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Brazilian and Latin American markets moved higher on the day, regaining ground lost in yesterday's session. Brazil rallied, as investors bet the country's rate-tightening cycle could soon end, following yesterday's disappointing GDP report.
Meanwhile, strength in U.S. markets also aided market sentiment in Latin America, particularly in Mexico. Argentina also surged on the day, after Standard & Poor's upgraded the country's long-term rating ahead of its imminent debt restructuring.
Brazil's benchmark Bovespa Index rallied 741.76, or 2.94%, while Mexico's benchmark Bolsa Index jumped 179.23 points, or 1.38%. Argentina's Merval Index strengthened 30.62 points, or 2.06%.
Brazilian shares recovered strongly from yesterday's declines, aided by encouraging U.S. economic data. The Institute for Supply Management index fell to 51.4 in May from 53.3 in April, while the prices paid component fell more than expected.
Despite the decline, a reading over 50 shows growth in the factory sector. The benign report eased some inflation concerns.
In domestic economic reports, Brazil's Trade and Development Ministry reported a trade surplus of US$ 3.45 billion in May, while exports advanced to US$ 9.82 billion. Still, May's figure narrowed from US$ 3.88 billion in April, as imports rocketed to US$ 6.37 billion.
On the corporate front, no-frills airline Gol reaffirmed its guidance for 2005 and said it is upbeat regarding the second half of the year. Gol said that passenger traffic rose 46% during last month, compared to the corresponding period a year ago.
Mexican equities rallied on the session, turning around losses incurred during yesterday's trading. Mexico received encouragement from gains in the U.S., its key trading partner.
In corporate news, transportation firm Grupo TMM SA said that its specialized maritime unit won a five-year US$47.5 million contract with Pemex to lease tankers.
Also, the family of TMM chairman Jose Serrano announced their intentions to purchase a substantial amount of TMM American Depositary Receipts over the next few months.
Elsewhere, Alsea SA, a fast-food franchisee, announced an agreement to purchase Grupo Mozarella SA, which is a franchisee of Domino's Pizza in Mexico City.
Argentine issues moved higher on the session, as Standard & Poor's became more upbeat on the country. The ratings agency upgraded Argentina's long-term sovereign credit rating to "B-" from "selective default," which had been its rating since its default in late 2001.
The move comes as Argentina nears the completion of its US$ 103 billion debt restructuring, which is expected at the end of this week or early next week.
Elsewhere in Latin America, Venezuela's consumer prices leapt 2.5% in May, pushing the annual inflation rate up to 17.4%. In early March, the central bank devalued the currency 10.7% to 2,147.3 bolivars to the U.S. dollar.
Thomson Financial Corporate Group - www.thomsonfinancial.com
PRNewswire
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The only good thing to say about the visit to Brazil of Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, on Monday November 23, is that it was mercifully short and lasted less than 24 hours. Ahmadinejad had his picture taken being hugged by president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva who gave him a warm welcome and said Iran had every right to develop nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. 
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The Brazilian diplo-MÁ-cia (bad diplomacy) carries on its accelerated course towards the non-acknowledgment of human rights, although sometimes it takes pleasure in saying that it does precisely the opposite. The visit of Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, is another example of a diplomatic omission that verges on hypocrisy. 
On July 4, 2006, representatives of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay met in Caracas to sign the protocol for the entrance of Venezuela into the Southern Common Market (Mercosur). After two and a half years, the protocol was approved by the legislative bodies of Argentina and Uruguay, and as of now it may be only days away from being ratified by the continent's economic megalith, Brazil. 
Some sectors of the fight against AIDS have suggested that Thabo Mbeki, the former president of South Africa, committed genocide through his absence from the fight against the illness in his country throughout his two terms. 
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On November 7, 2009 a few friends and I had an opportunity to take a look inside a Brazilian jail outside the city of Rio de Janeiro. We were able to take some amateur footage of our experience on video (see link below). It's no surprise, of course, that the typical Brazilian jail lacks some of the functionality of those in North America or Europe, but our experience that day was quite shocking. 
Depletion of the Amazon Rainforest is not a new concern facing environmentalists, biologists, ecologists, and a growing number of the Amazonian indigenous peoples. For decades they have feared for the fate of the world's most biologically diverse and species-rich hothouse. 
Geisy Arruda made history this week in Brazil, but for all the wrong reasons. What began as a poorly planned fashion statement has become a worldwide tale. Geisy decided to wear a pink mini-dress to her private college in São Paulo state, and after that, all hell broke loose. 
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