Investors Brace for a Bumpy Road as Brazil Starts Pension Reform Talks

  • Pension bill discussions in Congress to keep volatility high
  • ‘Something needs to get going soon,’ Wells Fargo says

People wait at a bus stop as Brazilian flags hang in a shop in downtown Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Photographer: Patricia Monteiro/Bloomberg
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Brazil strategists and investors are preparing for some choppy trading as negotiations on the bill to overhaul the country’s pension system begin.

Markets are hoping that the cornerstone of the government’s economic agenda will be swiftly approved, putting the fiscal accounts back on track. Yet, Economy Minister Paulo Guedes is said to start negotiating directly with lawmakers due to concern the administration has made little progress selling the proposal in Congress. Lawmakers resume work next week, Brazil’s unofficial start to the year following the Carnival holiday.