Brazil

• Friday, December 11th 2020 - 08:20 UTC

  Brazil's richest man and world banker Joseph Safra dies in Sao Paulo, aged 82

  

  Joseph Safra, one of the world’s richest bankers who built an empire spanning continents with over US$ 85 billion in banking assets, has died. He was 82. Safra died of natural causes on Wednesday in Sao Paulo, Banco Safra said in a statement.

• Thursday, December 10th 2020 - 09:37 UTC

  Brazil will begin “quite likely” Covid-19 vaccinations in January or February

  

  Brazil will “quite likely” begin vaccinations to stem the coronavirus pandemic in January or February, Health Minister Eduardo Pazuello said on Wednesday, outlining what would be the most aggressive vaccination timeline proposed by a federal health official in Brazil to date.

• Thursday, December 10th 2020 - 09:11 UTC

  Brazil central bank keeps interest rate at record low 2%, but admits scenario of inflation expectations

  

  Brazil’s central bank kept its key interest rate at a record low 2.00% on Wednesday, as expected, but gave the first sign it could soon drop its pledge to keep rates lower for longer as inflation expectations converge toward target.

• Thursday, December 10th 2020 - 09:10 UTC

  Brazil reported 6,728,452 Covid-19 positive cases and 178,995 deaths

  

  Brazil reported 53,453 additional confirmed cases of coronavirus in the past 24 hours, the highest daily rate since mid-August, and 836 deaths from COVID-19, the Health Ministry said on Wednesday.

• Thursday, December 10th 2020 - 09:05 UTC

  Boeing 737 MAX returns to the skies on a commercial flight Sao Paulo/Porto Alegre

  

  More than 20 months after it was grounded following two deadly crashes, Boeing's 737 MAX returned to the skies on Wednesday with an incident-free commercial flight in Brazil, said AFP journalists on board.

• Wednesday, December 9th 2020 - 08:59 UTC

  Brazil signs letter of intent for delivery of 70 million Covid-19 vaccine doses

  

  Brazil has signed a letter of intent with Pfizer Inc for the delivery of more than 70 million COVID-19 vaccine doses, its health minister said on Tuesday, the day the country’s death toll from the virus surged to its highest in almost a month

• Wednesday, December 9th 2020 - 08:42 UTC

  Brazil records first case of Candida Auris, which poses “a serious threat to global health”

  

  Brazil has recorded its first possible case of Candida Auris, a rare fungus that can cause drug-resistant infections and potential fatalities, the country's health ministry said on Tuesday.

• Wednesday, December 9th 2020 - 08:20 UTC

  Brazil imported 748,000 tons of soybeans in eleven months of 2020

  

  Brazil soybean imports during November reached 122,000 tons, 20 times more than in November 2019 (6,000 tons). Purchases cost US$ 49.2 million, compared to the US$ 1.9 million spent a year earlier, as the average value of the ton purchased increased from US $328.8 to US$ 402.4, according to the Brazilian Foreign Trade Secretariat, SECEX.

• Tuesday, December 8th 2020 - 09:41 UTC

  Curbing Amazon deforestation conditions EU/Mercosur trade deal

  

  Until Brazil makes a political commitment to curb deforestation in the Amazon rainforest, the trade deal between the European Union and South America’s Mercosur trade bloc will not advance toward ratification in Europe, the EU’s envoy in Brasilia said.

• Monday, December 7th 2020 - 09:04 UTC

  ExxonMobil will concentrate its growth ambitions in Brazil and Guyana

  

  ExxonMobil expects Brazil and Guyana will be key drivers for the company’s growth ambitions in the future, as the US super-major looks to concentrate the bulk of exploration and production development activities in the two South American nations, apparently leaving aside the shale deposits in Argentina.