The speaker of Brazil's lower house of Congress, Eduardo Cunha has announced plans to open impeachment proceedings against President Dilma Rousseff, allegedly on violation of fiscal legislation. In practical terms this means further political upheaval in the months ahead in a country that has been rocked by the steepest recession in 25 years, job losses, and a corruption scheme of planetary proportions in oil giant Petrobras.
Brazil's deadly mining disaster could cost Vale SA at least US$443 million, but it is too early to put a price tag on what it expects to be a long clean-up from the pollution spilled when the toxic dam burst.
Next Friday Argentine president elect Mauricio Macri will be travelling to Brasilia to meet with president Dilma Rousseff, which will be the incoming leader's first overseas trip.
Brazilian government said in an executive order published Monday in the Official Daily that it was cutting spending by an additional 11 billion reais ($2.82 billion) this year. The move is part of an effort by the government to a budget deficit target of 1 percent of the gross domestic product, a goal agreed to during the last budget review.
Brazil's economy, in recession since mid-year, contracted 1.7% in the third quarter, compared to the April-June period, and decreased 4.5% relative to the same period in 2014, the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics, or IBGE, said on Tuesday.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and Brazil's Dilma Rousseff met in Paris on the sidelines of the ongoing climate talks, and agreed to strengthen cooperation in a number of areas including a common position regarding global warming.
Brazilian health authorities, who alerted the nation Monday to the rapid spread of the Zika virus, confirmed that up to now it has caused one death and that another six victims are in critical condition and under medical examination.
Analysts expect Brazil's economy to contract by 3.19% this year, with inflation hitting 10.38%, the Central Bank said Monday. GDP and inflation estimates come from the Boletin Focus, a weekly Central Bank survey of analysts from about 100 private financial institutions on the state of the national economy.
Murilo Ferreira has resigned as chairman of Brazilian state oil company Petrobras, the firm said Monday. Ferreira, the CEO of mining giant Vale, took a leave of absence in September and Luiz Nelson Guedes de Carvalho, who has served as interim chairman since then, will continue in that role for the moment, the company said in a brief statement.
Brazil's federal and state governments plan to sue the owners of the Samarco iron ore-miner for 20 billion Reais ($7.2 billion) in damages caused by the burst of a tailings dam, Environment Minister Izabella Teixeira told reporters on Friday.