Financial crisis could be worse than 1930s: Official

SAO PAULO, BRAZIL: The top executive of Brazil's state-owned development bank on Friday said the current world financial crisis could prove more severe than the Great Depression of the 1930s, Brazilian media reported.

A global meltdown is possible because the planet's economies are so tightly linked, National Development Bank President Luciano Coutinho said, according to the Agencia Estado news service.

With more than US$200 billion in foreign reserves and the elimination of mammoth government debts in just six years, Brazil is better positioned to withstand a crisis than it has been in the past, Coutinho said.

Coutinho said Brazil could experience some economic difficulties, but disagreed with analysts who have cut their 2009 economic growth forecasts for Brazil below 4 percent, according to the Parana Online news service.

JP Morgan Chase & Co reduced its 2009 forecast for Brazilian gross domestic product to 3.2 percent, from 3.8 percent, analysts said in research note Friday.