1.   Brazil has borrowed via international bonds this year in currencies including Portuguese escudos and British pounds.

2.   Late Sunday night, European finance ministers agreed to a devaluation of the Spanish peseta and the Portuguese escudo.

3.   Re-entry could also de-stabilize other currencies in the ERM, such as the Spanish peseta and Portuguese escudo, Connolly said.

4.   The devaluation of the Spanish peseta and Portuguese escudo Monday did not help, because the resulting flight to German marks further buckled the dollar and hurt bonds.

5.   The mark reached new highs Wednesday against the Spanish peseta, the Portuguese escudo, the French franc, the Irish pound and the Swedish krona.

6.   The price differential has widened in the last three years after successive devaluations of the Spanish peseta and Portuguese escudo.

7.   A powerful German mark prompted European monetary officials to devalue the Spanish peseta and Portuguese escudo earlier in the week.

8.   Analysts said the central bank had room to lower its rates in recent months, thanks to steadily falling inflation and the stability of the Portuguese escudo.

9.   But she says much more daunting is the impending switch to a new currency, from Portuguese escudos to European Union euros.

10.   East Timor also plans to adopt a new currency, most likely the Portuguese escudo, but discussions are still to take place with U.N. officials.