Brazil

• Tuesday, July 21st 2009 - 22:44 UTC

  Brazilian Senate supports Venezuela in Mercosur, but watchful of Chavez

  

  “Respect for democracy is a very important principle for those who are or want to become members of Mercosur”, said Eduardo Azeredo president of the Brazilian Senate Foreign Affairs and Defence committee.

• Tuesday, July 21st 2009 - 10:06 UTC

  Brazil accepts discussions on Itaipú surplus power distribution and prices

  

  Brazil will allow Paraguay to openly sell to Brazilian energy distributing companies its surplus share of the power generated by the Itaipú dam, the largest of its kind in the Americas.

• Saturday, July 18th 2009 - 15:15 UTC

  Brazilian economy giving signs the worst of the recession is over

  

  Brazil’s currency Real had its biggest weekly gain in almost two months on optimism the worst of the global recession is over. The Real climbed 3.6% this week, the most since the period ended May 22 rising 0.3% to 1.9261 per US dollar on Friday. So far this year the Real has strengthened 20%.

• Friday, July 17th 2009 - 11:10 UTC

  Brazil delays licences for Uruguayan powder milk imports

  

  Uruguay is considering what steps to follow given Brazil’s long delay in extending import licences for Uruguayan dairy produce. An estimated 10.000 tons have been ready for shipping for over two months but there has been no reply from Brazilian trade officials.

• Friday, July 17th 2009 - 07:57 UTC

  More government funds for Petrobras to develop oil reserves

  

  Brazil's government economic and social development bank BNDES will lend 25 billion Reais (12.8 billion US dollars) to Petrobras denominated in local Treasury notes, financial newspaper Valor Economico reported on Thursday.

• Thursday, July 16th 2009 - 15:24 UTC

  GM Brazil to invest a billion US dollars in two new models for Mercosur

  

  General Motors announced Wednesday it will invest a billion US dollars to develop two new car models in Brazil. GM Brazil and Mercosur operations president said it was the corporation’s biggest investment since the onset of the global financial crisis.

• Wednesday, July 15th 2009 - 11:36 UTC

  Brazil confident of recovery and retaining primary surplus

  

  Finance Minister Guido Mantega said Tuesday that Brazil is not facing fiscal troubles and anti-cyclic policies are showing satisfactory results. His statement was supported by the latest release on retail sales, for May, which was higher than expected.

• Tuesday, July 14th 2009 - 11:06 UTC

  Brazilian head of Senate Sarney requests investigation into his accounts

  

  The head of the Brazilian senate and former president (1985/1990), Jose Sarney said he would formally request the Attorney General’s office to investigate the existence of an alleged secret bank account overseas under his name.

• Monday, July 13th 2009 - 12:17 UTC

  Pressure mounting for the ousting of Lula da Silva’s crucial Senate ally

  

  Fresh reports of alleged fraud and embezzlement by Brazil Senate president Jose Sarney proliferated in Brazil's weekend press fuelling an ongoing Senate ethics scandal plus renewing pressure for Sarney to resign.

• Monday, July 13th 2009 - 11:52 UTC

  France best positioned for Brazil’s Air Force 4.5 billion USD contract

  

  US defence contractor Boeing Co is prepared to have Brazilian companies supply a “big portion” of components for its Super Hornet jetfighter, creating as many as 5.000 local jobs, to sell 36 of the warplanes to Brazil. The pledge comes as Boeing manoeuvres against competitors France’s Dassault Aviation and Sweden’s Saab AB.