Brazil

• Monday, November 3rd 2014 - 11:14 UTC

  President Dilma Rousseff's re-election exposes a divided Brazil

  

  The re-election of President Dilma Rousseff's in Brazil has exposed a deeply divided country with an overwhelming support for the incumbent in the impoverished northeast, where millions receive benefits from huge welfare programs the ruling Workers Party (PT) has rolled out over the past decade.

• Monday, November 3rd 2014 - 09:11 UTC

  Argentina and Brazil elected to the UN Economic and Social Council

  

  Argentina and Brazil were elected by the United Nations General Assembly as members of the UN Economic and Social Council, ESOCOC for a period of three years beginning next January first. Argentina received 182 out of 186 votes.

• Monday, November 3rd 2014 - 08:59 UTC

  Brazil and Uruguay agree to bilateral trade in local currencies

  

  Brazil and Uruguay as of next December will be able to use local currencies in bilateral trade, disregarding appealing to US dollars, based on the agreement signed last Friday between the central bank presidents of the two countries, Alexandre Tombini (Brazil) and Alberto Graña (Uruguay).

• Friday, October 31st 2014 - 06:28 UTC

  Petrobras consortium find high-quality oil at the Libra area, off Rio do Janeiro

  

  The Petrobras-led Libra consortium has said that the first extension well in the Libra area, known as 3-BRSA-1255-RJS (3-RJS-731), has proven the discovery of high-quality oil in the northwest portion of the structure.

• Thursday, October 30th 2014 - 10:39 UTC

  In a divided vote, Brazil's central bank raised the Selic rate 25 points to 11.25%

  

  In a surprise move and in divided vote (5 to 3), Brazil's central bank monetary board, Copom, decided to raise its benchmark Selic rate by 25 basis points to 11.25%. A majority of economists and analysts anticipated that the bank would opt to keep rates unchanged.

• Thursday, October 30th 2014 - 10:33 UTC

  The challenges faced by Dilma Rousseff

  

  In a strong editorial the influential Folha de Sao Paulo argues that Brazil's reelected President Dilma Rousseff must reestablish confidence to the nation, which is divided regionally and socially, must implement a fluid dialogue with productive Brazil because the economy needs changes and new faces, and must rule for all the country, because victory was the result of millimetrical dispute in Sunday's runoff.

• Wednesday, October 29th 2014 - 07:16 UTC

  Sweden's Saab wins Brazilian 5.4bn dollars contract to sell 36 fighter jets

  

  Swedish aerospace and defence firm Saab has finalised a 5.4 billion dollars order to sell 36 fighter jets to Brazil, one of the most valuable defence contracts up for grabs in an emerging market. Saab said in a statement the total order value for the NG Gripen jets, to be delivered between 2019 and 2024, was around 39.3 billion Swedish crowns (5.4 billion).

• Wednesday, October 29th 2014 - 06:35 UTC

  Obama congratulates Dilma and underlines 'strategic value' of relation with Brazil

  

  President Barack Obama on Tuesday telephoned Brazilian head of state Dilma Rousseff to congratulate her on her re-election, the White House said in a statement. Obama “emphasized the strategic value of our bilateral partnership and reinforced his commitment to deepening our cooperation in areas such as commerce, energy, and other priority bilateral issues through our existing strategic dialogues”.

• Wednesday, October 29th 2014 - 05:27 UTC

  Argentina hopes to renew air power following Brazil's deal to manufacture Gripen fighter jets

  

  Brazilian media has confirmed that Argentina is probing to join with Brazil in the procurement of 24 Saab Gripen NG fighters, following the recently signed bilateral cooperation agreement under the heading of “Aeronautic industry strategic alliance” (AEIA), which was discussed this month by the two countries defense ministers.

• Tuesday, October 28th 2014 - 15:27 UTC

  Brazilian economy remains in recession; Central bank survey indicates 0.27% growth this year

  

  Private sector analysts are maintaining their 2014 growth forecast for Brazil's economy at 0.27%, the Central Bank said on Monday. GDP estimate was included in the Focus review, a weekly Central Bank survey of analysts from about 100 private financial institutions on the state of the national economy.