Brazil's "Strong Weak" Economy

A recent article from Kenneth Rapoza of Forbes highlights some of the dichotomies in Brazil's economy, which Rapoza describes as being a "strong weak" economy.

It's strong because unemployment is low, at a record 5.5% for 2012. The figure was 4.6% for December 2012. It's strong because Brazil's currency is stable and strong. You'd think that with fundamentals like this looking so good, economists would be optimistic.

But Brazil's stock market is down, and economic growth rate of about 1% for 2012 is well below the 4% that had been predicted. 

The author says that some economic experts blame Dilma's government for lacking a cohesive economic policy, instead choosing to address economic problems as they arise. In other words, the government is accused of adopting too much of a short-term approach. 

Yet Rapoza also reports that in a recent survey, "Brazilian corporate execs ranked in the top 5 of countries that were optimistic or very optimistic about achieving higher revenues this year." 

Sources: Forbes, Brazil Portal