Brazil Tries a 12th Anti-Inflation Index: The...

Brazil Tries a 12th Anti-Inflation Index: The government introduced the real value unit, or URV, an index designed to curb runaway inflation. The URV, pegged to the U.S. dollar, will be used to calculate salaries and, eventually, all financial transactions. The index replaces 11 others that, over the years, have been used to determine everything from interest rates to grocery prices. The new one is supposed to reduce inflation, now running at more than 40% a month, to a single-digit figure. Last year, inflation reached an annual rate of 2,567%.