BRAZIL-ECONOMY:BRASILIA,13JAN99 - New Central Bank President Francisco Lopes bites his lip while pondering a question during a press conference in Brasilia, January 13. In the midst of a deep financial crisis, the government devalued its inflation-busting real currency by nearly nine percent, causing turmoil in the world financial markets amid fears that Brazil would not be able to keep a grip on massive dollar outflows. Lopes, who was the Bank's Director of Monetary Policy, replaced Gustavo Franco after he announced his resignation. Brazil's Bovespa market plummeted ten percent at the days open, causing an immediate halt of trading.

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