Brazil

• Thursday, September 14th 2017 - 20:49 UTC

  Brazilian congress advances political reform to streamline parties; 28 have elected members

  

  Brazil's lower house of Congress has given initial approval to a bill to reduce the huge array of political parties that have made it hard to govern the country and contributed to corruption. The chamber voted 384-16 for the establishment of a minimum national vote threshold that parties must reach to get public funding and free radio and television time for their election campaigns. The requirement would be 1.5% of votes in 2018, rising to 3% in 2030.

• Thursday, September 14th 2017 - 19:17 UTC

  Brazilian agriculture minister home raided by police on corruption probe

  

  Brazil's Police raided the home of a top government official Thursday seeking evidence in yet another corruption case involving a member of embattled President Michel Temer's Cabinet. The operation was authorized by Brazil's top court and is part of an investigation of Agriculture Minister Blairo Maggi, who is suspected of bribing state lawmakers during his 2003-2010 terms as governor of Mato Grosso.

• Thursday, September 14th 2017 - 18:53 UTC

  Irish beef farmers warn that an EU/Mercosur deal is a “completely unacceptable”

  

  Pushing the European Union Mercosur deal is a “completely unacceptable”, according to Meat Industry Ireland’s (MII) director Cormac Healy. In a statement, Healy said that any progression and completion of the Mercosur trade deal will have negative effects on the EU beef market.

• Thursday, September 14th 2017 - 07:06 UTC

  Lula da Silva questions impartiality of Judge Sergio Moro: “this is a witch hunt”

  

  Former President Lula da Silva told a Brazilian court on Wednesday that the corruption charges against him stem from a witch hunt and questioned the impartiality of the judge. Lula's deposition in Curitiba was the second time he faced off with Judge Sergio Moro, who oversees Brazil's sprawling investigation into bribes to politicians in return for favors to companies.

• Thursday, September 14th 2017 - 06:57 UTC

  Brazilian billionaire brothers detained for suspected inside trading

  

  Brazil’s federal police detained the CEO of JBS SA, the world’s No 1 meatpacker, saying he used insider information to avoid hefty losses related to a plea bargain signed earlier this year. Wesley Batista, who has been at the helm of JBS since 2011, was detained under an arrest warrant against him and his younger brother Joesley Batista for suspected insider trading.

• Wednesday, September 13th 2017 - 10:27 UTC

  Brazil's 2016/17 crop reached 238.7 million tons: 114 million tons of soybean

  

  Brazil's 2016/2017 crop is expected to reach 238.7 million tons which is 28% higher than the previous year, because of better climate conditions and improved productivity, according to Conab, the country's agriculture stats and food supply company. This includes 114 million tons of soybeans and 97.71 million tons of corn.

• Tuesday, September 12th 2017 - 09:21 UTC

  Brazil's air commercial industry considers building a factory in China

  

  Brazilian aeronautical company Embraer plans to analyze the possibility of building a factory in China to manufacture jet aircraft for the commercial aviation segment, the company’s chief executive said.

• Monday, September 11th 2017 - 10:21 UTC

  Brazilian tycoon who implicated president Temer arrested for withholding information

  

  The former chairman of the world’s largest meatpacker, whose testimony implicated Brazil’s president in corruption, turned himself in to police Sunday after the country’s Supreme Court ordered his arrest.

• Saturday, September 9th 2017 - 19:54 UTC

  Brazil's central bank slashes rate one full percentage point to 8.25%

  

  Brazil's central bank slashed its key interest rate this week by a full percentage point to 8.25%, the eighth consecutive cut as the country slowly exits a painful recession. The one percentage point fall in the base Selic rate had been predicted by markets and matched a previous cut in July.

• Friday, September 8th 2017 - 20:07 UTC

  Agriculture has become the most productive sector of the Brazilian economy

  

  With a robust Harvest Plan coupled with support and development tools organized by the government, Brazil’s agriculture and livestock sector is expected to generate record wealth for Brazil in 2017. Studies show that the segment is likely to grow around 10.74% this year, adding over R$ 30 billion (some US$ 10bn) to the country's GDP.