Brazil inflation forecast rises for 12th week-poll

* forecast rose to 5.80 percent
Feb 28 (Reuters) - Economists raised their forecasts for the rise this year in Brazil's benchmark IPCA consumer price index for the 12th consecutive week, according to a weekly central bank survey.

Brazil's tax revenue hits record high for January

* Brazil posts record tax revenue in January
* Strong result due to industrial output, higher sales

Brazil focused on real-denominated yield curve

* Brazil to add liquidity to dollar-denominated benchmarks
* Aims to consolidate long-end of interest-rate curve

Brazil's Foreign Reserves Surpass $300 Bln For First Time Ever - WSJ.com

"BRASILIA (Dow Jones)--Brazil's foreign reserves surpassed the $300 billion mark for the first time ever Wednesday according the country's central bank, seeing influence from recent heavy foreign exchange inflows and accelerated dollar buying by the institution.

Pragmatism draws Brazil closer to US | beyondbrics | FT.com

A flood of manufactured imports from China has pushed Brazil into the same camp as the US in the global currency war, pitting it against its biggest trading partner. The move signals a broader swing towards pragmatism under Dilma Rousseff, Brazil’s new president. But as Jonathan Wheatley of beyondbrics argues, Brazil also needs to address long-standing problems that undermine business competitiveness.
see video below:

Pragmatism draws Brazil closer to US | beyondbrics | News and views on emerging markets from the Financial Times – FT.com

February 8, 2011 4:28 pm by beyondbrics

Options Bets Against Brazil ETF Jump to Highest in Three Years

Options traders are placing more bearish bets against a U.S. exchange-traded fund tracking Brazil than any time in three years, as policy makers raise borrowing costs to tame inflation in Latin America’s biggest economy.

The ratio of put options to sell the iShares MSCI Brazil Index Fund versus calls to buy has jumped 60 percent in the past two months to 1.76 and on Feb. 3 reached 1.81, the highest level since January 2008. The last time it reached this level, the fund tracking 83 securities plunged 62 percent over the next 10 months. The fastest-growing bets are February $69 puts. The fund hasn’t closed below $69 since Aug. 31 and fell 1 percent to $71.32 yesterday.