Bucks for Brazil. (Panorama).

The International Monetary Fund agreed to a US$30 billion loan-the bank's biggest ever-for Brazil, but that didn't stop the real from weakening and investors from acting skittish. Only $6 billion of the loan becomes available before the end of the year; the remainder hinges on the economic policies of the new government. While the promise of a money infusion didn't bolster Brazil's economy as much as the government had hoped, it brought a sigh of relief from international banks. U.S. banks alone juggle nearly $26 billion in outstanding loans, three times the exposure they had in Argentina. Citigroup, the biggest of the U.S. lenders, holds nearly $10 billion in Brazilian loans.