Brazil Pros and Cons

23 November 2017

Brazil has recently undergone the worst recession in its history amidst a deep political crisis that has put its democratic institutions to the test. 
At times, it was as if corruption had engulfed the country. 
Nevertheless, throughout this turbulent period, the flow of foreign investments to Brazil has never abated as was the case in previous crises.
And now there are signs that Brazil is recovering, inflation is down, interest rates are at historical lows, unemployment is falling and the economy is growing again.
However, the economic reforms have stalled in the Congress and there are uncertainties in the horizon with highly unpredictable presidential election.

Speakers:

  • Richard Lapper - Associate fellow at Chatham House and former Latam editor at the Financial Times.
  • Dr. Peter J. West -  Economic advisor at EM Funding
  • Jonathan Wheatley - Deputy emerging markets editor at the Financial Times and editor of EM Squared
  • Roberto Aron - Founding partner - BRL Advisory

Richard Lapper - Associate fellow at Chatham House and former Latam editor at the Financial Times. A writer and consultant, specialising in the politics, finance and business of Latin America.has been a journalist since the late 1970s and worked for 25 years with the Financial Times of London. He was Latin America Editor at the newspaper between 1998 and 2008 and subsequently was a principal at FT Confidential (2010-2015), a unit that provides data and analysis to emerging market investors. At the Financial Times, he was also South Africa Bureau chief, Financial News Editor, Capital Markets Editor, and Insurance Correspondent. In 2001, he was awarded the Order of the Rio Branco by the Brazilian government. He is fluent in Portuguese and Spanish, as well as English.

Jonathan Wheatley is deputy emerging markets editor at the Financial Times and editor of EM Squared, the FT's premium online service offering data-driven analysis of issues across emerging markets, written by a team of emerging markets and data specialists. He also oversees beyondbrics, the FT's guest forum on emerging markets written by contributors from business, finance, politics, academia and the third sector. Wheatley writes about emerging markets across the FT and is a frequent contributor to FT videos and podcasts. He has a particular interest in Latin America, having lived in Brazil between 1991 and 2011 and reported from the region for the FT and others.

Dr. Peter J. West is economic advisor at EM Funding, a London-based specialist in the research and distribution of niche investment strategies.  He has a long experience in analysing the global economy and financial markets, with a focus on emerging markets.  Before returning to the UK in 1992, he spent 16 years working in Latin America and the US.  He has written extensively on economic and financial developments and has been a regular speaker at conferences/seminars.  His previous posts were: head of research at PAM Global Investments, London (2002-16): head of Latin American fixed income strategy for BBVA, London (1997-2002); economic adviser at the investment bank affiliate of WestLB, London (1992-97); senior economic affairs officer at the UN Economic Commission for Latin America, Santiago (1990-92); senior economist at the Institute of International Finance (IIF), Washington DC (1986-92); and economic adviser at Banco Mercantil, Caracas (1980-86).  He holds degrees in economics from the University of Cambridge (MA) and the University of Sussex (D Phil). Peter’s wife is Chilean and his son was born in Venezuela.

Roberto Aron - a Brazilian former banker with 25 years of experience, now the founding partner of the consulting firm - BRL Advisory - dedicated to helping clients in financial operations in Brazil. Roberto has an extensive experience with corporate clients all over Europe in matters related to risk management and liquidity. Until 2016 he was the Head of Markets, Products and Sales of Itau wholesale bank in the UK. He worked at Santander Brazil until 2008, when was invited to move to Spain to lead the business of Derivatives and FX for corporate clients in Continental Europe, where he stayed until 2011 before joining Itau UK. Roberto is fluent in English, Spanish and Portuguese and holds an MBA from University of Michigan. Recently concluded the Senior Executive Program at the London Business School.

This event is sponsored by:

With the support of:

 

 

Photos: