But the giant has cash flow, brand and often a largely depreciated network on its side.
But private-sector suppliers such as Duke will be competing with public-sector ones, which still supply 80% of Brazil's power, much of it from old, depreciated plants.
It is no surprise that corporate spending slid by 5.5% in the latest quarter.What about exports, which one might expect to have been boosted by a depreciated yen?
The lowest long-term rates in a generation are of little help to homeowners who cannot meet toughened underwriting criteria or refinance a depreciated property.
German electricity prices would probably go up, depending to some extent on the price of gas and carbon, because although new nuclear plants are expensive, old, depreciated ones make cheap electricity.
Creditors will not be repaid in full in real terms; i.e. they can only be repaid in depreciated currency.
A loose monetary policy is essential if Japan is to spur domestic demand; a loose monetary policy means, among other things, a depreciated yen.This dilemma has helped to fuel the recent mood of despair and yet it can be resolved.
But it seemed a pity to shut down depreciated plants producing cheap, climate-friendly electricity well before the end of their useful life.
In effect, argues Thomas Mayer, an adviser to Deutsche Bank, Greece could create its own parallel and depreciated currency while still remaining in the monetary union.Something similar happened in Argentina as it struggled to retain its rigid link between the peso and the dollar before the link eventually snapped in early 2002.
Mr Velloso is worried about possible further weakness in the exchange rate (the real depreciated by 17% against the dollar in the last three months of 2008), and also by the ability of Brazilian companies to roll over their debt.Brazil's scope for fiscal stimulus is limited.
This channel, however, is partly blocked: households can't borrow against the depreciated value of their homes, banks have tightened underwriting standards, and businesses are waiting for sales to pick up.
