sporting event in june. what in the world, right? i m talking about brazil, of course, host of this year s fifa world cup and the only major economic power in south america. there is even speculation that bus and rail systems being built for the soccer tournament won t be completed until after the games are over. this is a big comedown for a country that was seen as an economic powerhouse, the b in the bric countries and even made a bid to become a permanent member of the u.n. security council. now, over the last five to seven years, brazil did experience a boom. it lifted some 40 million people out of poverty in the last decade. it kept unemployment rates at record lows. but as morgan stanley points out, the brazil boom was really just a side effect of the china boom. it was a time of cheap capital,