NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's CreditWire) Jan. 3, 2001--Following its decision to upgrade the global scale ratings on the Federative Republic of Brazil's local- and foreign-currency-denominated sovereign debt, Standard&Poor's also announces that the country's national scale rating has been upgraded to 'brAA+' from 'brAA'. The outlook on the long-term rating was revised to stable from positive. National scale ratings provide dynamic opinions on relative credit risk, and Brazilian national scale ratings, which Standard&Poor's employs to serve the sovereign's domestic financial markets, are comparable only with other ratings on that national scale. The upgrades reflect the government of Brazil's improved macroeconomic management since the Real crisis in 1999, a platform that includes significant fiscal adjustment and progress
