Brazil's second-oldest brokerage, Corretora Souza Barros Cambio e Titulos, survived almost nine decades as the nation suffered three military coups, a sovereign default, and hyperinflation in the 1980s that doubled prices every other month. But it couldn't withstand today's troubles-a plunge in commodities prices coinciding with a corruption scandal that's crippled Brazilian builders and left President Dilma Rousseff fighting for her political survival. At Souza Barros's midcentury offices in downtown Sao Paulo, only a few of the once 150-strong workforce remain to tie up loose ends. In a note to clients and employees posted on its website, Souza Barros thanked "everyone who participated in these past 87 years," saying, "we wouldn't have gotten here" without them. In the end, it couldn't overcome competition and a stock market that never quite lived up to its potential.
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