CHINA JITTERS COULD TRIGGER GLOBAL MARKET BLOODBATH, IMF WARNS

The IMF said policy choices in the world’s second largest economy would also have “increasing implications for global financial stability” in the coming years as the country opens up its bond and equity markets.

The fund said emerging market economies such as China, India, Brazil and Russia had driven more than half of global growth over the past 15 years.

Stronger trade ties and financial linkages meant spillovers from these countries had become “the norm, not the exception”, increasing the risk that future shocks could send powerful reverberations around the globe.

http://www.infowars.com/china-jitters-could-trigger-global-market-bloodbath-imf-warns/

Brazil on course for worst recession in century

The slump has made Brazil increasingly toxic on the investor landscape. Last week, Moody’s became the third big credit rating agency to downgrade Brazil to junk status, warning of slow recovery and political uncertainty.

A Markit Brazil Services survey of the private sector released Thursday found a record contraction in economic activity in February, as “companies continued to link the adverse operating environment to the ongoing economic, financial and political crises.”

“The Brazilian economic downturn took a real turn for the worse in February, as the financial and political difficulties in the country drove down output and led to reduced order intakes,” said Rob Dobson, author of the report.

“The domestic market is especially weak” and “the labor market also appears to be in dire straits.”

Brazilian economists warn that 2016 could turn out to be worse than the IMF’s prediction, with the economy shrinking even more than in 2015.

“Brazil has never had such a high level of uncertainty and this is freezing everything up. There is no consumption or investment or credit with this historic level of uncertainty,” Daniel Cunha, an analyst at XP Investimentos in Sao Paulo, said.

http://news.yahoo.com/brazil-growth-plunges-3-8-percent-biggest-fall-005105335.html

BRAZIL ON COURSE FOR WORST RECESSION IN CENTURY

The latest gloomy news from Brazil was no surprise, but the severity underlined the depth of problems facing President Dilma Rousseff’s government as it battles both declining economic output and 10.67 percent inflation.

The state statistics office said 2015 registered the worst single annual fall in GDP since 1990, when the economy dipped 4.3 percent.

With the International Monetary Fund predicting a further 3.5 percent shrinkage this year, Brazil appears to be well into a recession of record length and depth.

http://www.infowars.com/brazil-on-course-for-worst-recession-in-century/

Brazil troops battle Zika mosquitoes

More than 200,000 army, navy and air force troops fanned out across Brazil on Saturday to teach people how to eliminate the Aedes aegypti mosquito that spreads the Zika virus that many health officials believe is linked to severe birth defects.

The nationwide offensive is part of President Dilma Rousseff’s declared war on the virus that has quickly spread across the Americas.

According to Brazil’s government, about 220,000 members of the armed forces accompanied by community health agents and mosquito control teams were deployed Saturday to help educate the population on how to eliminate mosquito breeding areas in and around their homes. The teams were expected to visit 3 million homes in 350 cities to distribute explanatory pamphlets.

Wearing a white T-shirt printed with the campaign’s “Zero Zika” slogan, Rousseff visited Rio de Janeiro’s working class neighborhood of Zeppelin. She was accompanied by Mayor Eduardo Paes and Rio de Janeiro state governor Luiz Fernando Pezao.

The president visited three homes and chatted with residents about the importance of eliminating the breeding areas for the mosquito that also transmits dengue, chikungunya and yellow fever.

In one house, she sprayed insecticide in drains that could serve as mosquito breeding areas.

http://www.sfchronicle.com/news/medical/article/Brazil-troops-battle-Zika-mosquitoes-6828487.php

Global Crisis: Goldman Sachs Says That Brazil Has Plunged Into ‘An Outright Depression’

One of the most important banks in the western world says that the 7th largest economy on the entire planet has entered a full-blown economic depression.  Brazil’s economy has now contracted for three quarters in a row, and many analysts believe that things are going to get far worse before they have a chance to get any better.  Earlier this year, I warned about “the South American financial crisis of 2015“, and now it is in full swing.  The surging U.S. dollar is absolutely crushing emerging markets such as Brazil, and if the Fed raises interest rates this month that is going to make the pain even worse.  The global financial system is more interconnected than ever before, and the decisions made by the Federal Reserve truly do have global consequences.  So much of the “hot money” that was created by the Fed poured into emerging markets such as Brazil during the good times, but now the process is starting to reverse itself.  At this point, it is hard to see how much of South America is going to avoid a complete and total economic disaster.

It is one thing for Michael Snyder from the Economic Collapse Blog to say that the Brazilian economy has entered a “depression”, but it is another thing entirely when Goldman Sachs comes out and publicly says it.  The following comes from a Bloomberg article that was just posted entitled “Goldman Warns of Brazil Depression After GDP Plunges Again“…

http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/global-crisis-goldman-sachs-says-that-brazil-has-plunged-into-an-outright-depression

Brazil Releases Shocking GDP “Obituary”: “It’s Mutated Into An Outright Depression,” Goldman Exclaims

 

The problem, you’re reminded, is that Brazil is in the midst of a dramatic economic downturn that’s left the country to suffer through the worst inflation-growth outcome (i.e. stagflation) in more than a decade. Unemployment and inflation are soaring (annual headline IPCA inflation at 10.28%, unemployment at 7.9% in August, up from just 4.7% a year earlier) while output is plunging (IBC-Br monthly real GDP indicator down 6.1% Y/Y in September) and the market is losing confidence in the government’s ability to end a political stalemate on the way to shoring up the fiscal books and hitting primary surplus targets. Last week’s arrest of prominent lawmaker Delcidio Amaral in connection with the ongoing Carwash investigation didn’t help.

Thanks to the above mentioned IBC-Br monthly indicator (which showed an economy in “free fall” to quote Barclays) we already knew Q3 was going to be bad on the GDP front. But this is Brazil we’re talking about, which means that as bad as consensus is, there’s always the distinct possibility that the actual numbers will be far worse than expected and that’s exactly what happened on Tuesday.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-12-01/brazil-releases-shocking-gdp-obituary-its-mutated-outright-depression-goldman-exclai

BRAZIL RELEASES SHOCKING GDP “OBITUARY”: “IT’S MUTATED INTO AN OUTRIGHT DEPRESSION,” GOLDMAN EXCLAIMS

The problem, you’re reminded, is that Brazil is in the midst of a dramatic economic downturn that’s left the country to suffer through the worst inflation-growth outcome (i.e. stagflation) in more than a decade. Unemployment and inflation are soaring (annual headline IPCA inflation at 10.28%, unemployment at 7.9% in August, up from just 4.7% a year earlier) while output is plunging (IBC-Br monthly real GDP indicator down 6.1% Y/Y in September) and the market is losing confidence in the government’s ability to end a political stalemate on the way to shoring up the fiscal books and hitting primary surplus targets. Last week’s arrest of prominent lawmaker Delcidio Amaral in connection with the ongoing Carwash investigation didn’t help.

Brazil Releases Shocking GDP “Obituary”: “It’s Mutated Into An Outright Depression,” Goldman Exclaims

Brazil reduced to junk as BRICs facade crumbles

 Brazil’s currency has plummeted to an all-time low and borrowing costs have tightened viciously after Standard & Poor’s slashed the country’s debt to junk status, warning that the budget deficit has reached danger levels.

The downgrade is a painful blow to a nation that thought it had finally escaped the Latin American curse of boom-bust cycles and joined the top league of rich economies.

It is the second of the big emerging market (EM) economies to be stripped of its investment grade rating this year after Russia crashed out of the club in January. Little remains of the BRICS allure that captivated the world seven years ago, and now looks like a marketing gimmick.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/currency/11857174/Brazil-reduced-to-junk-as-BRICS-facade-crumbles.html

BRAZIL REDUCED TO JUNK AS BRICS FACADE CRUMBLES

 The downgrade is a painful blow to a nation that thought it had finally escaped the Latin American curse of boom-bust cycles and joined the top league of rich economies.

It is the second of the big emerging market (EM) economies to be stripped of its investment grade rating this year after Russia crashed out of the club in January. Little remains of the BRICS allure that captivated the world seven years ago, and now looks like a marketing gimmick.

http://www.infowars.com/brazil-reduced-to-junk-as-brics-facade-crumbles/

Brazil’s president says Uber costs jobs, needs regulation

 Related: WORLD, TECH, BRAZIL

Brazil’s President Dilma Rousseff criticized ride-sharing software Uber on Wednesday for increasing unemployment, adding to a chorus of labor concerns about the world’s most valuable venture-backed start-up.

Rousseff said local authorities must regulate the service, which has led conventional taxi drivers to stage protests and lobby lawmakers in Brazil’s three biggest cities.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/09/02/us-uber-tech-brazil-idUSKCN0R222P20150902