Renúncia fiscal vai liberar R$ 8,4 bilhões à economia

Gazeta Mercantil/1ª Página / Ayr Aliski e Iolanda Nascimento
12/12/2008
As medidas do governo para reativar a economia vão liberar R$ 8,4 bilhões ao mercado por meio de cortes de tributos. O pacote prevê a redução pela metade do Imposto sobre Produtos Industrializados (IPI) dos automóveis e mudanças na tabela do Imposto de Renda que garantem isenção para quem ganha até R$ 1.434 por mês. Para estimular o crédito, o Imposto sobre Operações Financeiras (IOF) cai de 3% para 1,5% ao ano e retorna ao patamar que vigorava no início do ano. A redução temporária da alíquota do IPI para os veículos terá impacto de R$ 1 bilhão em 2009 e beneficiará sobretudo carros populares, com motores de até mil cilindradas. Para estes modelos, a alíquota cai de 7% para 0%.
O governo pretende também utilizar recursos das reservas internacionais para empréstimos a empresas brasileiras com dívidas no exterior, de acordo com o presidente do Banco Central, Henrique Meirelles. Cerca de US$ 10 bilhões podem ser gastos nessa operação.
Os empresários que se reuniram com o presidente Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva e representantes do governo apoiaram, com reservas, o pacote anticrise anunciado ontem em Brasília. Armando Monteiro Neto, presidente da Confederação Nacional da Indústria (CNI), indicou a necessidade de providências mais consistentes. "Seria leviano dizer que as medidas são suficientes para garantir a sustentação da demanda nos níveis atuais."
No Rio de Janeiro, a ministra-chefe da Casa Civil, Dilma Rousseff, disse que o presidente Lula também está preocupado com as taxas de juros cobradas pelas instituições federais e que deverá pedir uma revisão das que estão acima da Selic (13,75% ao ano) ao Banco do Brasil (BB) e à Caixa Econômica Federal. O BB, que recentemente anunciou redução de taxas, teve incremento de R$ 15 bilhões na carteira de crédito de setembro a novembro.

Mercado doméstico de aviação encolhe 1% em novembro

Rodrigo Postigo
12/12/2008
O tráfego aéreo de passageiros no Brasil voltou a recuar em novembro, depois de ter registrado em outubro a primeira contração anual desde agosto do ano passado, segundo dados divulgados nesta quinta-feira pela Agência Nacional de Aviação Civil (Anac).
Novembro registrou um volume de 3,77 milhões de passageiros transportados, queda de 1% sobre o registrado no mesmo mês de 2007. A queda soma-se ao recuo de 3,9% verificado em outubro, quando o mercado aéreo transportou 3,78 milhões de passageiros.
Enquanto o volume de passageiros caiu, a oferta de assentos aumentou 11,4% em novembro na comparação com o mesmo período de 2007.
A TAM manteve praticamente inalterada sua participação no mercado doméstico, em 51,7%, enquanto a rival Gol fechou o mês passado com uma fatia de 40,05%, depois que a Anac autorizou a união da malha aérea da empresa com a da unidade adquirida Varig. As participações da Gol e da Varig em outubro somavam 40,3%.
Em termos de ocupação dos aviões, o percentual da indústria passou de 70%, há um ano, para 62% em novembro de 2008. A TAM registrou taxa de 66%, um ponto percentual a mais que em outubro, enquanto Gol/Varig teve índice de 58% em novembro, mesma variação que a apurada no mês anterior.
No tráfego internacional, o número de passageiros transportados cresceu 17,9% em relação a novembro de 2007, para 1,55 milhão. Mesmo assim, o volume representa uma queda ante os 1,68 milhão transportados em outubro.
A participação da TAM no segmento internacional ficou em 84,68% ante 83,84% em outubro. O grupo Gol teve fatia de 14,92% contra uma participação conjugada de Gol e Varig de 15,79% no mês anterior.

Fracassa no Senado plano de ajuda às montadoras dos EUA

EFE
12/12/2008
Os parlamentares do Senado americano não chegaram a um acordo sobre o plano de ajuda de US$ 14 bilhões às montadoras da indústria automobilística nos Estados Unidos, informou o líder da maioria democrata na Casa, Harry Reid.
Fontes legislativas disseram que o plano chegou a um ponto morto quando os sindicatos da indústria automotiva rejeitaram as exigências republicanas para uma redução imediata dos salários.
"Estou terrivelmente decepcionado (...) É uma perda para o país", disse Reid. Ele acreditava que o projeto seria aprovado ainda nesta sexta-feira.
Segundo o legislador republicano George Voinovich, os representantes do Sindicato dos Trabalhadores da Indústria Automotiva estavam dispostos a um corte salarial, mas não antes de 2011.
O plano original foi aprovado ontem na Câmara de Representantes com 237 votos a favor e 170 contra, mas com o "sim" de apenas 32 legisladores republicanos.
A proposta sofreu um revés no Senado depois do líder da minoria republicana, Mitch McConnell, anunciar que votaria contra. Ele argumentou que o plano não oferecia garantias para a viabilidade a longo prazo da GM, da Ford e da Chrysler.
Os democratas têm apenas 50 cadeiras no Senado, e precisavam de 60 votos para frear a minoria republicana.
O maior "defeito" do plano, destacou o senador republicano, é que ele "promete dinheiro dos contribuintes em troca de reformas que podem ou não ocorrer amanhã".
O opositor acrescentou que, em vez de pedirem que a população "subsidie um fiasco", os americanos merecem garantias de que seu "investimento" propiciará o surgimento de empresas "mais eficientes e mais sólidas, que não precisem de mais ajuda dos contribuintes daqui a poucas semanas ou meses".
O consenso é que, sem o empréstimo, o colapso das companhias agravaria a crise econômica com a eliminação de milhões de empregos.
A GM é a montadora que mais precisa da ajuda, enquanto a Ford disse que só usaria os recursos se sua situação se agravar.
No entanto, McConnell deixou uma porta aberta ao pacote de ajudas ao assinalar que a proposta do senador republicano do Tennessee, Bob Corker, melhoraria muito o resgate às montadoras.
"Minha proposta é muito simples: disponibilizamos o dinheiro que as empresas pedem, mas, em troca, exigimos condições", disse Corker, em cujo estado há uma fábrica da GM.
A proposta do senador do Tennesse obriga as empresas a traçar, até 15 de março de 2009, um programa detalhado para a redução de sua dívida em dois terços.
Além disso, pede que as três montadoras ajustem seus custos trabalhistas para que se equiparem aos de suas concorrentes estrangeiras, como Nissan, Toyota e Honda.
O Sindicato dos Trabalhadores da Indústria Automotivo informou que temia que seus membros acabassem virando "bodes expiatórios", já que, segundo alega, o custo trabalhista dos funcionários do setor é de aproximadamente 8%.
Até o momento, de nada serviram as pressões da Casa Branca para que os republicanos permitam a votação do plano.
O presidente eleito dos Estados Unidos, o democrata Barack Obama, também se uniu aos apelos para que o Congresso aprove o plano ainda esta semana.
"Não podemos simplesmente assistir ao colapso desta indústria como observadores, porque isso provocaria um efeito dominó devastador em toda nossa economia", disse Obama durante uma entrevista em Chicago.
Os US$ 14 bilhões a serem aprovados são bem menos que os US$ 34 bilhões solicitados pelas montadoras, mas os legisladores acreditam que essa quantia basta para que elas continuem operando até março de 2009.

BC usará reservas internacionais para financiar empresas

Invertia / Marina Mello
12/12/2008
Os ministros da Fazenda, Guido Mantega; e do Desenvolvimento, Miguel Jorge, além do presidente do Banco Central, Henrqiue Meirelles, anunciaram nesta quinta-feira, em Brasília, a aplicação de parte das resevas internacionais para ampliar fontes de financiamento para empresas brasileiras. A medida visa ampliar as alternativas de aplicação das reservas internacionais do País autorizando o Banco Central (BC) a disponibilizar recursos que serão que serão direcionados ao financiamento de empresas nacionais.
De acordo com o presidente do BC, Henrique Meirelles, a medida tem o objetivo de suprir a falta de crédito externo causada por efeitos da crise.
"A finalidade é suprir uma parcela importante do crédito brasileiro que é o crédito externo. (...) Isso aumenta a disponibilidade de dólares no mercado cambial brasileiro", disse.

Venda cairá 19% em 2009, prevê Fenabrave

Gazeta Mercantil/Caderno C / Sonia Moraes
12/12/2008
Sem perspectiva de reação do mercado automotivo, a Federação Nacional da Distribuição de Veículos Automotores (Fenabrave) projeta para 2009 uma queda de 19% nas vendas de automóveis e comerciais leves, com um total de 2,155 milhões de carros emplacados, ante 2,661 milhões de unidades previstas para 2008.
"Não queremos causar pânico, mas as vendas vêm caindo fortemente desde outubro sem qualquer sinal de reação porque as medidas tomadas pelo governo até agora não estão resolvendo o problema do setor", disse o presidente da Fenabrave, Sérgio Reze. "Além de interromper o ciclo de crescimento, em 2009 deverá haver uma queda brutal nas vendas de automóveis e comerciais leves". O mesmo não deverá acontecer com o mercado de caminhão, que segundo Reze, que vem mantendo vendas mais estáveis.

UPDATE 3-Brazil unveils $3.6 bln tax breaks to spur economy

Thu Dec 11, 2008 5:49pm EST
(Recasts, adds details, quotes, analysts)
By Isabel Versiani and Raymond Colitt
BRASILIA, Dec 11 (Reuters) - Brazil's government announced on Thursday tax breaks worth 8.4 billion reais ($3.6 billion) designed to help boost demand and stem a slowing economy but which could undermine its fiscal strength.
The government will cut industrial taxes on cars and reduce financial taxes on consumer loans to help an ailing automobile industry and bolster once-buoyant consumer demand, economic authorities told a news conference in Brasilia.
It will cut income taxes by as much as 54 percent on lower and middle salary brackets.
Also, the central bank will use international reserves to extend loans to Brazilian companies with foreign debt maturing in 2009, bank chief Henrique Meirelles told a news conference. Total loans could exceed $10 billion, the bank said.
The measure is designed to ease a liquidity crunch on the currency market, which has made it difficult for companies to service their overseas loans.
"We're in a position to minimize the impact of the international financial crisis," Finance Minister Guido Mantega told a news conference. He confirmed the government's economic growth target of 4 percent for 2009.
Industry leaders applauded the moves.
"The government gave a clear message that it will take any necessary action to recover the dynamism in sectors most affected by the slowdown," said Jackson Schneider, head of the automobile manufacturer's association Anfavea.
But critics said the measures could signal a deterioration of the government's fiscal position.
"I think it's very bad because you'll increase fiscal vulnerability ... at a time when revenue is falling and the government will increase a lot of expenditures in coming years," said Roberto Padovani, chief economist at West LB bank.
The measures announced on Thursday will reduce the IOF financial transactions tax on consumer loans to 0.0041 percent a day from 0.0082 percent, Mantega said.
This should reduce interest rates by 4 percentage points, he said.
Brazil has some of the world's highest interest rates, exceeding 50 percent per year on some consumer loans.
In addition, the government will eliminate through the end of March an industrial tax on cars with a 1-liter engine and halve the industrial tax on new cars with engines of up to 2 liters.
A commission of authorities and business leaders will study further measures, Mantega said.
"Certainly new measures will be taken to deal with other issues," he said.
Brazil's booming economy is showing signs of slowing. Car sales plunged in October and November, industrial output is contracting, and some companies like mining giant Vale (VALE5.SA: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) (RIO.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) have begun to lay off workers and scale back investment plans.
Brazil's economy grew by 6.8 percent on an annual basis in the third quarter but is expected to slow to around 3 percent next year. ($1=2.348 Brazilian reais) (Additional reporting by Ana Nicolaci da Costa; Writing by Raymond Colitt; Editing by James Dalgleish)

UPDATE 1-Brazil auto sales seen falling 19 pct in 2009

Thu Dec 11, 2008 12:37pm EST
(Recasts, adds details, comment throughout)
SAO PAULO, Dec 11 (Reuters) - New car and truck sales in Brazil are expected to fall 19 percent in 2009 as Latin America's largest economy slows and credit remains tight, the national dealers' association Fenabrave said on Thursday.
Fenabrave predicted that sales will total 2.155 million units next year, down from an expected 2.66 million in 2008, when sales should rise 13 percent.
The gloomy forecast comes after auto sales in Brazil slumped dramatically in October and November amid a severe credit crunch and dwindling consumer confidence, prompting automakers such as Fiat (FIA.MI: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and General Motors Co (GM.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) to put thousands of workers on leave and scale back production.
The slowdown follows three years of torrid growth in Brazil's auto market, prompting automakers from around the globe to pour billions of dollars into the South American country to boost capacity.
"Besides interrupting the growth cycle, we're going to see a brutal drop in sales next year," Sergio Reze, Fenabrave's president, said in a statement. "But, depending on what measures the government takes, the drop in 2009 could be smaller."
The federal government and the Sao Paulo state government have sought to shore up the auto industry by instructing state banks to offer a combined 8 billion reais ($3.48 billion) in credit for car sales.
But only a portion of that amount has been made available so far, forcing automakers to resort to blow-out sales in a bid to reduce bulging inventories.
Brazil is a crucial market for automakers such as Italy's Fiat, Germany's Volkswagen AG (VOWG.DE: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), U.S.-based GM and Ford Motor Co (F.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz). Asian and French manufacturers are also boosting their presence in Brazil, a vast country where most people don't own cars. ($1 = 2.30 reais) (Reporting by Todd Benson; Editing by Derek Caney and Brian Moss)

Auto Bailout Talks Collapse as Senate Deadlocks Over Wages

Without a Deal, Carmakers Face Bankruptcy Threat By Paul Kane
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, December 12, 2008; Page A01
An eleventh-hour effort to salvage a proposed $14 billion rescue plan for the auto industry collapsed late last night as Republicans and Democrats failed to agree on the timing of deep wage cuts for union workers, killing the legislative plan and threatening America's carmakers with bankruptcy.
"We're not going to get to the finish line. That's just the way it is. There's too much difference between the two sides," Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) announced after 10 p.m., concluding a marathon negotiating session that ended in gridlock. Reid warned that financial markets could plummet when trading opens this morning.
"I dread looking at Wall Street tomorrow. It's not going to be a pleasant sight," he said.
The legislation would have provided emergency loans to General Motors and Chrysler, which have said they face imminent collapse without federal help. The high-stakes talks broke down over when the wages of union workers would be slashed to the same level as those paid to nonunion workers at U.S. plants of foreign automakers such as Toyota and Honda.
Sen. Bob Corker (Tenn.), the lead GOP negotiator, said the sides were on the brink of a deal on the amendment he had offered. Representatives from the United Auto Workers -- who were present for most of the negotiations -- would not agree to a specific date, Corker said.
"We offered any day -- any day -- in 2009," Corker said.
Minutes after the talks failed, the Senate voted on the bailout measure that had been approved Wednesday by the House on a largely party-line vote, 237-170. In the Senate, the vote was 52-35, eight votes short of the 60 needed to override a Republican filibuster. Of those voting yes, 10 Republicans joined 42 Democrats.
"It's disappointing that Congress failed to act tonight," the White House said in a statement. "We think the legislation we negotiated provided an opportunity to use funds already appropriated for automakers and presented the best chance to avoid a disorderly bankruptcy while ensuring taxpayer funds only go to firms whose stakeholders were prepared to make difficult decisions to become viable."
GM said last night it was "deeply disappointed" that negotiations failed to produce an agreement. "We will assess all of our options to continue our restructuring and to obtain the means to weather the current economic crisis," the company said in a statement.
A Chrysler spokeswoman said the company would "continue to pursue a workable solution to help ensure [its] future viability."
The Senate closed out its legislative session for the year but will stay open for pro forma sessions until the next Congress begins Jan. 6. Reid and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R.-Ky.) agreed that the auto rescue would not happen this year.
Stock markets in Asia tumbled on the news. Japan's benchmark Nikkei average fell more than 6 percent in midday trading, while stocks in Hong Kong slipped more than 7 percent.
Auto industry executives and lawmakers supportive of the industry have said they hope that the Federal Reserve might step in with a loan or that Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. might provide emergency funding from the government's financial rescue program. But Paulson and others in the Bush administration -- which had urged the Senate to pass the bailout measure approved by the House -- have argued that the rescue program is intended to stabilize the financial services industry and should not be used for other purposes.
"That is the only viable option available at this time," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said in a statement after the Senate vote.
In discussions with the White House this week, congressional Democrats again raised the idea of funding the automaker bailout out of the rescue program. White House spokesman Tony Fratto said yesterday before the talks collapsed that the administration "has not engaged" lawmakers on the proposal.
The failed negotiations came despite a plea earlier in the day from President-elect Barack Obama for passage of the legislation to spare GM or Chrysler from having to file for bankruptcy protection, a prospect that has grown real enough for both firms to hire lawyers to deal with such a scenario. Chrysler acknowledged last week that it was working with Jones Day; last night, sources said GM had hired Weil, Gotshal & Manges, as well as turnaround veterans William Repko of Evercore Partners, Arthur Newman of Blackstone Group and Jay Alix.
It wasn't clear whether GM, in particular, could survive until January. If the industry can hang on that long, Reid said last night, the legislation would be revived next year -- when a Democratic majority in the Senate might be large enough to defeat any GOP filibuster attempts.
Corker and Sen. Christopher J. Dodd (D-Conn.), chairman of the Banking Committee, had led negotiations all afternoon and into the evening trying rescue the faltering proposal.
"Nothing is agreed to until everything is agreed to," said Dodd, who appeared to be somewhat optimistic as he exited the negotiations after 8 p.m.
The negotiations were based on a plan advanced by Corker, the most junior member of the Banking Committee. His proposal sought to reduce the wages and benefits of union workers by requiring the automakers' total labor costs to be "on par" with Honda and Toyota.
The two sides agreed to most other issues, including those requiring automakers to reduce their debt obligations by at least two-thirds through an equity swap with bondholders. Payouts to workers who are laid off or temporarily furloughed would have been terminated.
Ford, unlike General Motors and Chrysler, has said it does not need bridge loans at this point and would not need to agree to those conditions.
But no agreement could be reached on the wage reductions. "It sounds like UAW blew up the deal," Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) said afterward.
The initial agreement in the House called for the government to issue the loans to GM and Chrysler as early as next week and for President Bush to immediately name a "car czar" to oversee the bailout. The companies would be required by March 31 to cut costs, restructure debt and obtain concessions from labor sufficient to report a positive net present value.
If the firms failed to make progress toward that goal, the agreement would have required the car czar to revoke the loans and develop a new plan that could have included the option of seeking Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. If the companies had failed to agree on steps to guarantee their long-term survival, they would have been denied additional federal assistance.
Corker -- a freshman senator who a few years ago was mayor of Chattanooga -- was a strong opponent of the House plan to save the automakers.
He and other Republicans had revolted against the earlier plan because they thought it did not go far enough in forcing contracts on the UAW. GM officials have told Congress, for instance, that under the most recent contract, labor costs would be about $62 per hour in 2010 -- $30 per hour in wages and slightly more than that in benefits to current workers and retirees. That's about $14 per hour more than at Toyota's U.S. plants.
Some Republicans said they doubted that the automakers could remain viable and return to profitability. Others, frustrated with the Treasury's financial rescue program, were skeptical of approving another bailout.
The Corker plan was the last chance at passing any legislation for the auto industry, senators said.
"Absent that," said Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), the minority whip, "nothing's going to pass."
Staff writers Kendra Marr, David Cho and Steven Mufson contributed to this report.