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

To: Steve Fancy who wrote (9148)	10/24/1998 2:58:00 PM
From: Steve Fancy	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 22640

Talks Between Brazil and IMF End Without Deal on Bailout Associated Press RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil -- The International Monetary Fund and Brazil ended eight hours of talks Friday without reaching an agreement on a bailout package intended to help Brazil's slumping economy. IMF spokesman Francisco Baker said the parties still were working out ways to slash Brazil's budget deficit so the country can qualify for a rescue package reportedly worth $30 billion. Stanley Fischer, IMF vice deputy managing director, arrived in Rio early Friday and met with Brazilian Finance Minister Pedro Malan and Central Bank President Gustavo Franco. They both left after a few hours without comment. The talks about an aid package aimed at shoring up investor confidence in Brazil continued between Mr. Fischer and lower-level officials of the Brazilian Finance Ministry. "Discussions centered on reaching an accord between Brazil and the IMF. The Brazilian government presented the IMF details of an economic plan," said Finance Ministry spokesman Joao Batista Magalhaes in a brief statement following the meeting. The talks were believed to hinge on what measures the Brazilian government will take to reduce its ballooning budget deficit of about $65 billion, or some 7% of the country's gross domestic product. President Fernando Henrique Cardoso is expected to announce the measures next week. In Buenos Aires on Thursday, Mr. Fischer spoke for the first time of concrete figures, saying he believed Brazil would need about $30 billion in emergency aid. He also said the IMF would supply about half of that and the money could be ready in about two weeks. Mr. Fischer said that although there had been "important advances," the IMF wanted to know exactly what the Brazilian government intended to do with the money. Brazil has been especially hard hit by the economic turmoil affecting emerging markets. At the height of the crisis, Brazilian stock exchanges lost nearly three quarters of their value and the country has lost more than $20 billion in foreign reserves. Brazil's largest stock exchange, Sao Paulo's Bovespa, lost 4.4% Friday after rising for four consecutive days on hope that the announcement of the bailout package was imminent.