Brazil

Friday, February 20th 2015 - 07:44 UTC
Beija-Flor, the top samba group this year in Rio's Carnival, but who's behind?

The Beija-Flor samba group was declared the champion of Rio de Janeiro's hotly contested Brazilian Carnival parade competition on Wednesday. However the group stoked controversy by staging a presentation focusing on Equatorial Guinea, run by Africa's longest-ruling dictator, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo.
Thursday, February 19th 2015 - 05:23 UTC
Levy tells US investors Brazil is on track to correct the fiscal slippage

The government of President Dilma Rousseff is working to meet its primary budget surplus goal of 1.2% of GDP in 2015, pledged Finance minister Joaquim Levy on Wednesday to an audience of investors in New York.
Wednesday, February 18th 2015 - 04:05 UTC
Web-campaign to impeach Rousseff gains ground with 2million e-petitions

Calls are growing in Brazil to impeach President Dilma Rousseff over a multi-billion dollar corruption scandal involving the state-run oil giant Petrobras. While the country celebrates its annual Carnival, with the 2015 Samba Competition wrapping up in Rio de Janeiro, there has been a growing clamor on the web and in the streets, with millions of Brazilians asking for the impeachment of their president.
Wednesday, February 18th 2015 - 03:56 UTC
Brazil's corn and soybean crops flattening out influenced by climate conditions

Brazil's sowings of safrinha corn are to fall for the first time in seven years, Conab (National Supply Co.) said, cutting its forecast for the country's overall production of the grain, and lowering hopes for the soybean harvest too.
Tuesday, February 17th 2015 - 05:13 UTC
Brazil and Argentina agree accords signed with China will not affect Mercosur

Brazilian foreign minister Mauro Vieira discarded that the recent agreements reached by Argentina with China can interfere with Mercosur, while his Argentine counterpart Hector Timerman said that the package of accords with Beijing will “actually benefit Mercosur”.
Tuesday, February 17th 2015 - 05:09 UTC
Rolls-Royce allegedly caught in the Petrobras bribery scandal

Rolls-Royce has said it does not “tolerate improper business” after the Financial Times reported that the firm had been accused of being caught up in a bribery scandal in Brazil. Ft reported allegations that the company paid bribes for a contract with Brazilian oil firm Petrobras.
Monday, February 16th 2015 - 08:51 UTC
Germany urges Brazil with an EU/Mercosur trade agreement

Germany wants to speed negotiations for a free trade agreement between the European Union and Mercosur, said Foreign minister Walter Steinmeier in Brasilia. The agreement has been pending since 1999 when discussions started but so far have been unable to reach a deal or commit a date because of internal problems from both sides.
Friday, February 13th 2015 - 09:13 UTC
Snail growth in Brazil's 2014 retail sales anticipate a very tough 2015

Retail sales in Brazil increased 2.2% in 2014 over the previous year, the smallest expansion in 11 years, the Brazilian Institute for Geography and Statistics, or IBGE, reported this week. The sector suffered its worst year since 2003 when sales tumbled 3.7%. In 2013, retail sales grew 4.3%.
Friday, February 13th 2015 - 04:13 UTC
Brazilian congress ignores Rousseff's call for spending cuts

Brazil's Congress passed legislation on Tuesday that limits the president's ability to reduce pork-barrel spending passed by lawmakers, a setback for President Dilma Rousseff's efforts to fight a fiscal deficit.
Thursday, February 12th 2015 - 20:57 UTC
Argentina and Brazil admit trade disagreements between Mercosur main partners

Argentina and Brazil failed to reach an agreement to help unlock the ongoing tension between the two key Mercosur allies over bilateral trade. Argentina's Hector Timerman and his counterpart Mauro Vieira met in Buenos Aires to try and ease Brazil’s growing concerns about restrictions on the flow of goods, but any decisions were pushed forward to an undetermined date.