Brazil

• Wednesday, December 20th 2017 - 10:22 UTC

  CMA-CGM take over Mercosul Line from Maersk Line

  

  The transfer of ownership of Mercosul Line from Maersk Line to CMA CGM. (Maritime Freighting Company-General Maritime Company), was completed on Friday. Mercosul is a leading player in Brazil's domestic container shipping market, with a fleet of four container vessels and around 290 people employed.

• Tuesday, December 19th 2017 - 11:59 UTC

  Odebrecht family leaders will step down from the scandal plagued conglomerate

  

  Emílio Odebrecht will resign as chairman of the board of the scandal-plagued Brazilian engineering conglomerate Odebrecht SA in the first half of next year, newspaper O Estado de S. Paulo reported. Emilio Odebrecht is one of 77 executives of the engineering conglomerate to sign a plea deal.

• Friday, December 15th 2017 - 14:53 UTC

  Brazilian beef exporters expect a record year in 2018: 1.68 million tons

  

  Brazilian beef exporters expect shipments to grow 10% in 2018 after rising an estimated 9% this year despite corruption and food safety scandals that temporarily closed off major markets. Trade group Abiec on Thursday said Brazil, the world’s largest beef exporter, would likely sell 1.68 million tons of beef abroad next year, up from 1.53 million tons in 2017. Revenue is expected to rise about 11% to US$6.9 billion in 2018, after a 13% rise this year to US$6.2 billion.

• Friday, December 15th 2017 - 10:56 UTC

  Russian wheat for Brazil as Moscow and Brasilia look to increase bilateral trade

  

  Brazil’s government published a decree laying out procedures importers will have to follow to be able to buy and unload Russian wheat in Brazil, a step aimed at improving trade ties with Moscow. The decree, which takes effect immediately, outlines the documents importers will have to submit to bring Russian wheat to be processed in Brazil, which had not been previously allowed.

• Friday, December 15th 2017 - 10:50 UTC

  Brazil postpones until February 19 vote on bill to reform pensions system

  

  The lower house of Brazil’s Congress will delay a vote on a bill trimming social security benefits until Feb. 19, Speaker Rodrigo Maia said on Thursday, pushing a decision on the cornerstone of President Michel Temer’s fiscal reforms into an election year.

• Friday, December 15th 2017 - 08:25 UTC

  Volkswagen reveals its role during Brazilian military dictatorship: no apologies planned

  

  Volkswagen said on Thursday that a historian commissioned by the carmaker found that some of the security staff at Volkswagen do Brasil had cooperated with the country’s former military regime.

• Friday, December 15th 2017 - 01:55 UTC

  Brazil will join the UN peace force in Central Africa Republic with 750 troops

  

  Brazil will join the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic, Minusca, the United Nations has announced. This is an important decision since Brasilia looks to maintain a high profile in UN peace operations and show its increased interest in Africa.

• Friday, December 15th 2017 - 01:40 UTC

  Brazilian police raids offices and homes of two members of Congress

  

  Brazilian police raided the offices and homes of two members of Congress on Wednesday in the country’s latest corruption probe as the government makes a last-ditch effort to vote on an overhaul of the national pension system.

• Wednesday, December 13th 2017 - 21:50 UTC

  OAS observers will be deployed in Brazil's general election of October 2018

  

  The Organization of American States (OAS) and the Supreme Electoral Tribunal of Brazil signed the Procedural Agreement for the first deployment of an Electoral Observation Mission to Brazil.

• Tuesday, December 12th 2017 - 10:47 UTC

  Mexico and Brazil compete for investors in deepwater projects

  

  Mexican national oil company Pemex blamed the cancellation of a potentially lucrative deepwater Gulf of Mexico project on weak investor appetite due to competition from recent auctions in Brazil and low oil prices. Mexico’s oil regulator canceled a tender to pick an equity partner for Pemex’s Nobilis-Maximino project, as company interest was not as robust as expected.