Tuesday News

Looking to open up an office in Brazil? 
It's going to cost you. New research from CB Richard Ellis Group finds a couple of Brazilian cities among the world's most expensive office space, ahead of traditionally expensive cities like New York and Geneva. "In Latin America, Sao Paulo moved ahead of Rio de Janeiro in ranking, posting Latin America's highest office occupancy costs at US$100.00 per sq. ft. and is now ranked the 10th most expensive market globally marking the first time that market has been in the top ten. This is a combination of the appreciation of the REAL against the U.S. dollar over the past year, the scarcity of new office product and the strength of the local office market."

Get your TVs here

Brazil's largest retailer, Pão de Açucar, reported a 33% jump in quarterly profit as soccer fans have been buying televisions ahead of the World Cup, according to Bloomberg Businessweek. “'You have several positive economic factors that led to this growth,' Chief Financial Officer Jose Antonio Filippo said in a conference call with journalists late yesterday. 'You also have the World Cup and elections this year, elements that add to the sales.' Net income increased 33 percent to 126.2 million reais ($71.2 million) from 94.9 million reais a year earlier, the Sao Paulo-based company said in a regulatory filing."

Jose Serra Says Central Bank is 'No Vatican'

From FT - Reacting to the central bank's recent interest rate hike, "Brazil’s opposition presidential candidate Jose Serra said that the central bank makes mistakes that should be pointed out by the country’s leader. 'The central bank is no Vatican,' Serra said during an interview on CBN radio today. 'We shouldn’t interfere all the time, but if there is a calamitous mistake the president should make his position count just as the current government does and the one before.'" Which makes us wonder if the Vatican or Brazil's Central Bank will point out this mistake...

Catholic Priest Charged With Abusing 8 Boys

The AP reports -- "A Roman Catholic priest in Brazil is facing charges he abused eight boys in cases dating back to 1995, prosecutors said Wednesday, adding to a growing list of allegations against clergy in Latin America. Father Jose Afonso, 74, is accused of abusing altar boys between the ages of 12 and 16, Sao Paulo state prosecutors said in an e-mailed statement."

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.