Brazilian assets have tanked along with the best of them over the past few weeks. The currency slumped from R$1.84 to the US dollar on July 23 to R$1.95 at Friday’s close. Thursday and Friday, as word spread of investment funds in difficulty across the globe, were especially punishing.

But few in Brazil are alarmed. Guido Mantega, finance minister, said Brazil ’s resilience to global financial market turmoil would hasten the approach of the country’s long-awaited investment grade. ”We’ve got dollars to spare,” he said.