The number of Brazilians living in extreme poverty grew for the first time in a decade, according to government figures. The Institute of Economic Research reported that the number of people in households with incomes below the poverty threshold of 30 dollars rose from 10.1 to 10.5 million people, which means a 3.7% increase.
Brazil ran a trade deficit of 1.17 billion last month, the largest shortfall for October in 16 years, the government said on Monday. Imports totaled 19.5bn, while exports amounted to 18.3bn, the Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade said in a report.
Brazilian banker Luiz Carlos Trabuco Cappi, president of Bradesco, turned down an invitation from president Dilma Rousseff to occupy the Finance ministry as of next January first. According to the Sao Paulo financial publication Valor, there was no insistence on the issue from political sources.
The re-election of President Dilma Rousseff's in Brazil has exposed a deeply divided country with an overwhelming support for the incumbent in the impoverished northeast, where millions receive benefits from huge welfare programs the ruling Workers Party (PT) has rolled out over the past decade.
Argentina and Brazil were elected by the United Nations General Assembly as members of the UN Economic and Social Council, ESOCOC for a period of three years beginning next January first. Argentina received 182 out of 186 votes.
Brazil and Uruguay as of next December will be able to use local currencies in bilateral trade, disregarding appealing to US dollars, based on the agreement signed last Friday between the central bank presidents of the two countries, Alexandre Tombini (Brazil) and Alberto Graña (Uruguay).
The Petrobras-led Libra consortium has said that the first extension well in the Libra area, known as 3-BRSA-1255-RJS (3-RJS-731), has proven the discovery of high-quality oil in the northwest portion of the structure.
In a surprise move and in divided vote (5 to 3), Brazil's central bank monetary board, Copom, decided to raise its benchmark Selic rate by 25 basis points to 11.25%. A majority of economists and analysts anticipated that the bank would opt to keep rates unchanged.
Swedish aerospace and defence firm Saab has finalised a 5.4 billion dollars order to sell 36 fighter jets to Brazil, one of the most valuable defence contracts up for grabs in an emerging market. Saab said in a statement the total order value for the NG Gripen jets, to be delivered between 2019 and 2024, was around 39.3 billion Swedish crowns (5.4 billion).
President Barack Obama on Tuesday telephoned Brazilian head of state Dilma Rousseff to congratulate her on her re-election, the White House said in a statement. Obama emphasized the strategic value of our bilateral partnership and reinforced his commitment to deepening our cooperation in areas such as commerce, energy, and other priority bilateral issues through our existing strategic dialogues.