Is Brazil’s runaway virus an iron ore black swan?

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Here are the charts:

Brazil has a similar political set-up to the US vis the virus, with a lunatic president counter-acted by logical states. Yet, clearly, lockdowns have not worked so far.

Mining was designated as essential service in late March so has so far been fine. But Vale has is already running on skeleton staff and has warned of rising absenteeism:

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About the author
David Llewellyn-Smith is Chief Strategist at the MB Fund and MB Super. David is the founding publisher and editor of MacroBusiness and was the founding publisher and global economy editor of The Diplomat, the Asia Pacific’s leading geo-politics and economics portal. He is also a former gold trader and economic commentator at The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, the ABC and Business Spectator. He is the co-author of The Great Crash of 2008 with Ross Garnaut and was the editor of the second Garnaut Climate Change Review.