Tuesday bullets

• Brazil is set to pass Germany and become the 4th largest auto market in the world -- behind China, the US, and Japan, according to this article at Bloomberg. Vehicle sales totaled 3.1 million in 2009 and are expected to grow in 2010. Just imagine the size of the market without the current crazy prices (result of import duties and taxes). For example, a basic 2010 Toyota Corolla in the US costs around US$16,000. In Brazil it costs the equivalent of US$35,000. This subject deserves its own article. Coming soon to a blog near you.

• From Exame -- The social networking site for "professionals", LinkIn has already been surprisingly popular in Brazil, with approximately one million users. Now it's getting a version in Portuguese. Arvind Rajan, VP of International Affairs, believes this could lead to faster growth in Brazil. Beavis and Butthead would be nodding their heads in agreement right now, saying "Whoa. Cool. He said 'growth'. Huh, huhhuhuh".

• From Isto é Dinheiro - What happens when you merge your retail company with the largest retailer in Brazil, get billions in stock and cash - but find out five months later that you don't really like the direction the new company is going and you don't have control of it because the legal charter says 49% next to your name? Well, if you're the Klein family, you threaten to sue so you can renegotiate the deal. That's the story with Casas Bahia - a massive retailer of affordable furniture and electronics - and the Pão de Açucar Group, which own approximately 98.3% of all grocery stores in Brazil. Ok, I might have exaggerated on their percentage of ownership, but not the rest of the story.