Today, we look at when Brazilian companies are hoping to return to their normal, pre-pandemic levels of activity. The difference in coronavirus concerns between rich and poor populations. The Economy Ministry’s plan to boost investment while avoiding ballooning public debt.
When Brazilian companies believe the “new normal” will begin
The “new normal” is 2020’s top cliché. It has been used in many ways to describe how the coronavirus pandemic will change societies and how the economy functions. We know that companies will have to overhaul their sanitary protocols and how office spaces operate, if they even return to traditional office work at all. But with many economies sliding into what is shaping up to become the worst crisis of the past century, there is uncertainty around when this “new normal” will begin.
- A survey by the Brazilian Institute of Economics at think tank Fundação Getúlio Vargas (IBRE-FGV) shows that only 25 percent of Brazilian companies say they are operating at “normal levels.” And 10 percent still have no idea of when they will be able to do so.
Why it matters. The services sector, which is the backbone of the Brazilian economy, is the most pessimistic about the recovery. Only...