The only way is up

FOR many Brazilians, the high point of the Olympic games in Rio de Janeiro came in the rain-drenched Engenho stadium on August 15th. That was when Thiago Braz (pictured) won an unexpected gold medal, and set an Olympic record, in pole vaulting. Brazil's beaten-down economy is nowhere near performing a feat that would remind anyone of Mr Braz's jump. But it may be starting to pick itself back up.The signs are still tentative. Manufacturers are investing again: imports of capital goods were 18% higher in dollar terms in June than in the same month last year, the first year-on-year rise since September 2014. Industrial production increased in June for the fourth consecutive month after two years of nearly uninterrupted decline. Firms' stocks of unsold goods are starting to shrink, and the number of lorries on motorways has stopped falling.Firms are not yet ready to hire more people, says Arthur Carvalho of Morgan Stanley, a bank, but firings have slowed. That is making consumers less glum; one consumer-confidence index rose for the third straight month in July. After repeatedly reducing its growth forecasts, the IMF recently revised...Continue reading
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