BRASIL: The REAL's Growing Strength Is Nation's Real Test.

WSJ/ JOHN LYONS/       Even as 136 million Brasilians go to the polls today to choose a new president, 27 governors and countless legislators, there is worry that its currency is TOO strong and growing stronger.
     The REAL broke thru the symbolic 1.7 per dollar level this week, despite intervention by the central bank. "Right now manufacturers may be the hardest hit, but the lost competitiveness and opportunity for everyone is just terrible." says a businessman.
     According to Goldman Sachs, a computer analysis claims that the REAL trades about 55% stronger than its fair value of 2.65 per dollar, the biggest premium among major currencies and "the most overvalued in the world."