World Markets Olympic Challenge: Playing Brazil

Qualifying rounds - Day Four: Europe and the US extend their gains with France's CAC pushing India out of second place. Asian stocks rally following yesterday's run in the Western Hemisphere.

• Sweden's OMX held onto first place, up 3.7% since Fri.
• France's CAC 40 pushed ahead of India's Bombay Sensex for second place after gaining 1.4% on Wed
• The S&P 500 fell back to seventh place as other European indices had a stronger one-day climb
• The Nikkei 225, pushed back into medal contention

Which index to you think will outperform its peers? Vote here

World Markets Olympic Challenge: Leaderboard as of (8/6 Close)

After three days of polling, many of you still see Brazil's Bovespa in the medal round. Here are some Brazilian stats and stocks.

As Latin’s America biggest economy, Brazil now stands as the world’s tenth largest economy in terms of GDP, with the International Monetary Fund forecasting $1.6 trillion in GDP growth for 2008, up 4.75%.

Brazil is a global leader in energy, agricultural, technology, and industrial sectors, with transportation equipment and parts accounting for $14.3 billion in 2007, followed by metal goods at $9.8B, and agricultural products at $9.8B, according to The Economist

Brazil is also a pioneer of ethanol production as well as deep water-oil research

In April 2008, Standard & Poor’s upgraded Brazil’s long-term foreign-currency credit rating from BB+ to BBB- for the first time in the history of the country, potentially opening the door to further foreign investment.

The Brazilian real has appreciated by 11.41% year-to-date against the US dollar, with one US dollar purchasing 1.576 reais.

Brazil’s current interest rate stands at 13.00%

Markets: Brazil’s Stock Exchange (BOVESPA) is Latin America’s largest stock exchange tracing it roots back to August 1890.

• Brazil’s BOVESPA is off by 28.82% from its record intraday high of 73,920.38, hit on May 29, 2008
• Year-to-date, it is down 10.21%
• From 12/06 to 12/07, Brazil’s BOVESPA was up 43.65%

Some Winning Brazilian ADRs traded in the US include:

• Tele Norte Celular Participacoes (TCN), up 41% year-to-date (YTD)
• Gerdau (GGB), up 41% YTD
• Companhia Paranaense de Energia (ELP), up 35% YTD
• Sadia (SDA), up 34% YTD
• Companhia Energetica de Minas Gerais (CIG), up 28% YTD
• Companhia Brasileira de Distribuicao (CBD), up 27% YTD
• Companhia Siderurgica Nacional (SID), up 24% YTD
• Tele Norte Leste Participacoes (TNE), up 24% YTD
• CPLF Energia (CPL), up 21% YTD
• Telemunicacoes de Sao Paulo (TSP), up 19% YTD

Some Brazilian ETFs include:

• iShares MSCI Brazil Index (EWZ), down 3.77% YTD
• Wisdom Tree Dreyfus Brazilian Real Fund (BZF), up 3.86% in the last three months
  

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