South American economies leading rebound

As the recession ebbs (knock on wood), those who are following countries' rebounds are puzzled by a region doing particularly well: Latin America.

Countries there are rebounding quicker than the United States, reports the Christian Science Monitor, positioning the regional GDP for a return to 2.9 percent growth next year after shrinking 2.5 percent this year.

So why the improvement?

The Monitor posits that more trade with China has boosted Brazil and other countries that export commodities -- Brazil exports soy and copper to Asia -- particularly as Mexico and Central America are hurting from less demand in the United States.

Brazil is leading the recovery, whose gross domestic product is expected to grow to 3.5 percent by next year, according to the International Monetary Fund. The country's tax breaks for ordinary items like freezers and fridges also helped consumers. This contributed to an improvement in the middle class, which is estimate to comprise 53 percent of the population and now be doing 2.5 percent better than last year.

In other business and economic news:

Movil is improving in Latin America, reports the Wall Street Journal.

Miami Media LLC, which ownes Latin Trade magazine, bought the Latin Business Chronicle, which focuses on Latin American business.

Latin American bond markets are attractive because of its domestic debt, Bloomberg writes.

Bloomberg adds that an improvement in the U.S. dollar would be a risk for Latin American stocks just as they're beginning to rally.

Source: Christian Science Monitor, Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, Reuters

Photo: Brazil stock market, WSJ