LatinNews Monitor: Brazil & Southern Cone - 13 November 2015

Once again the finance minister, Joaquim Levy, is rumoured to be on the verge of leaving the government. Given such rumours are an almost weekly event, it is worth taking them with a pinch of salt. However, in a departure from previous occasions, markets and traders now appear to be more enthused by his possible replacement, Henrique Meirelles, the former central bank president under Lula da Silva (2003-2011). The Real strengthened slightly against the US dollar, and the market rose on the rumours. Whereas once Levy was believed to be all that stood between the government and another credit ratings downgrade, now Meirelles appears to be an acceptable substitute who would stick to the government’s austerity programme while also keeping the left-leaning base of the ruling Partido dos Trabalhadores (PT) onside.