My buddy who owns a website similar to www.aspenstoragecenters.com, was having some financial trouble and needed some advice. I told him that his financial game has to be on point to be successful. I recommended this series.

In the following video, you’ll get a few unorthodox tips on teaching business finance and learn how the co-author came to the realizations depicted in the series. The Harvard Business School is foremost in the US for graduating the greatest business minds on the planet. Businessmen in Brazil and the world over can all benefit from this.

                                      

In the last two days, the rescue plan for Greece fell into disfavor after Papandreou said he would put the deal to a popular vote. He explained that the painful austerity measures demanded by creditors could only continue with the support of the Greek people, who are ultimately the ones suffering due to the decisions. French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel are extremely upset by that decision. It resulted in Papandreuo being summoned to the G20 summit and asked to explain the move.

But what lead Greece to this low place in its financial history, and how might the country work towards digging its way out while remaining in the good graces of creditors?  Is it perhaps too late for that?  If you are new to this crisis and you want a quick, four minute primer on its origins, check out the video below.  To learn even more, check the news channels on direct tv.

                                      

The brightened sentiment stimulated global commodity prices, which are the foundation of Brazil’s benchmark Ibovespa stock index.  Much of the growth was attributed to the enthusiasm of investors and forex trading. The Ibovespa today opened at 53675 points, up from Friday’s close at 53230 points, approximately 8%.  This is today’s good news, but some sources predict this is no “one week wonder.”  Brazil seems poised to set a stunning example of how to recover from a worldwide recession.  Brazil’s economy is growing at three times the rate of that of the United States, and leads the way in world bio fuels.  Recently, China replaced the US as Brazil’s biggest business partner.

Enjoy this video from 60 Minutes, highlighting the factors that have helped bolster the Brazilian financial boom:

                                      

It’s amazing how fast social networking catches on.  In Brasil, Facebook became a force to be reckoned with in 2011, seeing phenomenal growth over a short period of time.   It appears, in fact, that Facebook is captivating Brazilian people registering an impressive growth from late 2010 through the Spring of this year. It has now firmly surpassed Orkut and other social networks, and analysts expect the growth to nearly double again by this time next year.

The growth rate of Facebook in Brazil is stunning, to say the very least. Between January and April of 2011 it achieved approximately 5 million new users and is by now fast approaching 18 million. By way of comparison, in January the year before, there were only about 6 million Facebook users total in Brazil.  So what does this have to do with finance?  Interestingly, Facebook is a powerful social media tool that can be used for marketing.  Many internet marketing firms on Brazil are incorporating Facebook landing pages into their strategies, and it’s paying off.  Here is an info graphic about the growth:

                                      

In a series of speeches after the announcement of a new package of local industrial incentives, the VFM stated great relief that U.S. politicians made the choice to end the lengthy conflict over the matter of the debt ceiling and crisis. ”This measure resolves a political impasse and makes it clear that there won’t be a radical solution such as a default,” Barbosa said. “As such, it diminishes uncertainties.”

The U.S. Senate gave their final agreement to a proposal that would raise the U.S. debt ceiling by somewhere close to $2.4 trillion from its current $14.29 trillion.  The U.S. Congress’ refusal to come to an agreement about all of this in the past months created widespread financial sress in countries the world over including Brazil, which holds massive volumes of foreign reserves in U.S. dollars and also uses the U.S. currency as a reference for trade and exchange values. (See direct tv channel)

Barbosa last week was careful to explain it was still too early for the Brazilian government to isolate any potential repercussions the U.S. legislative deal might bring about, but said that local authorities expected greater budget restrictions in the U.S. will be helpful in restoring good faith between the two countries.

“We’re still studying what the effects will be,” he said. “The impact is to depend chiefly on U.S. growth, and indirectly on U.S. and international interest rates. This is the main transmission channel for decisions taken there in relation to Brazil.”

Brazil must be careful, as must all countries now. in its dealings with the U.S.  The United States economy is still weak and no significant growth is expected under the current administration.  The 2012 elections are the next bright ray of hope, provided that a republican candidate with sound financial policies is elected.

                                      

So I did some research into Brazil’s financial world and pinpointed a particular company I know is doing well.  Wall Street News listed Banco Bradesco as a top stock,  among 24 other equally ambiguous firms to me.  This firm provides banking and financial services to both individuals and companies along with some international corporations.  I found it very interesting that this company is the largest insurance and pension provider in the country, perhaps something that distinguishes it from American firms of this nature that don’t really seem to dominate an area like this along with private sector.  It is this private sector branch and service network that is also the largest in Brazil, with over 3,000 branches around the country.  Having some international branches also seems to make the firm more appealing since it is located in New York, Luxembourg and Tokyo as well.

I’m not exactly sure what the American equivalent to Banco Bradesco currently is, but I am curious to learn more about what drives the company to such success, as well as what drives the nation to such success in the current times.  The stock for this company trades at 9.5 times forward earnings and I discovered that it pays a yield of 0.6%.  I may not be the most savvy market guy, but I do know that this is pretty successful and would be a good addition to my portfolio.  So I ask for any insight into this particular company and the science behind the good numbers since so many American banks are sinking.  Should I not be deceived by the preliminary research?  Is there more instability than I am aware of?  Now that I have looked into this situation and that of other banks in Brazil, I am much more interested in learning about the bigger financial picture with this country and will surely be investigating further.