Top Experts on Brazil Forecast the 2003 Economy and Financial Markets in a Live, Interactive Audio Conference

biz.yahoo.com Press Release Source: WorldTrade Executive, Inc. Friday January 31, 3:59 pm ET

CONCORD, Mass., Jan. 31 /PRNewswire/ -- In a live telephone conference on February 26, 2003, 11:00 am-12:30 pm (US EST), the principal architect of Brazil's inflation-targeting policy and two leading market analysts, will provide a candid assessment of the future of Brazil's economy for foreign investors.

The 90-minute conference, titled "Brazil's Economy in 2003: Stability and Growth, or the Start of a Downward Spiral?" features Sergio Werlang, senior Managing Director of Banco Itau in Sao Paulo and former Deputy Governor for Economic Policy of the Central Bank of Brazil. Mr. Werlang will be joined by two top-ranked economists and market analysts for Brazil--Arturo Porzecanski (ABN AMRO) and Ernest (Chip) Brown (Banco Santander Investment Securities.)

Brazil is at a critical juncture as newly elected president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva embarks on a four-year term. The president has recently emphasized fiscal austerity, structural reforms and an independent Central Bank, and is increasingly gaining the confidence of foreign lenders and investors. But the question remains whether President da Silva can succeed in balancing the country's social needs with fiscal responsibility and sound monetary policies, or whether Brazil will succumb to the same inflation, debt and stagnant growth problems so prevalent in the Latin American region.

• Some of the issues the speakers will address:
• Reconciling campaign promises and the need for fiscal reforms
• The outlook for the real, foreign exchange, inflation and GDP growth in

2003 and beyond

• Prospects for stability in financial markets
• Changes in Brazil's approach to foreign investment
• Vulnerability of the Brazilian economy to outside shocks, including a conflict in Iraq
• Access of companies in Brazil to international capital markets and foreign lines of credit

Following a 20-minute presentation by each panelist, listeners will have an opportunity to ask individualized questions.

Participants can join the discussion from their own offices via a toll- free number. Registration is $295 per connection site, with no limit on the number of participants at each site, through February 18. After February 18 the fee is $345. Audiocassettes of the conference will also be available. More information can be found at www.wtexec.com/conferenceinfo.html, or by calling 978 287-0301.

CONTACT:
 Kathy Rosenblum
 WorldTrade Executive, Inc.
 2250 Main St., Concord, MA 01742
 Phone: 978-287-0301
 Fax: 978-287-0302
 Email: krosenblum@wtexec.com
 Web site: www.wtexec.com