Aug. 9, 2002 [LINK]

IMF loan to Brazil

As expected, the Bush administration approved a $30 billion IMF emergency loan to Brazil, as chastened Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill wraps up his trip to South America. Financial markets in Brazil and Uruguay have rebounded, but thanks to O'Neill's clumsy past rhetoric and political naivete, nationalist-socialists in Argentina and elsewhere feel fully justified in blaming the U.S. for their woes.