Brazil does bailouts too!

Not quite a bailout actually, it's a sovereign wealth fund signed into law. But another nation's government is taking a very active role in trying to protecting itself from the global economic turmoil. Let's hope Lula invests wisely...

China's Aircraft Carrier Plans

China has zero and the US has eleven, but China looking to build an aircraft carrier wouldn't exactly ease tensions over Taiwan. Hope you can find some holiday cheer somewhere else this week. Merry Christmas!

Plus Minus

Brazil did alright this year but growth could slow to half speed next year, the AP reports. Everyone is feeling the crunch and this country is no different.

Cut Happy

China cut interest rates again, in wake of the record Fed cut. Hopefully this isn't another case of too little, too late. The Hang Seng was off more than 3 percent today.

Can we Party?

China's economy is slowing, see what the president of the country has to say about it. There's clearly more to it than just numbers, as he indicates steady growth must be maintained to limit social unrest.

Terrorist attacks in Mumbai.

Attacks in Mumbai at hotels and other sites... thoughts are with them.

Just go to Google News and you can see the latest.

Beijing Tea Party...

Came across a less than ringing endorsement of the interest rate cut in China. The tone of the NY Times article seems to question if the cut was even needed and would be effective. Scroll to the bottom where it was reported 2,000 people 'watched' another 500 ransack a factory they had just been fired from. Things seem a bit rougher there than what I had gathered from previous reports...

In The Name of Money

With gas prices falling, so integral to the Russian economy, they're looking to get friendly all over again with the EU. If the EU tries to leave them out of the picture, the Russians may get left behind... and not like being there.

No more fun with PBR?

Petrobras might get nationalized. Sure Brazil has plenty of poor people to support, but is socialization really the answer?

Watch this!

Jubak added CMED to his watch list. China Medical Technologies stands to gain from any stimulus the Chinese government might do to keep things moving in their economy. Note that he is just keeping an eye on it, he's been noting in his journal that keeping mostly in cash and waiting on the sidelines is most prudent at this juncture.

Who wants in?

Hopefully the Brazilian government doesn't want too big of a cut out of the profits from Petrobras, bolstered by another oil find. Word is the president of Brazil wants to get in on the fun, possibly nationalizing the company. No small part of the Brazilian ETF, EWZ, is taken up by PBR.

India being hit hard.

India is feeling the effects of the trouble with the world economy, as inflation is rising and factory growth slowing. A country that hasn't had any reforms over the past few years might struggle to do so in the near future due to elections.

G(r)8 Debate

The only country in BRIC, Russia, that's part of the G-8 took part in discussions with the 7 other members recently. A decent supply of food for the world seemed a bigger concern than any woes the economy might be going through. Expanding the G-8 could be in the works. If China is allowed to join then they may be held to higher standards, good for everyone.

FXP for hungry China Bears.

Jim Jubak, a guy with a great track record over at MSN Money, has written about China and the risk involved. There is a Proshares offering, FXP, that tries to double short the FXI. Check the holdings of FXI so you know what you're getting into. If you're of the opinion that China's market will drop further, give FXP a look.

EWZ It's that Ea (wuh) sy.

The Brazil EWZ ETF moves with some stocks tracked on that country's market. Should be fun to watch given the recent volatility. Solid analysis of this etf can be found over at SeekingAlpha.com.

Decisions and Taxes.

A fellow blogger is traveling around India and has some insight into taxes in India. What religion you are influences how much tax you pay! It'll be interesting to see how this plays out as India continues to develop.

The next likely president for Russia has liberal ideas for the economy

Is this a hint at the opening up of Russia? The man who many think will be the next president of Russia wants to open up the economy more. He wants to possibly shake up the leadership of some state run corporations. Of note is that he realizes how much of a problem corruption is in his country; a true roadblock to the development of the economy there.

Keys to the Brazilian Boom

An informative article from the Houston Chronicle talks about how the Brazilian economy is being pushed forward by the increasing confidence in banks by it's citizens. A large part of consumer financing is for autos, fueled by a marked increase in car production in 2007.

Will the drop in China ETFs last?

CNNMoney has an article about what may be in the works for Chinese ETFs. The article hints at the real extent of the damage the weather may have caused to the overall economy. There's also a bit of insight into how the Chinese and American economies are linked. The last sentence of the article in particular grabbed my attention. Nothing like corrupt governments to keep things interesting!