lps escalate inflation, which was running at an annual 8.8 percent in June.High inflation means Brazils central bank cant slash interest rate

RIO DE JANEIRO -- When Rio de Janeiro was awarded the 2016 Summer Olympic Games seven years ago, Wagner Bastos was a hotshot car salesman for Rio Citroen-Peugeot. Some months he earned 17,000 Brazilian reais -- about $5,200 now and much more back then.But Brazils fortunes -- and Bastos -- have taken a sickening tumble. His last monthly paycheck in June was for 1,400 reais ($425) -- too little to cover his rent or school fees for two children. So Bastos, 54, quit and started driving a taxi.I needed cash urgently, he says.In the past, hosting the Olympics often allowed newly prosperous countries to strut on the world stage and showcase their glitziest cities. Think Tokyo in 1964 or Seoul in 1988.And in 2009, when Rio won the competition for this years Summer Games, the picture looked similar. Brazils emerging market economy was sizzling -- one of the worlds economic superstars, along with Russia, India, China and South Africa.But the 16 Games come at a dire moment for Brazil, which is enduring myriad calamities: A deep recession. A political crisis. Widespread street protests. Reports of filthy waterways. And a health emergency caused by the Zika virus.There have been political and economic problems in other (Olympic) host cities, says Andrew Zimbalist, an economist at Smith College who has studied Olympic Games. But the combination here has probably been as foreboding as any I have seen.Brazils economy shrank 3.8 percent last year and will likely contract an additional 3.3 percent this year, according to the International Monetary Fund. The economy was rocked by a plunge in prices for iron ore and other commodities it exports, partly a result of slowing demand as Chinas powerhouse economy decelerated.In the booming mid-2000s, Brazilians celebrated their collective arrival in the middle class by borrowing heavily to buy cars, refrigerators and iPhones. Now, like Americans after the devastating 2008 financial crisis, they face diminished livelihoods.A political crisis has compounded the economic troubles. President Dilma Rousseff was suspended in May for allegedly violating budget laws. She is awaiting a trial this month in Brazils Senate that will determine whether shell be permanently ousted.Business investment has been paralyzed by an investigation into corruption at the state-owned energy giant Petrobras. Once worth more in the stock market than either Microsoft or Wal-Mart, Petrobras has been reduced to selling assets -- from oil fields to corporate subsidiaries -- to raise cash to offset lower oil prices.The Olympics might be making things even worse. To prepare for the Games, the state of Rio spent heavily. When it ran into financial trouble, the federal government stepped in to help share the costs, thereby deepening the countrys budget woes.The Brazilian real has plunged 47 percent against the U.S. dollar since Rio was awarded the 16 Games in October 2009. The weak real makes imports costlier and helps escalate inflation, which was running at an annual 8.8 percent in June.High inflation means Brazils central bank cant slash interest rates to juice the economy for fear of sending inflation even higher. As a result, the central bank has kept its key rate at a punitive 14.25 percent.Nationally, since the end of 2014, more than 5 million people have lost jobs. Unemployment has nearly doubled to 11.3 percent.The anemic job market has depressed real estate. Gone are the bidding wars for choice apartments in Rios seaside neighborhoods. Office rents plunged 6.1 percent in Rio from the fourth quarter of 2015 to the first quarter of 2016, making it the worlds third-worst office market in that period, according to the real estate firm JLL.Leo Ickowicz, who is Brazilian but has worked for two decades in South Florida real estate, has experienced the transformation. At the height of Brazils boom in 2010, when the economy grew a blazing 7.5 percent, many Brazilian clients sought to capitalize on the currencys strength to buy Miami real estate as an investment or vacation property.Now, his firm is busier than ever. Inquiries have quintupled. But his clients have a different goal this time: They want to leave Brazil for good. His company has had to add relocation services to meet the demand -- everything from help in applying for visas and selecting schools to offering psychological aid to families victimized by Brazils violent-crime epidemic.Despite the litany of bad news, the Brazilian stock market has surged 30 percent this year. Investors have detected signs of hope. Commodity prices have stabilized, and investors have expressed confidence in the economic policy team assembled by interim President Michel Temer, which says it will get government spending under control.The IMF has also slightly upgraded its outlook for Brazil, predicting that the economy will shrink 3.3 percent this year, compared with its earlier forecast of a 3.8 percent contraction, and will return to growth in 2017.Investors appeared heartened when the economy shrank just 0.3 in the first three months of 2016 from the fourth quarter of 2015. It was the best quarterly performance since the end of 2014.But the economy was still 5.4 percent smaller than it had been a year earlier. And May retail sales were down 9 percent from a year earlier.I dont see where growth is going to come from, says Monica de Bolle, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. People are still being fired. We do not know when the labor market is going to stabilize... I do not see anything coming from consumption.De Bolle says that while shes impressed with Temers economic team, she wonders whether it can get its plans for spending cuts through a dysfunctional National Congress.The overall situation is still extremely murky and very, very uncertain, she says.Bastos, the former car salesman, is trying to adjust.His wifes job at a construction company looks wobbly now that the massive buildout for the Olympics is drawing to an end. He has stopped shopping at the supermarket in his middle class neighborhood and now drives across the city only once a month to pick up necessities at a wholesale market.Family vacations? A distant memory. He thinks hell have to get used to a more modest lifestyle.This isnt something that we can fix in one or two years, Bastos says. Itll take Brazil at least 10 or 15 years to get back to where we were.---Wiseman reported from Washington.---Follow Paul Wiseman on Twitter at https://twitter.com/PaulWisemanAP Yeezy Canada Sale . McPhee said that Ovechkins father Mikhail is in stable condition after having the surgery this week and is no longer in intensive care. "Weve told him to stay as long as necessary with your dad," he said. Ovechkin and his Russian national team were eliminated from the mens hockey tournament in Sochi on Wednesday with a 3-1 quarter-final loss to Finland. Cheap Yeezy Canada Free Shipping . P.A. Parenteau scored early in the third period to help the Avs edge Toronto 2-1 on Tuesday night. Cory Sarich also scored for Colorado (3-0-0), which is off to its best ever start. http://www.clearanceyeezycanada.com/ . The Hall of Fame defenceman told Landsberg that he believes fighting still has a place in todays game, but thinks staged fighting needs be outlawed. Cheap Adidas Canada . - The Washington Redskins have cut defensive lineman Adam Carriker and punter Sav Rocca. Yeezys Canada . Self was acquired from the Buffalo Bandits in a trade for Alex Hill midway through last season, and made his debut in Rochester on March 16, 2013. A look at whats happening all around the majors Sunday:---SEE YOU IN OCTOBER?AL Central-leading Cleveland plays its final regular-season game against AL East-leading Baltimore. Indians right-hander Corey Kluber (9-8, 3.42) threw seven scoreless innings in a 7-3 loss to Kansas City his last time out. Baltimore counters with Vance Worley (2-1, 3.16), who is making his second start since returning to the rotation for the first time since April. He allowed three runs over 4 1/3 innings on Tuesday against the Yankees.WELCOME ABOARDCardinals right-hander Mike Mayers makes his major league debut in primetime against the Dodgers. Mayers was a third-round pick in 2013 and is not considered among the teams top prospects, but the 24-year-old has a 2.94 ERA with Triple-A Memphis this season. Los Angeles will pitch Scott Kazmir (8-3, 4.30), who threw seven innings of one-run ball in an 8-4 win over Washington in his last start.QUIET IN MOTOWNThe Aug. 1 deadline for non-waiver trades is approaching, but dont expect much action coming from Detroit. Tigers general manager Al Avila said Saturday that his squad will likely stand pat because this is a team that can get us into the playoffs. He also praised manager Brad Ausmus, but said hell wait until the end of the season to address Ausmus 2017 contract option or a possible extension.LOOKING GOOD AT FENWAYRed Sox right-hander Rick Porcello (12-2, 3.47 ERA) looks to increase his record to 10-0 in starts at Fenway Park this season when Boston hosts the Twins in the finale of a four-game sseries.dddddddddddd. Porcello would be the first Red Sox pitcher in 55 years to begin a season 10-0 in Fenway starts. Don Schwall was the last, and he pitched only two seasons with the Red Sox and had just 15 career wins in the ballpark. Lefty Tommy Milone (3-2, 4.71) is slated to start for Minnesota.GETTING ESABLISHEDTop Rays prospect Blake Snell (2-4, 3.11) looks to build off his best big-league start yet when Tampa Bay faces Oakland. The 23-year-old left-hander held Colorado to one hit and no runs over six innings at Coors Field on Tuesday for his second straight quality start. Oakland counters with another former Rays prospect, right-hander Jesse Hahn (2-4, 6.49).HAPP GOES FOR 13Blue Jays left-hander J.A. Happ (12-4, 3.43) tries to stay hot in a matinee against Seattle. Happ is 6-0 in seven starts since his most recent loss, June 6 at Detroit, and his next victory will be his career-high 13th. Lefty Wade Miley (6-7, 5.36) throws for the Mariners.RUN BILLY RUNReds center fielder Billy Hamilton tries to add to his stretch of hits and steals. He singled in his first at-bat on Saturday night against the Diamondbacks and stole second, his 31st steal of the season. Hamilton has hit safely in his last six games, stealing at least one base in four of them.SUZUKI UPDATEMiamis Ichiro Suzuki grounded out as a pinch hitter to end the eighth inning Saturday night and remained four hits shy of 3,000. ' ' '