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

To: Silicon Trader who wrote (7827)	9/11/1998 1:45:00 AM
From: Steve Fancy	Respond to of 22640

INTERVIEW-IMF says Asia slowing Latam growth Reuters, Thursday, September 10, 1998 at 22:35 By Anthony Boadle WASHINGTON, Sept 10 (Reuters) - Latin American countries are taking the right steps to deal with global market turmoil but the storm will hurt the region's growth this year and next, the IMF's top official for the region said on Thursday. International Monetary Fund Western Hemisphere director Claudio Loser said he expected volatility set off by Russia's default to continue on all markets for the next month or two. Brazil's stock markets plunged to new lows on Thursday as government emergency measures failed to halt a massive drain in dollars from Latin America's powerhouse economy. Shares tumbled 10 percent on the Sao Paulo exchange in morning trading, which triggered sharp falls in Argentina and Mexico. "I'm convinced that the policies the countries are pursuing are the right ones, that the fundamentals are the right ones and that the attacks that we see are not warranted given what the countries are doing," Loser told Reuters in an interview. Loser said Latin America growth will be somewhat under 3 percent this year and probably the same next year. In April the IMF had already cut its growth projection for Latin America to 3.4 percent from 5 percent due to the Asian crisis. It originally estimated 1999 growth at 4.3 percent. The IMF still expects Brazil to grow about 1.5 percent this year as forecast. Loser said Brazil's current account deficit was high, but was being reduced with the government's monetary and fiscal measures, and income from privatizations had helped. "The reserves have declined, but they remain high, and I don't think financing should be a problem for Brazil this year," Loser said. Venezuela has worked hard to contain spending and was depreciating its currency, while reserves in the oil-producing nation remain high, the IMF official said. He added, however: "There are questions about the level of the exchange rate, but I think that with the notion they have set in place of accelerating the depreciation over the last several weeks they can take care of the problem." Loser said Venezuela must still continue to take strong monetary and fiscal action. Higher spreads have meant higher domestic interest rates in countries like Brazil and Mexico, where the sharp rise in real interest rates has had a negative impact on economic growth, the IMF official sad. Latin American finance officials who met at the IMF last week for a "regional surveillance" meeting called on the United States and other G7 industrial nations to lower their interest rates to ease international liquidity. Loser said this would help as a recognition of a slowdown and a protection against a decline in growth. But as far as lowering the cost of borrowing for Latin America, the impact would be very limited due to the increase in spreads. Besides maintaining strong fiscal positions and open trade systems, the G7 countries could help matters by increasing the quotas for the IMF, providing the fund with the necessary resources to operate, Loser said. In the meantime, the IMF will continue its normal lending policies without allowing liquidity considerations affect its decisions and there will be no "rationing" when countries come to the fund for help, Loser said. Copyright 1998, Reuters News Service

To: Silicon Trader who wrote (7827)	9/11/1998 1:46:00 AM
From: Steve Fancy	Respond to of 22640

Brazil Cardoso's popularity rises amid crisis Reuters, Thursday, September 10, 1998 at 22:35 SAO PAULO, Brazil, Sept 10 (Reuters) - Brazilian President Fernando Henrique Cardoso's popularity has climbed amid a financial crisis roiling the country's stocks and currency markets, a poll revealed on Thursday. A nationwide Ibope poll showed 47 percent of those surveyed would vote for Cardoso in the October 4 elections, up from a previous 44 percent. The president also strengthened his lead against his main opponent, leftist leader Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, to 24 percentage points from a former 19 points. Lula's support dropped to 23 percent from 25 percent in the earlier poll. The latest poll surveyed 3,000 voters across Brazil between September 3 and 8. It was released on TV Globo's widely watched nightly news program. No margin of error was given. The rise in Cardoso's popularity comes at a time when the country is suffering its biggest financial crisis in recent years. Cardoso, who hopes to be Brazil's first-ever reelected president, saw his popularity drop recently as the economy has ground to a halt at the beginning of the year and unemployment soared to a 14-year high. He staged a comeback after officially announcing his candidacy and launching an ad campaign highlighting his fight against inflation. Copyright 1998, Reuters News Service