Standard & Poor's cut Brazil's sovereign debt rating closer to speculative territory in a blow to President Dilma Rousseff administration. Brazil had its long-term debt rating downgraded to BBB minus, the agency's lowest investment-grade rating. S&P changed its outlook to stable from negative, meaning further downgrades are unlikely for now, which will come as a relief for both politicians in Brasilia and financial markets.The move was widely expected but the timing surprised some investors.
The government in Brazil says it will send federal troops to Rio de Janeiro to help deal with a spate of violent attacks targeting the city's police. The decision came after the governor of Rio de Janeiro state, Sergio Cabral, asked President Dilma Rousseff for government support ahead of the football World Cup in June.
By Oliver Stuenkel (*) - Brazil, foreign policy observers often point out, is blessed. Contrary to many other emerging powers such as China or India, it is located in a region that rarely experiences interstate tension or war. Not only can Brazil live on a relatively small defense budget, while India is the world's largest arms importer. Brazil can also dedicate considerable time and energy towards extending its global diplomatic reach without constantly being forced to deal with trouble in its neighborhood.
Brazil's anti-monopolies commission announced on Thursday it had begun investigating allegations that transport providers, including several large international firms, had operated a price-rigging cartel for 15 years in major cities.
A scandal surrounding the costly acquisition of a Texas oil refinery by Brazilian state-run energy company Petrobras years ago resurfaced Wednesday after new questions arose about President Dilma Rousseff’s handling of the deal, which involved a sum of 1.2bn dollars.
Mercosur will present a joint proposal to the European Union for a wide ranging trade agreement between the two blocks later this month, announced Brazil' Minister of Industry Mauro Borges, following a visit to Buenos Aires where he met with Economy minister Axel Kicillof and Industry minister Debora Giorgi.
Inflation edged up in Brazil in February to hit an annualized rate of 5.68%, following a 0.69% monthly rise in February, national statistical office IBGE said Wednesday.
Industrial production in Brazil rose 2.9% in January from December, government statistics agency IBGE said on Tuesday led by a jump in capital goods production.
Motor vehicle production in Brazil surged in February after auto workers returned from vacations, but production remains below levels seen in 2013 and sales have also dropped in the first two months of the year.
The average Brazilian voter for this coming October presidential election is between 25 and 34 years old, has on average a high school education and a low monthly family income, equivalent to 618 US dollars. He lives in the Southeast region of the vast country, in a small town with fewer than 50,000 inhabitants.