If you needed another reminder that Brazil’s economy is struggling mightily as it slides towards a recession, it released retail sales numbers that were down 3.5% from this time last year, a drop twice as large as analysts were expecting. That comes on top of bad industrial production numbers, a weakened currency, wild inflation, and the high interest rates the Central Bank of Brazil is using to combat that inflation.
The country’s troubles highlight a broader slowdown in emerging market growth and shrinking investor confidence in the world’s developing economies.
