[robh]

Originally Posted by RalphJ

That's great that you used to be a consultant in the financial sector Rob but does that mean you know what is going to happen in world economies?? Sorry, but I think not. As I stated, not even the ministro de secretaria de fazenda, Guido Mantega, knows what will transpire in the financial industry in Brazil over the next 3-5 years...and if anyone is in a position to know, it certainly would be him. Will interest rates rise, or fall, by how much? Will the real strengthen or weaken? The dollar? The euro? By how much? Will banks begin to give more reasonable lines of credit and more creative ways to finance?

Those are all questions that no human on this planet can answer with any certainty in respect to the next 3-5 years at this moment, not in the U.S., not the U.K, and sure as hell not in a country like Brazil which has an economy much more unstable as those mentioned.

It does us no good to speculate about what will transpire in the next 3 years, because that's all it is, speculation. And if everything that has been rumored to have happened actually did here in Brazil since I moved here, we'd have 5% apr interest for 30 year mortgages, good infrastructure all throuhgout the country, 95% of the population would be receiving a quality education, and the death rate would be around 12-14 per 100K. Unfortunately, it just ain't the case.

I don't think I talking about the economy I was talking about what at least a few of the major banks are planning.