Brazil

• Friday, April 26th 2019 - 09:16 UTC

  Brazilian pension reform savings looks to be 15% higher than originally planned

  

  Brazil’s Economy Ministry on Thursday raised its projected savings from its pension reform bill over the next decade to 1.237 trillion reais (US$ 312 billion), well above the “minimum” 800 billion reais President Jair Bolsonaro said he expects.

• Friday, April 26th 2019 - 08:41 UTC

  Bolsonaro worried horrified over penis amputations because of lack of hygiene

  

  Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on Thursday expressed horror over the 1,000 penis amputations that he said occur each year in the country due to a lack of basic hygiene, a figure he called “ridiculous and sad.”

• Friday, April 26th 2019 - 08:29 UTC

  First shipment of Brazilian chicken to India in a year when the world faces a shortage of meat protein

  

  Brazilian meat processor JBS SA said its Seara processed foods unit will start selling chicken products to India, as the group explores new markets in a year when poultry is poised to become the most demanded meat protein in the world.

• Friday, April 26th 2019 - 08:25 UTC

  Traffic halted to let an anaconda cross a Brazilian highway

  

  A three-meter anaconda brought vehicles to a screeching halt on a busy Brazilian highway this week, but thanks to some kind commuters, there were no casualties - either human or snake. Cars and trucks came to a stop on the BR-364 interstate when drivers spotted the approximately 30-kilogram snake in the middle of the road near the northwestern city of Porto Velho, Brazilian news outlet G1 Globo reported. 

• Thursday, April 25th 2019 - 09:29 UTC

  Brazil: Investors fearful of reaction to pension reform next steps in congressional debate

  

  Brazilian markets slumped on Wednesday, a day after a planned pension overhaul cleared a congressional hurdle following a lengthy debate that highlighted the government’s struggle to build support for its signature reform policy.

• Thursday, April 25th 2019 - 09:20 UTC

  Brazil and Argentina exports taking over US corn markets

  

  US corn exports are facing increased competition from Brazil and Argentina, the two South American nations that are offering cargoes at competitive prices on the back of high crop output, a trend that could put downward pressure on Chicago corn prices in coming months, analysts said.

• Wednesday, April 24th 2019 - 09:22 UTC

  Brazilian ex president Lula could be partially free by next September

  

  Brazil's jailed former leftist president, Lula da Silva, could gain partial freedom within five months following a court decision on Tuesday to reduce his sentence in one of two corruption convictions.

• Wednesday, April 24th 2019 - 09:19 UTC

  Brazilian markets fly as pension reform receives political backing in Congress

  

  Brazilian markets rose on Tuesday after the path was cleared for a congressional committee vote on pension reform, a sign that the government is finally getting political backing for the most important element of its economic reform agenda.

• Wednesday, April 24th 2019 - 09:11 UTC

  Petrobras transparency: discloses fuel prices to head off a strike by independent truckers

  

  Brazil's state-controlled Petrobras started publishing daily wholesale gasoline and diesel prices at each of the company's 37 points of sale, the latest step aimed at heading off a strike by independent truck drivers.

• Wednesday, April 24th 2019 - 09:06 UTC

  Brazilian soy farmers launch “awareness campaign” against Bayer's possible anticompetitive practices

  

  A Brazilian grain growers association has launched a hot line to encourage farmers to report practices on the part of Germany’s Bayer SA that potentially could be anti-competitive, according to statement sent to Reuters on Tuesday.