Brazil

• Thursday, June 20th 2019 - 09:20 UTC

  Vale resumes full operations at Brucutu mine easing pressure on iron ore markets

  

  Brazilian miner Vale SA said on Wednesday that it will fully resume operations at its Brucutu mine within 72 hours after an appeals court overturned an earlier ruling that halted processing because of concern about the safety of a nearby dam.

• Thursday, June 20th 2019 - 08:50 UTC

  Brazil central bank leaves benchmark rate at 6.50%; forecasts of 5.50% by December

  

  Brazil’s central bank held its benchmark interest rate at a record-low 6.50% on Wednesday, as expected, holding back from signalling looser policy because of doubts on economic reforms. The scenario outlined by policymakers was one of anaemic economic growth and high levels of economic slack putting downward pressure on inflation at home, plus the prospect of interest rates coming down in major developed economies.

• Wednesday, June 19th 2019 - 09:55 UTC

  Sao Paulo court accepts Odebrecht recovery procedure; debts amount to US$ 22.3bn

  

  A court in Sao Paulo on Tuesday accepted a request by Brazilian conglomerate Odebrecht to begin a corporate recovery procedure aimed at fending off bankruptcy at the scandal-tainted group.

• Wednesday, June 19th 2019 - 09:46 UTC

  Brazil Senate overturns Bolsonaro's decree allowing arms for self defense

  

  Brazil’s Senate on Tuesday overturned a decree signed last month by right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro that drastically expanded the number of people allowed to carry weapons in public.

• Wednesday, June 19th 2019 - 09:40 UTC

  Brazilian pensions' reform faces new challenges

  

  The Brazilian government’s plans to overhaul its pension system can still be saved if lawmakers reverse changes to transition rules and concessions to legislative aides, according to Economy Minister Paulo Guedes.

• Wednesday, June 19th 2019 - 09:29 UTC

  Petrobras makes huge natural gas discovery in the Sergipe basin

  

  Brazilian state-run oil firm Petrobras has made natural gas discoveries in six deep-water fields in the Sergipe Basin, it said in a regulatory filing on Monday.

• Tuesday, June 18th 2019 - 09:54 UTC

  Argentina opens an official inquiry into Sunday's massive blackout

  

  Argentina has opened an inquiry into what caused a massive blackout that left nearly 50 million people without power, Energy Minister Gustavo Lopetegui said on Monday.

• Tuesday, June 18th 2019 - 09:45 UTC

  Brazil's largest private company, Odebrecht, files for bankruptcy; US$ 20bn in debts

  

  Scandal-ridden Brazil construction giant Odebrecht, which has admitted to spending nearly US$ 800 million to bribe officials across Latin America to win contracts, filed for bankruptcy protection on Monday, judicial sources said.

• Monday, June 17th 2019 - 09:55 UTC

  Massive blackout hits Mercosur; Argentina and Uruguay in the dark for six hours; major investigation promised

  

  A massive blackout left tens of millions of people without electricity in Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and parts of Chile and southern Brazil on Sunday. The Argentine president called it an “unprecedented” failure in the countries' interconnected power grid.

• Monday, June 17th 2019 - 09:49 UTC

  Bolsonaro sacks moderate member of his “military” cabinet

  

  Brazil’s president Jair Bolsonaro replaced his minister in charge of political relations with Congress, the presidential spokesman said. Government Secretary Carlos Alberto dos Santos Cruz was fired during a meeting with Bolsonaro, according to reports in the Brazilian media last week.