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BRAZIL

'Previous' of GDP falls by 0.26% in January and accumulates fall of 3.99% in one year

The IBC-Br (Economic Activity Index of the Central Bank), considered a "preview" of GDP (Gross Domestic Product), fell 0.26% in January compared to the previous month, the BC reported on Friday (31 ).
In December, the IBC-Br also fell 0.26%.
The comparison is made already discounting the seasonal differences between the analyzed periods.

Without discounting the seasonal differences, there was a fall of 4.61% in January.
In comparison with January 2016, the indicator registered a fall of 0.79% without the seasonal adjustment, because it considers equal periods. With adjustment, the fall was 2.53%.
In the accumulated 12 months, economic activity shrank 3.99%. Discounting the seasonal differences, the shrinkage was 4.4%.
Official data released by IBGE (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics) showed that the Brazilian economy shrank 3.6% last year.
IBC-Br
The BC indicator is seen by the market as an anticipation of GDP. It is released monthly by the Central Bank, while GDP is released every three months by the IBGE.
The IBC-Br is the basis for investors and companies to adopt short-term measures. However, it does not necessarily reflect the annual GDP result and, in some cases, it is quite distant.

The BC indicator takes into account the trajectory of the variables considered as good indicators for the performance of the economy sectors (agriculture, industry and services).
The IBC-Br estimate incorporates estimated production for the three sectors, plus product taxes. The GDP calculated by IBGE, in turn, is the sum of all the goods and services produced in the country during a certain period.
(With Reuters)

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Henrique Meirelles

Henrique de Campos Meirelles (Anápolis, August 31, 1945) is the current Minister of Finance of Brazil, executive of the Brazilian and international financial sector, former international president of BankBoston and former president of the Central Bank of Brazil (BCB), position Which he held from 2003 to 2011, during the Lula administration. From 2012 to 2016, he was chairman of the Board of Directors of J & F Investimentos, owner of Banco Original, JBS, Eldorado Celulose, Vigor, among other companies; Left the post to join the economic team of President Michel Temer. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of Azul Linhas Aéreas Brasileiras

Henrique Meirelles

Henrique Meirelles in an interview with Folha de SP. Minister of Finance of Brazil Brazil Period May 12, 2016 Until now President Michel Temer Predecessor (a) Nelson Barbosa Successor - President of the Central Bank of Brazil Period January 1, 2003 Until January 1, 2011 President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva Predecessor (a) Armínio Fraga Successor Alexandre Tombini Life Birth August 31, 1945 (71 years) Anápolis, Goiás, Brazil Nationality Brazil, Brazilian Occupation Finance Minister

BIOGRAPHY [EDIT | EDIT SOURCE CODE]
Meirelles is the son of Hegesipo de Campos Meireles, was interim federal interim in Goiás from December 5 to 19, 1946 and a former lawyer of the State Bank of Goiás and Diva Silva de Campos, a bridal gown stylist. ] [15]

He left the city of Anápolis to study civil engineering at the Polytechnic School of the University of São Paulo, where he graduated in 1972. [14] [16]
In 1974, he completed an MBA from the Graduate Institute and Research in Administration of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (COPPEAD). [16]
His career began in 1974 at BankBoston where he worked for 28 years with national and international performance. [14] [17]

In 1984, on the appointment of a board member of BankBoston, Meirelles attended the Advanced Management Program (AMP) by the Harvard Business School, a course that prepares executives who will assume the presidency of large corporations. [16] [14] [18] Meirelles also received an honorary doctorate degree from Byant College. [16]
In June of the same year, with his return to Brazil, Meirelles was named president of BankBoston in the country, position that occupied for 12 years. [19] [20] [16] [17]
In 1996, Meirelles moved to Boston, United States, and assumed the position of President and COO of BankBoston worldwide. He held the position until 1999. [19] [18] [15] [16]
In 1999, BankBoston Corp. Merged with Fleet Financial Group forming FleetBoston Financial where he assumed the presidency. [16] [21] [19]

While he was in the United States, Meirelles was one of the most popular members of the court of Bill Clinton.
In 2002, Meirelles retired and returned to Brazil. [13] [15]
With a youth marked by public performances, when he was part of the student movement in Goiânia and led strikes against the price of bus tickets and school supplies, and influenced by a family of politicians - his grandfather was mayor of Anápolis three times, his father Held positions in the State Department of Goiás twice and had an uncle Governor - Meirelles began thereafter his political career which he dedicated from 2002 to 2014. [14]
In 2012, at the invitation of JBS Chairman Joesley Batista, Henrique Meirelles took over the Advisory Board of J & F, a holding company that controls seven companies, including JBS, the largest meat company in the world. The J & F Group has total revenue estimated at R $ 65 billion (2012). [3] [22] [23] [4] [11] [12] [10]

Considered one of the most respected figures of the Brazilian financial environment, at the beginning of 2012 Meirelles received 12 offers of employment of the private sector, among them the presidency of the banks Barclays and Goldman Sachs in Brazil.
POLITICAL CAREER [EDIT | EDIT SOURCE CODE]
In 2002, Meirelles ran for federal deputy in Goiás by the PSDB and was elected with the highest number of votes in the state - 183,000 votes. [20] [15] [24]
His electoral success and the support of the international financial market achieved throughout his professional career in the private sector led Meirelles to be appointed by President Lula da Silva to become the president of the Central Bank of Brazil, adopting a liberal policy during this period Period [25]. In 2003, Meirelles resigned from the position of Federal Deputy in Goiás and disbanded from the PSDB to assume the presidency of the Central Bank of Brazil (BCB). [20] [26]
Meirelles was the head of the BCB during the eight years of President Lula's administration and, in November 2010, announced his departure. [2] [27]

In 2005, he was the first president of the BCB to formally obtain the status of Minister of State. [28]
At the beginning of 2010, Meirelles dismissed a possible candidacy for the Government of Goiás by the PMDB party at the request of President Lula, who asked him to dedicate himself to the Central Bank's command until the date of disqualification to stand for election in early April. 2011. [29]
In 2011, three months after the announcement of his resignation from the Central Bank and at the invitation of President Dilma Rousseff, Meirelles assumed the position in the Olympic Public Council. The function, with a mandate of four years, was to coordinate all investments for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. With a budget of $ 30 million, Meirelles worked with autonomy in the coordination of federal, state and municipal works until 2014. Meirelles was succeeded by the businesswoman Luiza Trajano. [32]

In 2014, Meirelles was invited by the candidate for the government of São Paulo by the PMDB, Paulo Skaf, to contest the Federal Senate on his plate. Meirelles denied the request. [4]
In 2015, there were rumors that Meirelles would have been nominated by former President Lula to be Finance Minister in the second term of President Dilma Rousseff, which began in January 2015. This hypothesis did not materialize and Joaquim Levy took over the ministry. 33] [34]

In mid-2015, after internal disagreements in the Executive and wear and tear in the National Congress, rumors began to come that Henrique Meirelles could be a strong substitute for Finance Minister Joaquim Levy. [35] [1] [36]
With the inauguration of Michel Temer as interim president of the Republic in May 2016, Henrique Meirelles was appointed Minister of Finance and Social Security. [37] [38]
Management in the Central Bank of Brazil (2003 to 2011) [edit | Edit source-code]
During the eight years of Lula's administration (2003-2010), Meirelles was the President of the Central Bank of Brazil, who spent more time in office. [2] [27] [28]

His management at the Central Bank began at a time when the country's economy was in crisis. With inflation of 12.5% ​​per year, real interest rate of 18.5%, international reserves of US $ 38 billion - considered low - and with the dollar exchange rate close to R $ 4.00.
His first measure was to get the Central Bank's Monetary Policy Committee to raise interest rates. [15] Meirelles was heavily charged throughout his term to accelerate interest rates. Members of government and outsiders argued that with higher inflation the country could grow more. [39]
Meirelles presented an inflation within the goal established by the National Monetary Council in all the years of its management, except in 2003, when by a reaction of the market to the leadership of Lula in the presidential dispute, there was a "deterioration of expectations".

According to IBGE, the management period of Henrique Meirelles was the one that presented the longest cycle of growth in the recent history of the country, with a rate of 3% per year for more than 60 months.
In 2003, growth was 1.1%. In 2004, it increased to 5.7%. In 2005, 2006 and 2007, GDP (Gross Domestic Product) increased, respectively, by 3.2%, 4% and 6.1%. In 2008, the Brazilian economy grew by 5.1%. [39] [28]
In 2004, inflation, as measured by the IPCA, had declined to 7.6% and in 2005 to 5.69%. In 2006, the IPCA amounted to 3.14% and in 2008, coupled with strong economic growth, it increased to 5.9%.
In 2005, Meirelles was the first president of the BCB to formally obtain the status of Minister of the State.
At the end of his administration, Meirelles presented a growth in the country's cash position, which went from R $ 38 billion to R $ 280 billion. According to experts, this was a key factor for the country to go through the international crisis of 2008 and 2009 without major consequences. [28] [15]

According to Gustavo Franco, executive director of Rio Bravo in an interview with the magazine Época, the stability and defense of the country during the international crisis in 2009 is directly linked to the performance of Henrique Meirelles at the head of the Central Bank, who by keeping the course during the crisis, Avoided the destabilization of the economy. [40]
At the end of its two terms, Henrique Meirelles was considered responsible for reducing inflation in half and lowering the interest rate to the lowest level in history in 2009. [3]

J & F HOLDING ACTING [EDIT | EDIT SOURCE CODE]
Meirelles was invited by Joesley Batista to chair the Board of Directors of J & F, the holding company of JBS, Banco Original, the social banking system MMM, a subsidiary of Banco Zions, Vigor Alimentos, Eldorado Brasil (pulp and paper), Flora Higiene Pessoal, Floresta Agropecuária and Canal Rural [41] taking office on March 5, 2012. [42] The J & F Group ended 2011 with a turnover of R $ 65 billion, about 145 thousand employees and businesses in more than 22 countries.
Batista entrusted Meirelles with the task of professionalizing the company by creating more independent decision-making mechanisms. Meirelles was also delegated the responsibility for the expansion of the business inside and outside the country, through the collection of results of executives and definition of strategies aiming the opening of Capital of the company, in the future.
With the announcement of Meirelles's arrival, JBS shares rose to 4.4%.

In 2015, Banco Original, one of the companies in the J & F holding company, had R $ 4.6 billion in total assets, making it the 57th largest bank in the country. [44]
Original Bank initiated in 2015 a project led by Meirelles to transform the bank into 100% digital, that there will be no agencies and all services will be offered through the website. [20] [45]

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