The Brazilian currency dipped under four Real to the dollar for the first time in five weeks at close on Thursday as the markets reacted favorably to the emergence of two clear presidential election frontrunners. The Real closed at 3.99 to the US dollar just two weeks after hitting a record low of almost 4.2 to the dollar -- it's lost around 17% since the start of the year.
Oil majors are set to gather in Rio de Janeiro this Friday to unveil bids for stakes in Brazil’s high potential offshore areas ahead of elections that are casting a cloud of uncertainty over the industry.
A call to strengthen health care systems around the world based on physician-led primary care was made by the President of the World Medical Association Dr. Yoshitake Yokokura.
The controversial Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), Luis Almagro, expressed his complete support for the decision of the presidents of Argentina, Mauricio Macri; of Chile, Sebastián Piñera; of Colombia, Iván Duque; of Paraguay, Mario Abdo Benítez; of Peru, Martín Vizcarra; and of the Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, to refer to the International Criminal Court (ICC) the investigation into the existence of crimes against humanity in Venezuela.
David Mundell MP, Secretary of State for Scotland is currently in Chile where he arrived on Wednesday to reinforce the existing close links between the UK and Chile, including trade, science and innovation, defense and green growth.
A spokesman for the European Commission said calmness not drama was needed during the critical end phase of negotiating a withdrawal agreement between the European Union and the United Kingdom.
Petrobras, Brazil's state oil company, has agreed to pay more than US$ 853m to the United States and Brazil, ending a long-running corruption investigation. The probe stemmed from a bribery scheme at the firm, which involved millions in payments that were concealed from investors and regulators.
Ushuaia, capital of Tierra del Fuego province in the extreme south of Argentina will again be the main hub for Antarctica cruises with an estimated 284 calls involving 36 vessels, according to the provincial Tourism Institute. Overall Ushuaia will receive 375 calls, (Antarctica and non Antarctica cruises) totaling some 120.000 visitors.
President Mauricio Macri on Thursday asked Argentines for patience in weathering an economic crisis this year and pledged to increase social spending in the coming months, a day after reaching a US$ 57.1 billion deal with the International Monetary Fund.
The International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde, speaking at a news conference in New York alongside Argentine Economy Minister Nicolas Dujovne, said IMF was “significantly frontloading” disbursements under the program adding the Argentine central bank had agreed as part of the deal to allow the peso currency to float freely and would only intervene in the foreign exchange market in extreme circumstances.