
Favorable international demand and a recent discovery of lithium reserves in Brazil caused a rush for the metal, used in electrical batteries, reports the Folha de Sao Paulo. Two ongoing projects will elevate Brazil to the status of one of the world's largest lithium-producing countries in the next decade, according to data from the National Agency for Mining, ANM..

After defaults in Mozambique, Venezuela, and Cuba the Brazilian government froze credit lines for new exports, a measure that will affect mostly small and medium-sized businesses. The Brazilian Treasury Department will spend US$ 6 million to reimburse BNDES (National Bank For Economic and Social Development) for Cuba's default

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will cut a visit to Brazil short, skipping incoming President Jair Bolsonaro’s inauguration.

Petrobras has unveiled plans to invest US$ 84.1bn in deepwater exploration and production projects in Brazil, as well as raise $27bn through asset sales and partnerships by 2023. Around US$ 69bn of the planned investment will be channelled into the development of production in the pre-salt areas. Other key focus areas of investment include refining, transportation, trading, and natural gas and petrochemicals.

Brazil's president-elect Jair Bolsonaro on Tuesday said he wants an agreement with Israel to build desalination plants in the parched north where droughts are frequent. In a message on Twitter, Bolsonaro, who is to take office on Jan. 1, said his appointed Science and Technology Minister Marcos Pontes will travel to Tel Aviv in January to meet with his Israeli counterpart over the matter.

Argentina, Brazil and India lead the prospects of an economic recovery, according to Michael Hasenstab of Templeton Global Bond Fund Management.

Brazil's Presdient-elect Jair Bolsonaro will not welcome any Nicaraguan delegation at the inauguration ceremony in Brasilia on January 1, his future Foreign Minister Ernesto Araújo announced on Twitter.

A Brazilian judge Thursday blocked yet again the merger of the commercial division of Embraer with Boeing, despite a joint announcement to the contrary a few days ago.

Brazil’s future economy minister wants state development bank BNDES to return 100 billion Reais, some US$25.7 billion, to the nation’s treasury in 2019, a newspaper reported, as the incoming government seeks to cut the nation’s hefty debt load.

Brazil's attorney general has accused President Michele Temer of sitting at the center of an institutionalized system of corruption and has asked the courts to charge him with crimes as soon as he leaves office at the year's end.