"SÃO PAULO, Brazil—Early this year, Brazil's government took steps to slow growth and temper inflation in Latin America's biggest economy. Now, it is hastily doing the opposite.

A fiscal stimulus package announced Thursday follows a series of three consecutive interest-rate cuts designed to encourage spending and buffer Brazil from the fallout of a worsening global economy.

Coming so closely on the heels of measures designed to slow the economy, however, the measures are drawing fire from economists and investors who believe the government is sacrificing cohesive, long-term policies in favor of nearsighted, knee-jerk reactions.

"If it were a child we would call it hyperactive; if it were a patient we would diagnose it with bipolar disorder; if it were a trader we would fire it for overtrading," wrote Ilan Solot, a London-based economist at Brown Brothers Harriman. "



cont'd




http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405297020439770457707...