Brazilian Stocks on Fire

After the country's credit rating was upgraded on Wednesday, Brazil's benchmark Bovespa stock index has been the place to be over the last two trading days with a gain of 10%. Following the gain, the Bovespa has broken out of its six-month trading range.

With the gains it has seen over recent years, it is no surprise that Brazil's currency (the Real), like every other global currency, has rallied against the US dollar. However, taking longer perspective shows that even after the doubling of its currency versus the dollar in the last five years, the Brazilian Real is still worth 30% less today than it was ten years ago.