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Brazilian stocks sank into the red Monday, February 13, as investors anxiously awaited the new U.S. Federal Reserve chairman's congressional testimony later this week for improved clarity on the outlook for U.S. interest rates. Continued profit taking following January's robust gains also weighed.
Brazil's Bovespa Index fell 861.32 points, or 2.33%. Mexico's benchmark Bolsa Index dropped 414.95 points, or 2.27%, while Argentina's Merval Index declined 22.45 points, or 1.32%. Brazilian stocks tumbled, as investors took a cautious stance ahead of congressional testimony Wednesday from new U.S. Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke. Some investors fear that indications the Fed might continue its monetary tightening cycle longer than expected could diminish the strong foreign investment inflows that have boosted the Bovespa in recent months. Higher interest rates in developed countries like the U.S. tend to divert investment flows away from emerging markets like Brazil. On the corporate front, Petrobras was in focus after indicating there is a possibility it may invest about US$ 5 billion in Bolivia depending on the outcome of negotiations with the Andean country's government. However, no definitive agreements have been reached in Bolivia, the company said. Meanwhile, a major investment bank raised its price targets for several Brazilian telecoms, citing lower country risk premium. "We remain bullish on the wireless sector as we expect a more rational competitive environment and...focus on profitability in 2006," the bank said. In earnings news, online retailer Submarino SA reported a fourth-quarter net profit of 12.6 million reais, up sharply from 3.9 million reais in the year-ago period. Also, gross revenue rose to 191 million reais from 126 million reais a year earlier. Also reporting, airline TAM's fourth quarter net profit fell to 65.3 million reais from 83.3 million reais in the year-ago period due to higher fuel, marketing and operational costs. Revenues climbed 17.6% to 1.58 billion reais due to improved demand following reduced operations at some other local carriers. Mexican issues remained depressed, as the key IPC index has fallen five out of the past six sessions. Meanwhile, investors are also awaiting testimony from the new U.S. Fed Chief Ben Bernanke, when he addresses the U.S. Congress in semi-annual testimony later this week. Closer to home, Telmex's financial results are due sometime this evening. In economic reports, the Finance Ministry said that industrial production rose 2.7% in December from a year ago, bolstered by an increase in construction activity and an improvement in the auto sector. For the full year 2005, production gained 1.6%. In Argentina, shares followed the broader region into the red. Volume was weak on the day. Investors are also awaiting the expiration of options contracts, which begins this Thursday. Textile manufacturer Alpargatas announced that it was not for sale, contrary to local reports that said several Brazilian firms were interested in the Argentine company. In earnings news, BBVA Banco Frances posted a quarterly net profit of 31 million pesos, reversing a year-earlier net loss of 13.2 million pesos. For 2005, the bank posted a net profit of 117.2 million pesos, after posting a net loss of 54 million pesos in 2004. Thomson Financial - www.thomsonfinancial.com
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The small, coastal town of Condé is located just a twenty minute's drive from João Pessoa, the capital of Paraíba. The Northeast of Brazil has historically been a place of encounter and mixing between peoples. For millenia groups of indigenous people fished, farmed, migrated and sometimes fought along this large, fertile area. 
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. 
One hundred and eleven years after Brazil abolished slavery, the number of workers deprived of their freedom is still huge. They raise cattle, produce charcoal, sugar cane or timber. Some of them, most undocumented Bolivians, work in basements of small apparel factories in São Paulo and other metropolis. 
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. 
The push of vigilante groups in Rio de Janeiro's favelas (shantytowns) in the last three years is the most important and alarming information of the just-released study by the Rio de Janeiro University's Violence Research Center (Nupev-Uerj). 
A dispute over drug trafficking territory in Rio de Janeiro has intensified lately, leaving in its wake unprecedented acts of violence, such as the downing of a police helicopter in the northern zone of the city on October 17. Three policemen died and another two were injured. This event has drawn the attention of the international media, who are raising the issue of public security for the 2016 Olympics to be held in Rio.