Big doings from BRIC-land. Here's the state of play:
1. Brazil and China signed a raft of multilateral agreements covering everything from financial cooperation to joint infrastructure investments and research consortia.
2. Brazil is launching a full-scale national infrastructure program. About $1 trillion will be channeled into the economy over the next four years -- enough to raise growth rates from the tepid 3% average during the early 2000s to tigerish 5-7% levels. This should also drive regional integration, boosting Brazil's neighbors.
3. Russia is bailing out the Ukraine to the tune of $40 billion in subsidies over 10 years, or about $4 billion/year. That may sound like a lot, but Russia has half a trillion dollars in reserves, far more than it needs, and helping out its neighbor isn't just the right thing to do, it's the smart thing to do. Ukraine has huge potential -- low debt levels, an extremely well educated population, lots of university students, etc. -- all it needs is a bit of cash to launch its very own Eurasian developmental state.
4. Inter-BRIC cooperation: a raft of agreements between Venezuela and China, and a new coordinating body to network their respective development banks.
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