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

To: Steve Fancy who wrote (12013)	1/19/1999 5:13:00 PM
From: Steve Fancy	Respond to of 22640

Brazil/Rates -2: Seen Falling After Fiscal Plan Approval Dow Jones Newswires The hike in interest rates is seen by many as a painful but needed transitory measure for rates to go down quickly later - if Congress approves key fiscal measures that have been stalled. "Rates should remain high for at least another month, depending on the fiscal plan approval in Congress and dollar outflows," said Lloyds' Kokudai. By raising rates quickly, analysts say, the government also gains more bargaining power to convince the opposition to pass this Wednesday an extremely unpopular measure to tax retirees and Brasilia bureaucrats. Congress voted the measure down for the fourth time in the last four years in December, squashing investor confidence in Brazil's willingness to fix its accounts. Increased rates are also bound to encourage exporters to return to foreign exchange markets to sell dollars, which both takes pressure off the real and helps reduce the country's worrisome trade deficit, at $6.4 billion last year. Exporters now pocket a lot more money when selling dollars compared with last week, and many may opt for the high returns being offered in the local currency's fixed-income market. The real ended last Tuesday at BRR1.2114/dollar, before Francisco Lopes replaced Gustavo Franco as central bank president early Wednesday and initiated a series of changes to Brazil's foreign exchange policy. -By Adriana Arai; (5511) 813-1988; aarai@ap.org

To: Steve Fancy who wrote (12013)	1/19/1999 5:16:00 PM
From: Steve Fancy	Respond to of 22640

Brazil's Malan To Visit New York Federal Reserve Wednesday Dow Jones Newswires WASHINGTON -- Pedro Malan, Brazil's finance minister, will travel to New York from Washington later Tuesday for a meeting with officials from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York Wednesday. A spokesman traveling with the Brazilian finance minister told Dow Jones Newswires Malan is to meet with William McDonough, president of the New York Fed. However, the meeting is still to be scheduled at this time. Since arriving in Washington Saturday, Malan and his delegation have met with officials from the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Fund, the Treasury Department and Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan. His spokesman said the delegation will return to Brazil after Malan's meeting with McDonough Wednesday in New York. -By Damian Milverton, +202-862-9272; damian.milverton@dowjones.com

To: Steve Fancy who wrote (12013)	1/19/1999 5:18:00 PM
From: Steve Fancy	Respond to of 22640

BankBoston COO: Brazil Taking Steps Toward Totally Free Mkt Dow Jones Newswires NEW YORK -- Brazil's currency devaluation and its subsequent move to allow the real to float freely amidst boosted short-term interest rates is a positive step towards a completely free Brazilian market, said BankBoston Corp. (BKB) Chief Operating Officer Henrique Meirelles. "It is very positive because it brings reality to the currency markets in that country," Meirelles said in a CNBC interview Tuesday. "It brings reality to the level of the currency and it stabilizes the markets in general." While Brazilian markets are still experiencing some volatility, Meirelles is not concerned about BankBoston's businesses in the country. "Our operations in Brazil are very well positioned," he said. The financial services holding company is strategically focused on the export sector, or the "top end" of Brazil's market, Meirelles explained. -Amy Hughes; 201-938-5171

To: Steve Fancy who wrote (12013)	1/19/1999 5:21:00 PM
From: Steve Fancy	Respond to of 22640

Brazil Congress To Vote Key Social Security Measure Wed Dow Jones Newswires BRASILIA -- Brazil's lower house of Congress will decide Wednesday whether to put a key social security measure on its agenda as an urgent item, with the measure taken to a floor vote immediately afterward, lower house chairman Michel Temer said Tuesday. The measure, which seeks to increase civil servant contributions to their pensions and extend such contributions to retired public workers, is part of a fiscal plan that aims to save the government 28 billion reals (BRR)($1=BRR1.56) this year. The measure has been rejected four times, most recently last December. Government-allied party leaders in the lower house decided Tuesday to postpone the vote on the urgency until Wednesday after opposition maneuvering on a previous unrelated point confused government strategy. To approve the request for an urgent vote, an absolute majority is needed, or 257 votes out of all 513 members. To determine the level of support Tuesday, the government coalition tested the waters by first proposing a request for urgency on a military matter. The opposition fooled government strategists by supporting the unrelated measure in full force, thereby making it impossible for the government to determine how much support it might muster for the social security vote. Realizing the dilemma, the government leader in the lower house, Arnaldo Madeira, suggested to Temer that the request for urgency on the social security item be postponed until Wednesday and, if approved, immediately followed by a vote on the actual proposal. Temer accepted the request to the delight of opposition party members. The vote on the request for urgency is more difficult for the government to win, as it needs an absolute majority of all elected house members, while the vote on the actual merit of the proposal only requires a simple majority, only half plus one of house members present for the voting. If the urgency is rejected Wednesday, the proposal would then go to a series of committee meetings, which means a delay of several weeks before a floor vote can occur. Madeira told reporters after the confusing session that government-coalition leaders in Congress will "make a huge effort (Tuesday night) and Wednesday morning to ensure full loyalty of all lower house members."

To: Steve Fancy who wrote (12013)	1/19/1999 5:29:00 PM
From: Steve Fancy	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 22640

PREVIOUS STORY IS A MUST READ! Sure sounds like 50-50 at best. If the vote fails or is delayed watch out below...and I mean all the way to China. I am going to briefly hedge my Brazilian investments with TBR or TBH puts tomorrow. Hopefully I won't have to hold them overnight as this is where you get killed on Brazilian options...the morning gaps. OTOH (on the other hand), if they can pull this vote off...80 here we come. I have more news to post, but will post later. I want this story to sit near the bottom of the thread for awhile to try and ensure most folks see it. sf