Brazil to host 2014 Soccer World Cup

Reflejos, October 30 2007

The country with the most World Cup titles will finally get another chance to win one at home.

Brazil, which has won a record five World Cups, was awarded the right to host 2014 tournament by FIFA’s executive committee. The South American country hosted the competition once before, losing to Uruguay in the 1950 final.

"Soccer is not only a sport for us. It’s more than that," President Lula da Silva said. "Soccer for us is a passion, a national passion."

He added: "If everything works out well, we will win once again a World Cup."

In Brazil, 50 mountain climbers hung an enormous national team jersey bearing the slogan "The 2014 World Cup is Ours" from majestic Sugar Loaf mountain in Rio de Janeiro. At the Maracana Stadium, workers spread jerseys across the field reading, "The new Maracana is ours and so is the 2014 World Cup."

"We are a civilized nation, a nation that is going through an excellent phase," Brazilian Football Confederation president Ricardo Teixeira said. "And we have got everything prepared to receive adequately the honor to organize an excellent World Cup."

Brazilian Sports Minister Orlando Silva, national team coach Dunga and veteran striker Romario were among those that also made the trip.

Since launching its bid, Brazil stressed that a World Cup will extend far beyond sports.

"Over the next few years we will have a consistent influx of investments. The 2014 World Cup will enable Brazil to have a modern infrastructure," Teixeira said. "In social terms will be very beneficial."

Blatter had recently questioned Brazil’s infrastructure and bid plans, but FIFA said last week that a stadium-inspection trip in August showed the country could put on an "exceptional" tournament.

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Brazil to become investment grade

Reuters, May 17 2007

Brazil may become an investment-grade country as early as next year, Wall Street banks forecast on Thursday, after Standard & Poor's upgraded the country's credit ratings to "BB+" and maintained a positive outlook on its debt.

The S&P decision on Wednesday surprised analysts and boosted Brazil's financial markets because, although many Brazilian assets already trade at investment-grade levels, few investors were expecting ratings agencies to officially admit the country into the club before 2009.

"Before yesterday's move, we expected Brazil to be upgraded to investment grade by S&P between year-end 2008 and the start of 2009," Credit Suisse's analysts wrote in a research note.

"However, maintenance of the positive outlook by S&P and the faster-than-expected improvement in the fundamentals of the Brazilian economy lead us to raise the probability of Brazil receiving investment grade in the first quarter of 2008," they added.

Debt is considered investment grade at ratings of "BBB-" or higher, meaning Brazil's sovereign rating is just one notch below that key level.

JP Morgan also moved its expectation of another Brazil upgrade to early 2008 from 2009. In a research note, the bank's analyst Fabio Akira Hashizume said he was even more surprised that S&P upgraded Brazil's local-currency debt ratings by two notches to an investment-grade "BBB."

"We have been making the case that Brazil's external debt already deserves an investment-grade rating but were of the view that S&P would be much more cautious in upgrading the still high-level and short-duration domestic debt," he wrote.

The S&P decision came less than one week after Fitch Ratings gave the country a similar rating. But, unlike Fitch, S&P maintained a positive outlook on Brazil's ratings.

Standard & Poor's had last upgraded Brazil to "BB" in February 2006. It had revised the country's rating outlook to positive just under six months ago, in late November.

The quick S&P move also left some analysts betting that Brazil will win the investment-grade race in Latin America.

"We think this may cue many in the market to boost the odds of Brazil receiving an investment grade before Peru, arguably until now considered the most likely next (investment grade country in Latin America)," Merrill Lynch's analyst Felipe Illanes wrote in a research note.

Currently, Mexico and Chile are the only two continental Latin American countries with investment-grade ratings. Like Brazil, Peru is also one step below that grade, according to S&P and Fitch. Moody's Investors Service rates Brazil two notches below investment grade, at "Ba2."