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TIME: Almanac 1990
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1990 Time Magazine Compact Almanac, The (1991)(Time).iso
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062689
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06268900.013
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1990-09-22
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BUSINESS, Page 59Business NotesFINANCIAL MARKETSRubber Checks On the Bourse
Among wealthy Brazilians, such pastimes as sunbathing and the
samba have been joined lately by stock-market speculation. Since
May 1987 the bourse in Rio de Janeiro has jumped almost 400%.
Lebanese immigrant Naji Robert Nahas, who alone accounted for
nearly half of the market's trades in recent weeks, brought
Brazil's bulls to a halt last week after several brokerage houses
discovered that $31 million of his checks had bounced on them. To
avoid a bearish stampede, the Rio and Sao Paulo markets were forced
to close last Monday. When trading resumed the next day, the
benchmark I.B.V. index plunged 9% and ended the week down 32%.
Nahas is a past master of shady finance: three years ago the U.S.
Government fined him $250,000 for his role in manipulating silver
prices.