Two leading Brazilian corporations — Sadia S.A. and Aracruz Celulose
S.A. — suffered billion-dollar losses when the Brazilian real unexpectedly
plummeted in relation to the dollar, causing severe financial turmoil. These
nonfinancial companies had previously disclosed that they followed conservative
financial policies and relied on hedging instruments to manage risk exposure
to exchange rate fluctuations as part of their normal international commercial
activities. However, their actual losses were far greater than what would have
been expected from pure hedging activity protecting the revenues of core
business operations. Instead, the sudden losses were found to be the result of
the companies’ highly speculative trading in the currency derivatives futures
markets.11 These developments were largely exposed in media cover stories,
prompting strong criticisms by market players and politicians, including the
Brazilian president at the time.