Brazil posted its largest quarterly slowdown in five years in the three months ending on 30 September, according to the national statistics agency, Ibge. Real GDP contracted 0.5% in the third quarter from the second, more than the 0.3% contraction predicted. Investment, helped by temporary government incentives, had picked up in the first half of 2013, but the results for the latest quarter were discouraging: it was down 2.2%. The finance minister, Guido Mantega, sought to put the bad news in context. “Among the Brics we were the country that grew the most in the second quarter. In the third quarter we had the lowest growth,” he said.End of preview - This article contains approximately 738 words.
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