Ask Carsales chief executive Cameron McIntyre why he is investing $US809 million ($1.2 billion) in the United States ahead of what will almost certainly be a recession in that country, and he starts talking about Brazil.

McIntyre bought a third of Brazilian auto marketplace business, webmotors, in 2013, just before the country went into a recession that saw Brazil’s official cash rate hit a peak of 14 per cent.