a bid to stabilize rates and indicate to the market that it does not expect rates to rise much more. The bank has already practically raised prime lending rates by 50 percent, to 30 percent a year, last Friday by declaring it would only loan money to banks at its Tban assistance rate, which currently stands at 29.75 percent. Dealers speculated that today's BBC auction was an attempt by the bank to make clear to the market that it is not willing to pay rates much higher than the Tban. However, "the market lost an idea on where the correct interest rate levels should be," one dealer said. In the futures market, overnight interbank deposits (DI) were soaring, with the October contracts quoted at 40.41 percent per year, more than 10 percentage points above the current Tban. Amid all the confusion were dealers' persistent worries over huge dollar outflows reported from Brazil's commercial and floating market in recent days. A massive $1.142 billion fled Brazil's forex markets on Wednesday as a string of government measures to cap the outflows failed to bear immediate fruit, forex traders said. noriko.yamaguchi@reuters.com)) Copyright 1998, Reuters News Service