Tuesday bullets

• Flash flooding in the city of Rio de Janeiro has spurred chaos and is responsible for approximately 100 deaths (as of 7:30 p.m. Brasilia time). BBC posted some pictures on their website of what life was like for "cariocas" (residents of Rio) today after receiving 11 inches of rain in 24 hours.

• Meanwhile, bad news for some is good news for others. Businessweek reports that the rain is welcome news for the world's largest producer of coffee, sugar and orange juice, and may boost yields.

• The US and Brazil appear to be slowly resolving their trade dispute over cotton subsidies offered by the US government. Brazil won a case at the World Trade Organization (WTO) and has the right to impose sanctions on US companies. In the end, this sort of action (tariff increase) doesn't help anyone. It just makes products and services more expensive for Brazilian residents.

• Where's the beef? Reuters reports that the world's largest beef processing company, Sao Paulo-based JBS, is looking to raise over one billion dollars in a stock offering. "JBS, which started as a small abattoir in Brazil's Midwest, has ballooned in size in recent years through a series of acquisitions in the United States, Europe and Asia to become the world's biggest beef exporter, the No. 2 global poultry company and the No. 3 U.S. pork processor. The company plans to use two-thirds of the proceeds from the stock offering to expand its direct sales business, including acquisitions of distribution centers and delivery trucks. The remaining funds will be set aside for working capital."

• Kevin Grewal at Minyanville gives his argument of why Brazil is a hot market. Nothing we haven't heard before -- the country is rich in natural resources, it will be hosting international events (World Cup 2014, Olympics 2016), and it has low interest rates. Wait. What? Low interest rates? That point is certainly debatable. Brazilian interest rates have declined, but they are still high compared to most economies.

• Exame has a great article (in Portuguese) on the future of the proposed bullet train linking Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, allowing passengers to get from city to city in a blazing 90 minutes. It has an estimated cost of R$ 34.6 billion (US$ 19.8 billion), but we all know how projects increase in price, scope and corruption.