Brazil's president said Friday that emerging market nations like Brazil must have a strong say in developing strict international rules for financial institutions.

Brazil and other developing countries "need to learn from this crisis to construct a new world economic order," President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said in a speech to Brazilian and American trade investment forum attended by U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez.

Silva demanded tighter regulations for high risk investments in rich nations that he and many other leaders of developing market nations blame for eroding their economies after they spent decades adopting U.S. backed reforms.

New rules are crucial to "control the anarchy that is hitting the world economy," Silva said, laying out harsh criticism for bankers who made risky bets on mortgage-backed securities that went bad.

"What happened is that some people acted like they were teenagers with failing grades on their report cards, wanting to hide them from their parents," Silva said.

Central banks around the planet must adopt new rules, and governments must make sure financial institutions comply or are punished to prevent another debacle like the U.S.-born crisis, Silva said.

The president reiterated his belief that Brazil is better insulated from a deep domestic economic crisis because it has put its financial house in order, paying off its foreign debt and accumulating more than US$200 billion in foreign reserves.

However, shares on Brazil's Ibovespa index fell for the fifth day in a row, closing down 4 percent at 35,610. And Brazil's currency fell another 4.5 percent against the dollar, as the central bank auctioned reserves to halt the slide. The real has lost more than 30 percent of its value since Aug. 1.

Silva said Brazil will stick to its plans for hundreds of billions of dollars in infrastructure investment in coming years, including hydroelectric dams, highway improvements and railways. Continued...