Brazil

• Tuesday, November 1st 2016 - 07:57 UTC

  Meirelles insists in overhaul of social security rules to restore public finance order in Brazil

  

  Brazil must push ahead with reforms, including a proposed cap on government spending and an overhaul of social security rules, to restore long-term order to public finances in Latin America's biggest economy, according to the country's finance minister.

• Tuesday, November 1st 2016 - 04:59 UTC

  Squall hits Piriapolis - all of Uruguay under metheorological orange alert

  

  From 6 am till Tuesday midnight, according to Inumet. Montevideo, Colonia and other key cities are code yellow. Some experts also speak of tornadoes.The Mayor of Maldonado, Enrique Antia, moved to Piriápolis to see first hand the consequences left by the squall that reached 180 kilometers per hour on Monday, and affected several parts of the city.

• Tuesday, November 1st 2016 - 02:16 UTC

  Brazil municipal elections runoff ratify “non political” candidates

  

  Marcelo Crivella on Sunday won the mayor's race in Rio de Janeiro, beating leftist Marcelo Freixo by a wide margin. Crivella, with the Brazilian Republican party, garnered 59.35% of the votes to 40.65% for Freixo, who is with the Socialism and Freedom Party.

• Thursday, October 27th 2016 - 03:29 UTC

  Lowering interest rates in Brazil will be “moderate and gradual”, says Central bank

  

  Inflation forecasts for the next couple of years point to limited room for monetary easing in Brazil, the central bank said on Tuesday, suggesting it is unlikely to accelerate the pace of interest rate cuts in its November policy meeting. In the minutes of its Oct. 19 meeting, in which it cut its benchmark Selic rate by 25 basis points to 14%, the bank also said it was worried about a recent pause in the slowdown of services price rises.

• Wednesday, October 26th 2016 - 05:48 UTC

  Brazilian Lower House votes amendment to cap spending for twenty years

  

  Brazilian President Michel Temer won another victory on Tuesday in his efforts to restore fiscal discipline when the lower house of Congress approved a constitutional amendment to cap spending for 20 years. Heavy public spending, a recession and a massive corruption scandal rocking Brazil's political establishment undermined confidence in Latin America's largest economy.

• Tuesday, October 25th 2016 - 12:20 UTC

  Temer urges Congress to approve bill easing oil industry regulation and Petrobras monopoly

  

  President Michel Temer urged Congress on Monday to approve a bill that would ease oil industry regulation and strip state-controlled oil giant Petrobras of some of its privileges in Brazil's most promising oil fields. The proposed regulatory framework would “create new jobs” and “provide a new boost to investment in the sector,” Temer said in an address at the opening of the Rio Oil and Gas conference.

• Tuesday, October 25th 2016 - 09:07 UTC

  Petrobras and Total reach strategic alliance for upstream and downstream projects

  

  Brazil's Petrobras and France's Total oil companies announced on Monday a strategic alliance Monday for upstream and downstream projects as President Michel Temer pronounced Brazil's troubled economy reopened for business.

• Monday, October 24th 2016 - 17:55 UTC

  Brazil congressional police arrested accused of obstruction of justice

  

  Authorities say they have arrested four Congressional police agents posted inside Brazil's Senate for allegedly obstructing an investigation into lawmakers' suspected involvement in the corruption-kickback scheme at state-owned oil company Petrobras. Federal police said in a statement that those arrested Friday include Pedro Carvalho, head of the Senate police, which is a distinct agency.

• Monday, October 24th 2016 - 17:43 UTC

  Billions pour in to buy Argentine bonds, “sign of growing investor confidence”

  

  Argentina’s international currency reserves rose above the landmark US$40 billion for the first time in three and a half years last Friday, as a huge inflow of dollars from government-issued debt and some exports over the last few days caused some dramatic increases this week. The milestone, according to Central Bank chief Federico Sturzenegger, was “a sign of growing investor confidence in the country.”

• Friday, October 21st 2016 - 18:17 UTC

  Brazilian prosecution after another can of worms, the national development bank, BNDES

  

  Brazil’s national development bank has frozen $13.5bn of funds for 47 overseas projects, including those in Angola, Mozambique, Cuba and the Dominican Republic, as yet more corruption charges are brought against politicians and executives arising from the Lava Jato corruption probe.