ABCC – Forthcoming Events

ABCC South Australia “Eyes on Brazil” Program

The ABCC is hosting this month in Adelaide the "Eyes on Brazil" Forum focussing on trade and investment opportunities in Brazil across a range of technology sectors (ICT, Clean Tech, Resources Technologies and Health).
"Eyes on Brazil" is co-hosted with Onkaparinga Exporters' Club, proudly sponsored by Carnegie Mellon University and Jetset Norwood and supported by:
JBS Swift, Austrade, UCL School of Energy and Resources, Onkaparinga Council and Woodstock.

Details are:

Date: Thursday 28 October 2010
Time: 3.00pm - 7.00pm
Venue: Carnegie Mellon University
Torrens Building
220 Victoria Square, Adelaide
Cost: $30.00 (individual)
$20.00 (ABCC and Exporter's Club members and students)

Forum Program:

3.00 - Registrations
3.30 - Opening Remarks (Richard Hancock - ABCC and Bob Shepard - Exporters Club)
3.30 to 6.00 -Presentations:
Eyes on Brazil - William Frogley, Honorary Consul, Brazilian Consulate
ITC Sector in Brazil - Aliomar Galvão (Softex Recife, Brazil)
CleanTech Sector in Brazil - Nigel Baker, Daniel Tejera (Pacific Hydro)
Resources Technology in Brazil - Tim Sennett (Thermo Fisher Scientific)
Health Businesses – Global Partnerships - Jairo Kerr Azevedo (Opto Global)
Government Programs and Assistance - Patricia Moessinger (Austrade)
Closing Remarks - Fabio de Conto (Exporters Club)
6.00 to 7.00 - Networking, drinks and canapés

To RSVP, please fill in this form and send to: abcc@australiabrazil.com.au or by fax to: (02) 9908 5826.
For further information you may call the ABCC on: (02) 9909 0987 or contact the ABCC SA director, Richard Hancock on: 0401 125432

Sporting events business mission to Brazil 21 – 26 November 2010

The ABCC in conjunction with ALABC, AISES and Austrade is conducting a business mission to Brazil from 20 to 26 November 2010 to target business opportunities arising from the 2014 Football World Cup and the Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Brazil is focussed on leveraging both events to deliver long-term results for the country in the areas of infrastructure, sustainability, urban development and venue legacy.
For more information and to register contact: abcc@australiabrazil.com.au

Brazil Film Festival 2010: Do not miss the Brazilian film festival in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne starting on 20th October

Cities
Sydney – 20 – 24 October 2010
Melbourne – 27 – 30 October 2010
Brisbane – 18 – 21 November 2010

Feature Films

“Embarque Imediato” (Now Boarding)
Genre: Comedy
Year: 2009
Duration: 86 min.

“Pachamama”
Genre: Documentary
Year: 2010
Duration: 105 min.

“Dzi Croquettes”
Genre: Documentary
Year: 2010
Duration: 110 min.

“Histórias de Amor Duram Apenas 90 Minutos” (Love Stories Last Only 90 Minutes)
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Year: 2010
Duration: 93 min.

“Lula, O Filho do Brasil” (Lula, The Son of Brazil)
Genre: Drama
Year: 2010
Duration: 128 min.

Tickets:
Ticket will be sold through Moshtix, at the venues (Dendy, Nova and Tribal) and online at the festival´s website.
Find out more about Brazil Film Festival at brazilfilmfestival.com.au

ALABC Dinner - The Westin Hotel, Sydney: Do not miss the Australia-Latin America Business Council Dinner with the presentation of the Latin American Business Awards.

Date: 20th October 2010

Time: From 6pm to midnight

Registrations: Contact Claire Oxlade on marketing@alabc.com.au to book a corporate table or buy tickets

Portuguese for Foreigners at Accendo Education

Accendo Education, in North Sydney, is offering a "Portuguese for Foreigners" course. The current edition is starting on Monday 11/10/10 evening. The format is 4 hours per week, on Monday and Wednesday, from 18:30 to 20:30.
Accendo targets those with Brazilian partners, professionals working for companies exposed to the Brazilian market and people in general interested in learning Portuguese for fun and friendship.
Form more information contact Accendo on: admin@accendo-edu.com

Feed Back on Eyes on Brazil seminar with Macquarie, 1st October 2010

The ABCC co-hosted a successful briefing with Macquarie Group with special guest and speaker from Brazil Ronaldo Veirano (Honorary Consul for Australia in Rio and Founder/Senior Partner at Veirano Attorneys) and Cesar Farfan (Associate Director, Macquarie Global Investments) who delivered informative and positive presentations on the economic, legal and political aspects of doing business with and investing in Brazil highlighting sectors of opportunities for investors and fund managers.

ABCC New Members

The ABCC welcomes the following new members

• Dry-Treat Pty Ltd


• Alltax Consulting Group

Commodities

Sudan signs $500 mln deals with Brazil-sugar exec

KHARTOUM, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Sudanese companies signed up to $500 million worth of deals with Brazilian agricultural, construction and engineering groups, the head of the African state's biggest sugar company said on Sunday.
Africa's largest country, shut out of the U.S. market by harsh sanctions, has been expanding its trade with China, India, Brazil and the Middle East while trying to diversify its economy away from its main export, oil.
Mohamed El Mardi, managing director of Kenana Sugar Company, told Reuters that Sudanese companies accompanying a Khartoum government delegation to Brasilia signed scores of initial agreements, many of them funded with Brazilian credit.
Kenana signed two deals with Brazil's Dedini to provide machinery and equipment to double the size of Kenana's ethanol plant in Sudan and to set up a new biodiesel operation, he said after returning from the trip, without going into further detail.
"There were not less that $300 million of initial agreements made. When you factor on the infrastructure deals, the figure could go up to $500 million," he said speaking briefly at Khartoum airport after returning from the trip.
"There are lots of synergies between Sudan and Brazil which also focuses on sugar as a leader of agro-industry. Brazil has a very ambitious export credit programme. They are offering very soft finance."
Sudan's Giad engineering company also secured a number of deals on the visit led by the country's industry minister, Mardi said, adding it was too early to go into details about the value of the specific agreements.
Dedini provided equipment for Kenana's existing ethanol factory, the first one in Sudan, which exported its first 5 million litres (1.3 million gallons) of ethanol to the European Union in December.
Sugar is a key commodity in Sudan, where the population is sensitive to price hikes. The country, which hopes to be a sugar exporter by 2014, currently has to import to cover domestic consumption of 1.2 million tonnes a year.
The United States stepped up sanctions against in Sudan in 1997, accusing the government of human rights abuses and supporting terrorism, then tightened the restrictions further in 2006 over the conflict in Sudan's Darfur region.

Source: reuters.com

Mining

Valuable Vale

Few firms have achieved so much with so little fanfare. But can Vale mine anything other than iron ore?

IT IS perhaps the biggest firm you have never heard of. The Boston Consulting Group says it has created more value than any other large firm in the world over the past decade. Yet few people know how to pronounce Vale’s name (it’s “vah-lay”).
This giant Brazilian miner has stayed out of the spotlight even as ravenous demand from China has propelled it from insignificance ten years ago to a market capitalisation of $147 billion. It is now the world’s second-largest miner: smaller than BHP Billiton, but bigger than Rio Tinto and other better-known rivals.
That Vale has kept its success quiet is partly an accident of history. It is not the product of a headline-grabbing mega-merger. Rather, it was a staid state-owned firm until it was privatised in 1997. It hatched plans to build itself into a big, diversified mining company only in 2001.
However, it has not yet diversified much beyond iron ore or its home country. It is by far the world’s biggest producer of iron ore, digging up some 230m tonnes of the stuff in 2009 (a weight roughly equivalent to 1,000 of the statues of Christ the Redeemer overlooking Rio de Janeiro—every day). Rio Tinto, the number two iron-ore producer, extracts a mere 172m tonnes annually.
Vale relies on iron ore for 65% of its revenues. Other mining giants spread their risks across multiple commodities and a variety of safe and hazardous countries. Vale, by contrast, mines mainly in Brazil.
Its ambitions to broaden its interests beyond Brazilian iron ore face two obstacles. Does it have the ability? And does it have permission? According to Rene Kleyweg of UBS, a Swiss bank, Vale has yet to prove that it can operate as a diversified miner. And its relationship with Brazil’s government, which would prefer it to invest at home, is both tricky and unclear.
Iron ore is largely a logistics business. It is easy to extract, bulky and relatively cheap. The trick is to transport vast quantities around the globe quickly. At this, Vale excels. The firm owns about 10,000km (6,200 miles) of railways, nine ports and a huge fleet of ships.
Vale wants to expand its iron-ore business, a vast cash-generating machine, in Brazil and farther afield, in Guinea-Conakry. Rodolfo De Angele of JPMorgan Chase, a bank, predicts that in ten years’ time Vale will still be mainly an iron-ore firm. But despite that wonderful substance’s attractions, Vale aims to shuffle its assets to offer a greater variety of minerals to commodity-craving emerging markets.
In May it sold its aluminium business to Norway’s Norsk Hydro, for a mix of cash and equity. Aluminium requires lots of expensive electricity to produce. Also, there is no shortage of it in China, which tarnishes its allure. Vale has plans for organic expansion in nickel, copper, coal and potash. Demand for all of these minerals is likely to surge as poor countries get rich.
Critics carp that Vale’s ventures in copper and nickel have not been wholly successful. In 2007 it spent $19.4 billion on Inco, a Canadian nickel producer. Its Brazilian managers irritated its new Canadian employees. A year-long strike over pay and pensions by 3,000 workers ended only in July. A nickel investment under way at Goro in New Caledonia may show whether Vale has the skills to manage a big, technically demanding mining project.
If Vale’s foreign ventures go poorly, that may not worry Brazil’s government. Many in the industry claim that Vale’s shareholding structure gives Brazil’s president (currently Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva) the power to force Vale to invest and create jobs at home. But some of the pension funds and investment companies that hold big stakes in Vale will not like this at all. They care about returns, not economic nationalism. In theory it is shareholders who control Vale and the government owns only 5.4% of the shares.
However, Lula exerts pressure on the firm behind closed doors and through the media. A future president could do the same. The royalties Vale pays to the government for mining in Brazil are modest, but a new mining code under discussion will probably bump them up after the presidential election next month. The ultimate sanction—renationalisation—is extremely unlikely. That said, displeasure in Brasilia may have nudged Vale into ending negotiations to take over Xstrata, a Swiss mining firm, in 2008. But Vale rejects suggestions that a government “golden share” gives it the power to block deals.
Vale’s decision to sell its aluminium business and to order a fleet of enormous ships from China has annoyed the Brazilian government, which is trying to revive Brazil’s shipbuilding industry. The firm points out, not unreasonably, that it has to buy Chinese ships because Brazilian shipbuilders are incapable of making vessels that are big enough for its needs. It has half-acquiesced to Lula’s pleas that it invest in Brazilian steelmaking; it has put modest sums into joint ventures and other partnerships. But Vale denies that recent investments in Brazilian potash are motivated by anything but commercial good sense. Potash is set to boom, it insists.
After the election Vale will unveil new investment plans. Rumours suggest that these will involve capital spending of up to $100 billion over the next five years—most of it in Brazil. That should keep the government happy, while leaving Vale with ample sums to invest abroad. It may be that the price of iron ore will fall, hobbling Vale’s progress. But mining firms everywhere look at all the cars, pipes, bridges and steel-skeletoned skyscrapers that Chinese people seem to want, and doubt it.

Source: economist.com

Kenai Resources Starts Drilling at Hope Butte and Albisu Secures Key Gold Project in Brazil

Kenai Resources Ltd(CA:KAI 0.30, +0.01, +3.45%) ("Kenai") announces that drilling at its Hope Butte, Oregon gold project located just west of the Idaho border is scheduled to commence around the end of September. Kenai's immediate drilling program of approximately 3,000 metres is designed to replicate the results and the mining potential recorded at Hope Butte in the 1996 to 2000 period by Chevron Resources and its joint venturers, and to advance Hope Butte to NI 43-101 status. To this end, four initial holes are being drilled by twinning Chevron's prior results, including several very high grade intercepts. Assay results from the initial drilling at Hope Butte will be released as soon as available.
Kenai also advises that, following the completion of the initial drilling at Hope Butte, the rig will be remobilised for a planned 1,000 metre drilling program at the Albisu farm-in exploration project in northern Nevada. This program is currently anticipated to commence during November. The Albisu gold project was drilled by Chevron Resources in 1979 and 1981 and Western Energy Development Corp. ("WEDC") followed up with four core holes in 2008 to twin Chevron's AL-14 drill hole that reportedly intercepted 6.5 meters at 6.2 gram per tonne ("gpt"). The WEDC holes confirmed the gold zone by intercepting 1.6 meters of 12.46 gpt and 8 meters of 1.94 gpt. To date WEDC has drilled a total of 3,729 meters of core at Albisu in 2008 and 2009. That drill program defined a mineralized stockwork sulphide-quartz-calcite zone that is up to 73 m thick. Gold values range from 14.6 gpt over 1.8 meters to intervals between 3 and 32 meters of 0.2 to 0.5 gpt.

Kenai Entry to Brazil via Strategic Joint Venture with Gold Anomaly on its Sao Chico Gold Project

Kenai has executed an Option Agreement with Gold Anomaly Limited (ASX:GOA) for Kenai to acquire 50% of the Sao Chico gold project in Brazil, by funding project exploration ahead of a possible decision to acquire equity in the project, with key terms as under:

1. Kenai has an 18 months option to acquire 50% of Sao Chico following an advance to GOA of A$1m and committing to provide A$2m project funding, these funds will be in the form of a loan from Kenai to GOA until exercise of the option. If Kenai does not exercise the option, the loan funds advanced will be repaid to Kenai by GOA.
2. Kenai has a further option to acquire further 25% by payment to GOA of A$1m and committing to provide A$1m project funding.
3. GOA has right to continuing participation at 25% level or can sell 25% to Kenai based on US$30/oz for attributable CIM Mineral Resources gold ounces plus US$60/oz for attributable CIM Mineral Reserves gold ounces at that time.
4. Kenai to pay a 10% Net Profits Interest (NPI) for 5 years to GOA over Kenai's attributable interest, whether at 50% or 75%.

Kenai's objectives in this transaction are to undertake local and regional exploration and development, over the tenement area covering 1,416 hectares, initially targeting one million gold ounces in the 56 hectare core area, the site of extensive prior garimpeiro surface workings. Kenai's project funding is to generate the necessary data to accelerate a Mining Lease application.

Kenai will assume the role of project manager, utilizing existing GOA personnel as well as its own personnel. The focus is on fast tracking initial gold production and defining a NI 43-101 compliant mineral resource. GOA has been planning the commencement of production by the end of 2010 at the rate of 20,000 gold ounces per annum. Production is planned from an expected high grade gold deposit using a minimal capital cost, low operating cost gravity recovery operation. On exercise of the Option, Kenai's participation will be as an incorporated joint venture with GOA, covering GOA's rights under contract with the local garimpeiro landowner. This landowner has recently been granted a 12 month trial mining permit or GUIA, with a possible 12 month extension to the permit, during which time a feasibility study for a full scale project is planned to be completed. As Greg Starr, President of Kenai is also a Director of Gold Anomaly; the intended transaction may be determined by the TSX Exchange as a non-arms length acquisition.

Source: marketwatch.com

Beadell sells noncore assets to fund Brazil gold project

PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Gold developer Beadell Resources has agreed to sell the iron-ore royalties from its Amapá project, in Brazil, to Toronto- and London-listed Anglo Pacific Group for A$31,25-million.

“This is an outstanding result for both Anglo Pacific Group and Beadell,” said Beadell MDPeter Bowler.

“Our strategy of funding the construction of the carbon-in-leach gold plant at our Tucano project, in Brazil, early next year by way of selling noncore assets, supplemented with sensible levels of debt is becoming a reality.”

Bowler added that Beadell also planned to sell its earthmoving equipment to an experienced mining services group, which would subsequently be awarded a long-term contract for the mining of the openpit projects.

“These are crucial milestones, as we progress towards the resumption of large-scale gold mining at Tucano, while at the same time looking after the best interest of all shareholders and stakeholders,” added Bowler.

Mineral resources for the Tucano project are divided into openpit and underground resources based on detailed scoping level analysis of cost inputs to derive cut-off grades. The total resources for the project are 54,6-million tons at 1,65 g/t gold for 2,9-million ounces. This includes openpit resources totalling 26,3-million tons at 1,45 g/t gold for 1,2-million ounces.

The Tucano project contains significant deposits of hematite iron-ore hosted in a banded iron formation (BIF) that occurs throughout the greenstone belt.

Anglo American and Cliffs Natural Resources started an openpit mining operation and beneficiation plant in December 2007, and are ramping up to a projected 6,5-million tons a year of pellet and sinter feed production, which is anticipated to occur between 2011 and 2012.

The mining concession that makes up the Amapá iron-ore project is located immediately south-east of the Tucano gold deposits and is hosted in the same BIF.

Source: miningweekly.com

Oil & Gas

Brazil's oil firm Petrobras aims for largest share issue in history

The $64m offering well surpasses the $36bn raised by Japanese telecoms firm NTT in 1987
Brazil's state-controlled oil company Petrobras is aiming to sell a record-breaking $64bn (£41bn) worth of shares to investors this week – the latest and biggest sign of the developing nation's recent ascent through the ranks of world finance.
The offering is set to become the largest issue to date, surpassing the $36bn raised by Japanese telecoms company NTT in 1987 and the $24bn raised by the Royal Bank of Scotland in June 2008, when the lender rushed to inflate its corporate buffers as the credit crunch started to deepen.
Investors are flocking to emerging markets, bonds and natural resources as they escape moribund equity markets in Europe and the US. Meanwhile, developing economies such as Brazil are booming as they sell oil, minerals and metals at record prices. Their financial systems have also been less battered by the credit crunch than those in the west, as their more traditional banks avoided the complex sub-prime lending deals that led to the global recession.
Rio-based Petrobras, an offshore oil driller, will use the funds raised to help finance its $224bn investment plan through 2014. As many as 26 investment banks have been appointed to distribute the shares, including Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Merrill Lynch, Banco Santander and Citigroup.
Petrobras, already the fifth largest publicly listed oil and gas firm, aims to make Brazil one of the world's biggest oil exporters. It plans to tap oil buried under the sea floor in a region known as the subsalt.
Deals such as Brazilian ethanol and sugar company ETH's purchase of rival Brenco have lifted Brazil to the world's number five rank in mergers and acquisitions this year – up from eighth over the same period last year – according to Dealogic. Only the US, Britain, China and Canada have struck more deals than the South American country. Brazil is also ranked seven in terms of equity issues – up from 10th last year – and 21st in debt transactions, a jump from its 29th rank in 2009.
Banks are expanding their operations in Sao Paulo, Brasilia or Rio as they try to exploit the country's rich mineral reserves, including iron ore, aluminium or copper. Brazil is also rich in soya beans, fruit, coffee, sugar and cotton.
The Petrobras sale is also expected to attract interest from energyinvestors, who have rushed into natural resource companies as they perceive them to be safer than the recently volatile credit and equity markets. Gold last week reached a record of $1,274 per troy ounce, while Exchange Traded Funds have proliferated in stock markets across Europe as investors seek exposure to commodities and energy. In the meantime, the FTSE 100 has barely gained 1.8% this year.
Utility and energy is the second biggest generator of equity issues in Europe so far this year, with $8.4bn worth of transactions. Only banks have issued more, worth $17bn.

Source: guardian.co.uk

Production of oil in Brazil was record in August

(Source: Info-Prod Research (Middle East)) According to ANBA: Brazilian daily oil production reached a record figure in August. The figures were disclosed today (16) by the Natural Gas and Biofuel director at the National Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuel Agency (ANP), Victor Martins. He also pointed out the production of natural gas, the second largest in history, was only lower than that in June. "August production was a historic record for Brazil, representing 2.078 million barrels of oil [a day] and 62 million cubic metres of gas a day, which configures a volume of 2.471 million barrels of oil equivalent, record production," said the ANP director during Rio Oil & Gas a fair that brings together the main global companies in the sector. He said that the record volumes which represented growth of 6% in production of oil and 10% in gas, as against August 2009 show how correct the government policy in the area is. "This means that we are on the right route, expanding production, and that the policy developed for attraction of new partners to support activities in the oil sector is a great success. It is very good for the country to reach a level of production that exceeds self-sufficiency with such great margins." In coming months, the director at the ANP hopes for production to continue rising in a consistent manner. "They are projects that are being developed, maturing and starting to operate. It is the development of a process. This shows that Brazil is consolidating itself as a producer of oil." He also pointed out the growing participation of private companies in production, though it is still greatly concentrated on Petrobras. "Foreign companies are starting to participate, among them Shell and Chevron, although 91% of production is still in the hands of Petrobras." Victor estimated that there should be growth of foreign companies in coming years. "I believe that both Petrobras production should grow as should that of other companies that believe in Brazil, research, invest and develop their projects." Figures show that Rio de Janeiro is responsible for 78% of national production, with 1.624 million barrels a day in the month. Another eight states also produced: Esp?rito Santo (240,600 barrels a day), Rio Grande do Norte (58,100 barrels), Bahia (45,400 barrels), Sergipe (40,300 barrels), Amazonas (36,600 barrels), S?o Paulo (18,600 barrels), Cear? (8,700 barrels) and Alagoas (5,400 barrels).

Source: istockanalyst.com

Renewable Energy

Warburg Pincus Is Investing in Brazil’s Omega Energia

Omega Energia Investment, a renewable energy company in Brazil, said it had obtained $205 million in investments from the American private equity firm Warburg Pincus as well as Tarpon Investimentos, already its controlling shareholder.
The additional 350 million reals will give Omega, which already holds a portfolio of small hydro power plants, the reserves to undertake larger projects, some of which are already under consideration.
Alain Belda, managing partner of Warburg in Brazil, said the stake was the firm’s “first in Brazil since the opening of our São Paulo office in February of this year.”
Omega, created in 2008, said Tuesday that it was conducting feasibility studies on a number of large hydro plants in the 50- to 200-megawatt range.
“Given the extremely large amount of resources required, energy is by nature a partnership business. I strongly believe that the growth of the renewable energy sector is happening due to the creation of larger enterprises with greater economies of scale,” said Antonio Augusto Bastos Filho, Omega’s chief executive.
Tarpon, based in Brazil, manages $3 billion in assets.

Source: dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com

Economy

U.S. Loses No. 1 to Brazil-China-India Market in Investor Poll

The U.S. has fallen behind emerging markets in Brazil, China and India as the preferred place to invest, a Bloomberg survey shows, though the world’s largest economy still ranks highest of all major developed countries.
The U.S. ranked first three months ago in the last quarterly Bloomberg Global Poll. Along with the slipping perceptions of the U.S. markets in the most recent survey, conducted Sept. 16-17, poll respondents say the Federal Reserve is likely to take further steps to try to bolster the economy.
In the September poll of 1,408 investors, analysts and traders who are Bloomberg subscribers, respondents rate the U.S. fourth for potential returns over the next year, behind Brazil and China, tied for first, and India, in third place.
The U.S. economic situation “is obviously unsustainable, and the concerted attempt to suspend disbelief is playing increasingly poorly abroad,” says poll respondent Eric Kraus, chief strategist for Otkritie Brokerage House in Moscow. “One can delay, but no one can forestall the unwind of a multidecade credit bubble.”
Economic reports released since the June poll show U.S. GDP growth slowed to 1.6 percent in the second quarter from 3.7 percent in the first quarter. In the final quarter of last year, GDP grew at a 5.0 percent annual rate.
Expectations for U.S. GDP growth next year have dropped to a median forecast of 2.5 percent in September from 2.9 percent in June, according to Bloomberg’s monthly survey of economists.
S&P Rise
Since the June survey, U.S. stock markets have been on the rise. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index has risen 3.62 percent since the last investor poll was completed June 3. That’s not as much as Brazil’s Bovespa Index, which is up 10.56 percent and India’s Bombay Stock ExchangeSensitive Index, which is up 10.44 percent. The U.S. stocks still did better than China’s Shanghai Stock Exchange Composite Index, which has risen 1.41 percent since June 3.
“I think the U.S. will get back on track, but not in the next 6-12 months,” says poll respondentThomas Knudsen, a senior trader with OW Supply & Trading in Copenhagen.
Two-thirds of investors say they believe Federal Reserve policy makers, who meet today, will ease monetary policy through bond purchases by the end of the year. A similar 65 percent majority say the Fed bond purchases won’t boost U.S. economic growth.
Overall, investors give the central bank favorable marks, with a 57 percent majority believing its monetary policy is “about right.” More say it has been too aggressive, the view of 26 percent, than say it has been too timid, a view held by 14 percent.
Popular Bernanke
Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke is viewed favorably by 71 percent of respondents, up from 67 percent in June. He ranks highest in a list of eight global leaders and policy makers that includes President Barack Obama, Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany and European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet.
Only 1 out of 6 investors believes the U.S. economy is currently improving, though a 45 percent plurality considers the U.S. “stable.” Another 37 percent believe the U.S. is deteriorating.
The poll also shows that confidence in the dollar has slipped since June, when 63 percent of investors believed the U.S. currency would rise against the euro during the following three months. Forecasts are now evenly divided: 34 percent now expect a stronger dollar in three months; 32 percent expect little change; and 30 percent a weaker dollar.
The Bloomberg Global Poll was conducted by Selzer & Co., of Des Moines, Iowa, and has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.6 percentage points.
No ‘Lost Decade’
Investors are confident the U.S. will avoid some of the worst outcomes. Seven out of 10 investors say they believe there is little or no risk of a U.S. double-dip recession. Six out of 10 investors see little or no risk the U.S. will endure a Japan- like “Lost Decade” of minimal or no growth.
“There is a black cloud overhead, but the worst is not yet to come,” says J. Ann Selzer, president of Selzer & Co.
Still, investors are wary of the record U.S. budget deficits. A 53 percent majority sees a big or moderate risk the budget deficit will provoke a crisis of confidence within two years that will spur “a dramatic rise” in long-term interest rates.
Poll respondent Dieter Buchholz, head of equities at Falcon Private Bank in Zurich, said market sentiment could turn against U.S. debt if the bipartisan debt commission appointed by Obama fails to spur a credible reduction in long-term deficits or Congress bucks the White House to expand the deficit by extending Bush-era tax cuts for the wealthy.
‘Confidence Crisis’
“When the non-Americans see that efforts by the administration to balance the budget are fruitless, then I think you will get a confidence crisis,” Buchholz said.
In July, the White House budget office forecast the federal deficit would be a record $1.47 trillion for 2010 and $1.42 trillion for the 2011 fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1.
Poll respondents were evenly split on whether the current U.S. Treasury bond market is a bubble. In six months, 49 percent expect yields on the 10-year Treasury note to be higher versus 26 percent who expect yields to be lower.
Their view of the U.S. stock market is bullish: 49 percent expect the S&P 500 to be higher in six months, while 28 percent say it will be lower.
Poll respondents in the U.S. are more optimistic about their nation as a place for investment; 35 percent of U.S. investors name it as a top market, just behind Brazil. Outside the U.S., that number drops to 17 percent.

Source: bloomberg.com

Events – Australia

Irresistible Gluten Free Food Show-Melbourne

Date: 02-OCT-10 to 03-OCT-10
100+ Exhibitors providing food and products to help those with Coeliac Disease, a gluten intolerance or looking for a healthier lifestyle. The Coles Cooking Stage provides top name chefs cooking up a gluten free storm. Seminar Theatres both inform and entertain. This is the only Healthy Food Show to attend.
Venue: Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Eye Power - Exhibitor Training Seminar

Date: 06-OCT-10 to 06-OCT-10
Eye Power - Exhibitor Training Seminar is an internationally recognised and widely presented exhibitor education program. Its key purpose is to help exhibitors and industry professionals achieve their exhibition and trade show objectives and increase their return-on-investment (ROI). Skyline presents this exhibitor training free of charge to anyone who can benefit from Eye Power to increase their exhibition and event marketing success.
Venue: Skyline Displays Showroom, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

ALL-ENERGY AUSTRALIA

Date: 07-OCT-10 to 08-OCT-10
All-Energy Australia is the Asia Pacific region's only event devoted to all forms of clean energy. The event will features areas of the renewable energy industry - wind (onshore and offshore), wave, tidal, hydro, hydrogen and fuel cells, solar and biofuels. The event will be taking place at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre.
Venue: Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

IT Matters

Date: 07-OCT-10 to 08-OCT-10
IT Matters will offer a best platform for companies to showcase products and services, generate sales market their brand & network with hundreds of corporations and visitors expected to attend over the two days. A conference also will be held during the event session at the same venue.
Venue: Melbourne Crown Conference Centre, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

The Good Food & Wine Show-Adelaide

Date: 08-OCT-10 to 10-OCT-10
The Good Food & Wine Show-Adelaide will offer best opportunity to to sample over many brands fine wines, beers and spirits and food from around the globe. The exhibition will provide tastings program and sample high-end wines in the Fine Wine Tasting Lounge. The event will be held between 08-10 October 2010 and being organized by Diversified Exhibitions.
Venue: Adelaide Showground, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia

Australian International Motor Show

Date: 14-OCT-10 to 24-OCT-10
The Australian International Motor Show is the flagship event for the Australian motor industry. Filling to capacity the 28,000 square metres of the Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre at Darling Harbour, the show offers a line-up of all new, re-designed or upgraded production models and concept cars from around the world.
Venue: Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Infrastructure Australia-Adelaide

Date: 20-OCT-10 to 22-OCT-10
The Infrastructure Australia Exhibition will provide a platform for exhibitors to showcase their products and services and bring together leading projects from Australia that deal with Infrastructure in some shape or form.
Venue: Adelaide Showground, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia

Comfex

Date: 20-OCT-10 to 22-OCT-10
Comfex is an inaugural trade event dedicated to the construction, mining, earthmoving, civil contracting, quarry and allied industries. Constrction & Mining Equipment & Machinery, Scaffolding & Formwork, Commercial Vehicles will attract Construction & Mining Companies, Equipment Hire & Rental Companies, Transport Companies, Government, Utilities, Quarrying, Consulting & Design.
Venue: Adelaide Convention Centre, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia

Motorclassica

Date: 22-OCT-10 to 24-OCT-10
Motorclassica is a leading trade fair for Automotive industry, it will be held at Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne, Australia. Passenger Cars, sport Cars, 4 x 4 Vehicles, Mini buses, Vans, Micro Buses, light Utility Vehicles, Pick Up Single & Double Cabin, Cycles & Motorcycles, Buses, Trucks, Heavy duty Vehicles will be targeting Executives & Businessmen, Automobile Professionals, Corporate Buyers, Transport Operators.
Venue: Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Restaurant Expo

Date: 25-OCT-10 to 26-OCT-10
Restaurant Expo is designed for you to reach the decision makers of Australia's leading independent restaurants, restaurant chains, hotel groups and contract caterers. Restaurant Expo will encompass everything a restaurateur and their team need to make their restaurant more successful, and give them the edge.
Venue: Royal Hall of Industries & Hordern Pavilion,Moore Park, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Sydney Materials Handling

Date: 26-OCT-10 to 26-OCT-10
Sydney Materials Handling is the most important specialized show of its nature. An ever greater interest by the exhibitors in presenting their products and services at industrial products proves its success and a growing tendency. Sydney Materials Handling occurs in some form or another in every workplace.
Venue: Sydney Trade Centre, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Goldfields Mining Expo

Date: 26-OCT-10 to 28-OCT-10
Goldfields Mining Expo (GME), one of the world's largest exhibitions of products and services for the mining and related engineering industries.
Venue: WMC Conference Centre, Kalgoorlie, Western Australia, Australi

Events – Brazil

UsinaGem

Date: 05-OCT-10 to 07-OCT-10
UsinaGem will showcase new technologies, equipments and services in the machining industry. Most advanced products, services and solutions for planning, design, construction, operation and maintenance of machine tools. It will be held at Expo Center Norte & being organized by Aranda Eventos E Congressos.
Venue: Expo Center Norte, Sao Paulo, Brazil

Expo Estadio

Date: 06-OCT-10 to 08-OCT-10
Expo Estadio is a trade show and conference for the designing, constructing, engineering, equipping, managing and operating of stadiums and sport venues in Brazil. Sporting events are a central part of Brazilian culture. With a population of 180 million people and in light of the FIFA World cup Brazil in 2014 and Brazil's candidacy to host the Olympic Games in 2016, there will be quite some investment in the market for stadiums and sporting venues over the next 8 years.
Venue: Sul America Convention Center, Rio De Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Expo Urbano

Date: 06-OCT-10 to 08-OCT-10
Expo Urbano will focus on outdoor areas such as streets, squares, parks, gardens, playgrounds, sports facilities, beach, recreational areas and parking facilities. This 3 days event will be taking place at the Sul America Convention Center 06-08 October 2010 and being organized by Real Alliance.
Venue: Sul America Convention Center, Rio De Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazi

Rio Parts

Date: 06-OCT-10 to 09-OCT-10
Rio Parts for Automotive Parts and Auto Repair, a mega show of automobile Industry. It is an excellent platform for you to generate good business fortunes, unparalleled exposure to automobile fraternity, cross-fertilization of ideas an opportunity to present your proposition to consumers.
Venue: Rio De Janeiro Intercontinental Hotel, Rio De Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

FIMMEPE

Date: 18-OCT-10 to 22-OCT-10
FIMMEPE is one of the comprehensive exhibition for industrial machinery sector in Brazil. The event will attract thousand of visitors from different parts of the globe under single roof at the Pernambuco Convention Center. This premium trade show will be taking place between 18-22 October 2010.
Venue: Pernambuco Convention Center, Olinda, Brazil

Mercopar Expo

Date: 19-OCT-10 to 22-OCT-10
Mercopar Expo is an international exhibition of manufacturing machineries and technologies. It's purpose is to provide small and medium-sized enterprises with an effective way of promoting their business, as well as a show case for sales and making contact with domestic and foreign manufacturers and contractors.
Venue: Caxias do Sul Exhibition Centre, Caxias Do Sul, Brazil

ABAV- Fair of Americas

Date: 20-OCT-10 to 22-OCT-10
ABAV- Fair of Americas is sole exhibition for tour and tourism industry. This is one of the biggest trade fair in Latin America. The event will be held between 20-22 October 2010 at the RioCENTRO Convention Center and being organized by Reed Exhibitions.
Venue: Rio de Janeiro Convention Center, Rio De Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

ABAV - Discover America Pavilion

Date: 20-OCT-10 to 22-OCT-10
ABAV - Discover America Pavilion annually attracts more than 700 exhibitors from 40 countries and some 25,000 trade professionals, approx. 9,000 of whom are travel agents. This is one of the most comprehensive exhibition for tour and travel industry which will be taking place between 20-22 October 2010 at the Rio de Janeiro Convention Center.
Venue: Rio de Janeiro Convention Center, Rio De Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil