Brazil

• Saturday, June 20th 2020 - 09:29 UTC

  Bolsonaro changes Brazilian soccer broadcasting rules and players' contracts

  

  Brazilian soccer clubs are free to negotiate broadcast rights for own home games without requiring a green light from their opponents, according to a new decree issued by the country’s president on Thursday.

• Friday, June 19th 2020 - 11:46 UTC

  Cargill Brazil's CEO warns Bolsonaro family and friends “it is not even smart” to insult China

  

  Insults by Brazilian government officials aimed at China, the country’s main trading partner, are detrimental to Brazil’s business interests and “not even very smart,” the chief executive of Cargill’s local operations said this week.

• Friday, June 19th 2020 - 11:30 UTC

  Bolsonaro's 'terrible spelling' education minister steps down: “this time it is true”

  

  Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro's education minister, Abraham Weintraub, announced his resignation on Thursday after finding himself embroiled in a series of controversies and scandals.

• Friday, June 19th 2020 - 09:56 UTC

  Bolsonaro family's alleged 'graft background' coming to light in their Rio do Janeiro turf

  

  Brazilian police on Thursday arrested a former aide to Jair Bolsonaro’s eldest son in a graft investigation threatening to undermine the president’s pledge to crack down on corruption and ratchet up his battle with the judiciary.

• Thursday, June 18th 2020 - 12:36 UTC

  Brazil retail sales plunge in April anticipating a major contraction of the economy

  

  Brazilian retail sales plunged at a record pace in April as social isolation measures choked spending, official figures showed indicating the economy’s contraction in the second quarter could be even more severe than anticipated.

• Thursday, June 18th 2020 - 12:32 UTC

  Brazil slashes benchmark interest rate 75 basis points to a record low of 2,25%

  

  Brazil’s central bank cut its benchmark interest rate by 75 basis points to a record low of 2.25% on Wednesday, as expected, and said there was some room left for further monetary stimulus to support an economy ravaged by the coronavirus pandemic.

• Thursday, June 18th 2020 - 12:29 UTC

  Brazil's service sector slumped 11,7% in April on a year on year basis

  

  Services activity in Brazil slumped 11.7% in April, figures showed on Wednesday, the biggest fall since comparable record-keeping began nearly a decade ago as social isolation measures to combat the COVID-19 outbreak slammed the economy into reverse.

• Wednesday, June 17th 2020 - 17:57 UTC

  Brazil temporarily lowers biodiesel content of diesel, given the strong demand from harvest time

  

  Brazil's National Petroleum Agency, ANP, temporarily reduced the volume of biodiesel blended with diesel sold at the pump to 10% from 12% for the next five days in an emergency move, the country's lead regulator for the oil and natural gas industry said Tuesday.

• Wednesday, June 17th 2020 - 12:19 UTC

  Brazilian federal police raids and arrests Bolsonaro followers for funding “anti democratic” activities

  

  Brazilian federal police have raided supporters of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro accused by prosecutors of funding “anti-democratic” activities. The raids follow the arrest of an affiliated far-right activist.

• Wednesday, June 17th 2020 - 08:00 UTC

  Brazil reports 35,000 new virus cases; PAHO denies the pandemic is under control

  

  Brazil reported a record 34,918 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday, the same day that one of the senior officials leading the country’s widely criticized response to the crisis said the outbreak was under control.