Rio de Janeiro Building Collapses

Source: CNN 8:11 PM CST 1/26
Three buildings collapsed in the historic center of Rio de Janiero last night, just steps from the Municipal Theater where President Obama gave an address last year during his visit to Brazil.  Rescue workers have been working in the rubble all day, and so far four people have been confirmed dead and twenty two people are missing.  The cause of the collapse of the 20-story commercial building and adjacent 10- and 4-story buildings is still unknown.  The video below was produced by CNN on the morning of the collapse.

Can Brazilian President Rousseff Achieve 4% Economic Growth in 2012?

As Brazil's summer holidays come to a close, President Rousseff has been busy planning goals for Brazil's economy in 2012.  The broad goal? Four percent economic growth, which means and increase of one percentage point from 2011.  Concrete measures for how exactly the government plans to stimulate this growth will be presented by Rousseff in the weeks to come.  The country's leaders claim that Brazil will make every effort to promote responsible economic growth, however the country faces worries of a decline in demand for manufacturing exports.  This leaves the bulk of the economy in the hands of consumer demand within Brazil.  The UN forcasted Brazil to see about 2.7 percent GDP growth in the upcoming year, so there has been speculation about heavy stimulus spending to boost growth and meet the four percent target.  The government might also postpone its annual budget spending freeze to ensure that the economy can continue to flourish.
In general, Rousseff has made policy shifts during her first year that left foreign investors a little wary of Brazil's financial outlook.  Updates will come as Rousseff provides more details surrounding the measures by which Brazil will achieve four percent growth.

Read it here at Reuters