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Latin American stocks slumped, with Brazilian and Mexican shares succumbing to selling pressure after the U.S. Federal Reserve raised interest rates and offered few clues about the timing of a potential pause in its tightening cycle.
Brazil's Bovespa Index dropped 227.79 points, or 0.54%. Mexico's benchmark Bolsa Index fell 41.86 points, or 0.19%, while Argentina's Merval Index added 4.01 points, or 0.21%. Brazilian stocks dropped on profit taking and disappointment among some investors that the U.S. Federal Reserve's monetary policy statement did not signal a likely pause in the current tightening cycle at future meetings. The Fed raised this Wednesday, May 10, its key short-term interest rate by 25 basis points to 5% as expected, marking its 16th straight rate hike. In its accompanying statement, the Fed said further hikes may be needed to address inflation risks but that the timing of such tightening would be data dependant. Some investors had hoped the Fed would indicate a near-term pause in its tightening campaign. On an up note, local economic data showed a drop in Brazilian inflation, fueling expectations for a continued decline in domestic interest rates. The IBGE reported that inflation as measured by the official IPCA consumer price index tumbled to 0.21% in April from 0.43% in March. The IPCA rate for the 12 months ended in April dropped to 4.63% from 5.32% for the 12 months ended in March, marking the lowest 12-month rate since July of 1999. In corporate news, steelmaker Companhia Siderúrgica Nacional (CSN) reported a first-quarter net profit of 340 million reais, down 53% from a year ago, as net revenue dropped 32% to 1.95 billion reais. Also reporting, electric power utility Companhia Energética de São Paulo (CESP) posted a first-quarter net profit of 78.2 million reais, up sharply from a year-earlier net loss 162.1 million reais. Meanwhile, a major investment bank started coverage of supermarket chain Companhia Brasileira de Distribuição (CBD) with an "overweight" rating, citing improving same-store sales and strengthened management. In other analyst actions, another major investment bank downgraded steel producer Gerdau to "neutral" from "buy," citing a weak outlook for domestic demand. Elsewhere, Mexican shares were also dragged under by profit taking and continued uncertainty about the U.S. interest-rate outlook. Bucking the downtrend, however, shares of Wal-Mart de Mexico climbed after the retail giant reported a 9.9% jump in April same-store sales from a year earlier, helped by a late Easter holiday. Total sales rose 20.7% from April 2005 to 14.97 billion pesos. Argentine issues edged up, as investors digested some fresh earnings news. Textile manufacturer Alpargatas reported a first-quarter net profit of 7.04 million pesos, while power generator Centro Puerto posted a first-quarter net loss of 107.2 million pesos. Neither company provided comparison figures for the year-earlier quarter. 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.
"Bucking the downtrend, however, shares of Wal-Mart de Mexico climbed after the retail giant reported a 9.9% jump in April same-store sales from a year earlier, helped by a late Easter holiday. Total sales rose 20.7% from April 2005 to 14.97 billion pesos."
LMAO! How was that protest of american businesses in mexico???? Really showed on Wal-Marts balance sheet!!! LMAO!!!