Kenneth Rapoza – Forbes, 07/23/2012
Brazil’s weak economy will be flexing its muscles heading into the second half and likely grow at 4 percent in annualized terms, Brazil’s Central Bank president Alexandre Tombini told reporters in a conference call on Monday.
“Domestic sectors of the economy are already playing a more important role for the second half, regardless of the global slowdown,” he said. Brazil is still a very much a closed economy, with exports accounting for just 12 percent of GDP. While a lackluster global economy has surely impacted the major commodity exporters like Vale and affected confidence, Tombini said that a series of macroeconomic measures taken over the year — from payroll tax breaks to other fiscal incentives, coupled with falling interest rates — are already having their desired affect in the local economy.
Tombini isn’t the only believer. Foreign companies are pumping money into Brazil.
[...] Rousseff is apparently “very worried” about the economy, central bank chief Alexandre Tombini predicts an upturn in the second half of the year. The Brazilian economy is also buoyed by foreign investment, which [...]