*who keeps saying we will all come out of this downturn by 4Q of 2009 and China will be leading the way out?
China's 25.7% decline in exports exceeds projections
Economists are encouraged by China's accelerating pace of investment in fixed assets, a sign that it might be able to counter a 25.7% drop in exports for February compared with the same month a year earlier. The country's exports have been dropping for months, but until the February figure was released, it appeared China's downturn was going to be more gradual than declines experienced by other export-dependent Asian economies. Financial Times (11 Mar.)
*another BRIC nation going into recession?
Brazil's currency climbs while GDP drops
Despite Brazil's plummeting GDP, seen as the start of a lengthy economic downturn, the country's currency, the real, rose 1.4% against the U.S. dollar Tuesday. Brazil's fourth-quarter GDP dropped 3.6% compared with the same quarter a year earlier, according to the country's national statistics agency. Forbes (10 Mar.)
*US regulators should take a page from Japanese regulators
Japanese regulator works to ensure banks provide credit
To prevent bankruptcies, Japan's Financial Services Agency plans to visit the country's largest lenders to make sure they are not forcing borrowers to repay their loans early and that they are providing adequate credit. "The new measures include some drastic steps which leave the impression the agency is pulling out all the stops," said Shinichi Ina, an analyst with Credit Suisse. "It underlines the government's commitment to avoid bankruptcies." Bloomberg (11 Mar.)
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