Posted on 04/15/2012 9:26:18 PM PDT by bruinbirdman
Brazil is the country of the future and always will be, as the old saying goes.
The Latin Tiger may have overtaken France, Italy, and Britain to become the worlds fifth largest economy on some measures but it has also been relegated to 126th place by the World Bank for 'ease of doing business', behind much of Africa. Cyclical warning signs are flashing amber across the board.
It is far from clear whether this 195m-strong cub of the BRICs quartet has broken out of the "middle income trap" after half a century of tantalizing efforts, each dashed by events.
Has Brazils profile been flattered once again by a resource boom, this time juiced by exports of iron-ore and soya to China, and a property bubble of Irish proportions?
Luiz Inacio 'Lula' da Silva
The jury is out, even if we all accept that Luiz Inacio 'Lula' da Silva - ex-Fiat car worker turned apostle of orthodoxy - did slay inflation and establish Banco Central do Brasil as the Bundesbank of the Americas, and if we accept that the deep-water fields of the Campos Basin will eventually turn Brazil into the worlds fourth largest oil producer.
Franks global survey shows that Brazils house prices rose 26pc last year, leading the world by far. The global average was 0.5pc.
"Prices are crazy," said Eduardo Paes, Rios mayor. Even 'favelas' are frothy as developers close in. A good slum is worth a four-bedroom house in Arizona - if you can prove ownership.
"Brazil is experiencing a typical housing bubble," said Samy Davy from the Getulio Vargas Foundation. "It risks widespread damage to the Brazilian financial system and economy as occurred in the US."
This is a hotly-disputed subject, explored on websites such as 'bolha imobiliaria' and 'Brazilian bubble'.
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
Me likey!
2nd from left in the top row is a man, baby!
2nd from left in the bottom row is GUILTY!
Still nude...
I see you had the pool stocked...
5th largest? no way!
so how are they counting it now?
USA
china
japan
germany
brazil
???
like that?
Lets see, how long before they are third then? Maybe another 5 years? 10 years? It sure would be something if the top 3 in the world could be USA, brasil, mexico.
Brazil has been busy drilling the oil that we pay them to drill that Brackbrak prohibited US from drilling for offshore.
His bud-buddy Soros made out like a bandit on the crony socialism deal.
AQhhhhhhhhhhhh. p-i-c-t-u-r-e-s is what this thread needed!
I thought California was the world’s 5th largest economy?
Re your pic: They all seem to be hiding something!
Glad I read the article. For what it’s worth, it’s illegal to nude sunbath on Ipanema or Copacabana... : )
More like Broke-Barack Mountain (of debt)
They’ve been predicting that Brazil would become the world’s next economic superpower for my entire life, and we’re past halftime at this point.
It always seems to get screwed-up by standard issue Latin American politics. Huge numbers of poor people, who are agitated and aroused by Communists whenever “the 1%” start doing better as the country begins to develop. They then vote en-masse for the most Socialist guy on the ballot, shutting down the development and taking the country back to Square One.
The only country which seems to have escaped this dynamic is Chile, largely because Pinochet had all of their Socialists tossed into the sea.
Would Pinochet have let the Commies of the hook if they had just called themselves Progressives?
yitbos
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