Interest, public accounts, elections, technology and the job market are the hot topics for the economy of Brazil and the world, according to Rafael Furlanettipresenter of Hot Marketnew program from CNN which premieres this Sunday (22), at 11:15 pm on CNN Brasiland Monday (23), at 7pm, no CNN Money.
Furlanetti, who is also institutional director of XP Inc. e president from Ancord (National Association of Stock Brokers), joins the CNN team with the proposal of bringing conversations from behind the scenes of the market financial, bringing the public closer to the business community and thus contributing to more accurate and efficient decision-making.
Born in the interior of Espírito Santo, son of a teacher mother and businessman father, “Furla” – as he likes to be called – sees the Brazilian as a figure who dreams of entrepreneurship. And around this dynamic, he believes that the economic scenario in the country is undergoing an important change.
It is in this context that the Hot Market debuts on CNN Brasil, next domingo (22)to the 23h15bringing as the first guest the former president of the Central Bank, Roberto Campos Neto. And on Monday (23), at 7pm, the program will also be shown on CNN Money.
Find out a little more about CNN presenter Rafael Furlanetti and his insights into the current economic situation in the following interview:
What is the main global theme of the financial market for 2026?
The main topic for the world is whether the American central bank will cut interest rates. It is the world’s mother rate. Then, [se] There will be high interest rates in the United States for a long time, investors will leave their money surfing there.
They are also keeping an eye on how the USA will manage its public debt because they cannot print currency unrestrainedly, otherwise the dollar will depreciate in relation to other currencies in the world.
The market also follows how artificial intelligence will change the world. Last week, there were consulting and software companies with their shares falling 10%, 20%. People are evaluating how AI will impact some sectors that were very good.
But, for example, if I can program my own internal control systems through my AI system, what will be the value of these software companies in the future? Nobody knows. These are companies that could perhaps be decimated. There is this very big doubt.
And for Brazil?
Now we have to discuss the election: what is the political project that will be in 2027 and how will it face the public accounts debate? Debt-GDP in Brazil is almost 80%. There is no one in the history of emerging countries with such high debt.
What saves Brazil? The debt is in reais, so we owe a lot to ourselves, and we have a reserve of US$350 billion that protects a lot from fluctuations. But at some point this will be looked at with a magnifying glass. Now it is going a little unnoticed because there is a very large flow of foreign investors investing in emerging markets, and Brazil is a great destination for this resource.
With the United States becoming a little “noisier”, it is normal for investors to take their surplus to another market. This marginal money doesn’t go to the United States, it goes to countries that have old economy companies: oil, mining, construction; and Brazil is a port for these investments.
Now, at some point this flow will dry up and this debate on the sustainability of public accounts will return. Accounts do not close with a real interest rate of 7% in the country.
And what’s missing for interest rates to start falling in Brazil?
Adjustment of public accounts.
How do you assess the future of the job market?
When looking at the issue of ending the 6×1 scale, a proposal debated in the National Congress, Furlanetti believes that changes require dialogue so that the rupture is not drastic.
“The economy is changing in the world, professions are changing, but we have to have a lot of responsibility. […] There are some sectors that will have to go through a transition, otherwise there will be a huge cost increase if this is approved without being aligned with the sectors”, he says.
“I believe that this debate will be broad, led by the National Congress, with the participation of society; and that some sectors will have a lot of difficulty, they will have to have a longer transition. Others may be more prepared, but it is an important debate because work has changed, people want to have more flexibility, they even want to work more at times to be able to earn more. An entrepreneur is like that, he practically works 24/7”, he points out.
How does your experience in the financial world begin?
I have worked in the financial market for 20 years and a large part of my career was serving large investment funds in Brazil, being very close to them when making major decisions, which made me participate in perhaps all companies’ IPO operations or capital increases from 2018 to 2022.
Iconic operations such as the IPO of the São Mateus Group, for example, the IPO of CSN Mineração, which was a large operation with an offering of over R$6.3 billion.
My whole life I have been very close to Brazil’s big decision makers, big investors and, consequently, very close to the country’s big businesspeople.
And in Brazil you also have to understand politics, be close to the great political leaders because Congress’ decisions affect the economy. You have to listen to everyone, so I’ve always been a great “bridge builder”. My passion is to get people talking and making better decisions.
Where does the motivation to understand people’s stories and what’s going on come from?
I’ve always been very curious about people’s lives, I’ve always asked a lot. I’m that guy who asks your story, if I’m going to take an Uber, a taxi, I ask the same thing.
I’ve always believed that being interested in people is a good way to learn and, in some way, they like you.
I was a child who wanted to please, I tried to serve and that helps me a lot in my career to this day.
When I joined the bank as an intern, at lunch time I would get the team’s food from reception, serve it, take the dishes, serve water and coffee.
Even though I studied at Fundação Getúlio Vargas, I never found myself in a degraded position because I was serving others, so to this day it’s super common and it made me connect with many people in Brazil and around the world.
And does this help you understand the economy?
Just looking at a spreadsheet won’t understand what’s going on in people’s heads. One of the great products I developed was placing investment funds to speak to other businesspeople who are not on the stock market, almost a journalistic job of talking to competitors, clients.
To understand what’s behind Excel, you need to understand people and ask. And the best way for you to understand others is to ask. Being a very inquisitive person with an interest in other people’s stories was a big difference for my career.
And does the Hot Market proposal go through this? How are expectations for the program?
I wanted to bring a little of what I do in my daily life to the screen and impact more people’s lives. So, my goal, if I can encourage people to undertake, give information to better digest their business or their finances, I will be super satisfied in some way for being able to do this.
Television, the credibility and breadth that CNN has is a perfect marriage. I’m very happy and it’s also a lot of responsibility to bring things to people every week.
