
Mining giant BHP Billiton is facing a US$5bn claim for damages over a dam collapse in Brazil in 2015. Law firm SPG, which is representing than 200,000 Brazilian claimants, said the company knew of the risks at the Samarco mine in Minas Gerais state.

Brazil's Banco Bradesco SA has embarked on its first-ever international acquisition by paying approximately US$ 500 million to buy BAC Florida Bank, which focuses on high-net-worth individuals in a move intended to close the gap with Brazilian rivals.

Brazil's right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro is considering travelling to the United States to be honoured at an event in Texas next week, his spokesman said on Monday, just days after he cancelled a heavily criticized visit to New York City.

Brazil posted a trade surplus of US$ 6.06 billion in April, the Economy Ministry said, which is wider than the previous month. It was the second largest surplus ever recorded for the month of April and the biggest monthly surplus so far this year, a result of exports totaling US$ 19.69 billion and imports of US$ 13.63 billion.

One of Brazil’s best-performing hedge funds has been scooping up the shares of state-controlled oil giant Petrobras. Joao Braga and Marcos Peixoto, who manage US$ 1.3 billion (5 billion reais) at XP Asset Management, have increased their stake in Petrobras, making it the biggest holding of their XP Long Biased fund even as the oil producer’s rally has outpaced the benchmark.

Petrobras oil production fell 3.5% in the first quarter from the same period a year before, according to Brazil’s oil regulator ANP, which attributed the fall to a number of scheduled and unscheduled stoppages.

Latin American currencies ended on a high note on Friday against a weaker dollar after robust U.S. jobs data painted a brighter picture for global growth and gave the U.S. central bank more reason to stay on its dovish path.

Brazil’s industrial production fell 1.3% in March from the month before, statistics agency IBGE said on Friday, a steeper fall than economists had expected and another indication of the economy’s sub-par performance in the first quarter.

Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro has cancelled a planned trip to the United States after protests from gay rights and environmental campaigners. Mr Bolsonaro was due to attend a ceremony in his honor in New York later in May organized by the Brazilian-American Chamber of Commerce.

Latin American currencies softened against a stronger U.S. dollar on Thursday, a day after the U.S. Federal Reserve kept interest rates steady, while most regional stock markets broadly fell along with their global peers.