Brazil

• Wednesday, February 15th 2017 - 09:12 UTC

  Brazilian currency at its strongest against the US dollar since July 2015

  

  The Brazilian real gained on Tuesday to its strongest level in more than a year and a half, following a rise in capital inflows and after the central bank resumed currency intervention following a two-week pause. The real firmed 0.45% to 3.096 real per dollar, its strongest showing since July 2015.

• Tuesday, February 14th 2017 - 12:17 UTC

  Petrobras credit rating raised to BB-: improved governance “compares well with those of its peers”

  

  Credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s on Friday raised its corporate credit rating on Petrobras, one notch, from B+ to BB-. The rating change does not lift Petrobras out of the non-investment grade category, but it lowers the risk from “highly speculative” to “speculative.”

• Tuesday, February 14th 2017 - 11:28 UTC

  Brazil forced to import Robusta coffee: first time in decades

  

  Brazil's Agriculture Minister Blairo Maggi said on Monday he has asked the country's Foreign Trade Chamber (Camex) for authorization to open robusta coffee imports at near zero tariff, according to the ministry.

• Tuesday, February 14th 2017 - 11:02 UTC

  Brazilian media banned from publishing a report on an extortion attempt suffered by the First Lady

  

  A Brazilian judge censored articles in two respected and influential newspapers, Folha de Sao Paulo and O'Globo, which reported on an extortion attempt suffered by the First Lady Marcela Temer last year. Both newspapers anticipated they will be appealing the ruling.

• Tuesday, February 14th 2017 - 10:50 UTC

  Temer refuses to lose another advisor whose nomination was barred by a judge

  

  Brazilian President Michel Temer on Monday denied suggestions that he is trying to protect a minister implicated in a corruption scandal. Temer is under fire in the media and judiciary for controversially naming his close adviser Wellington Moreira Franco to a cabinet-level position.

• Tuesday, February 14th 2017 - 10:17 UTC

  Brazil deploys federal troops to Rio do Janeiro; fears police strike might spread

  

  Children returned to school and most public transport began operating again Monday in the Brazilian state of Espirito Santo state, which had been paralyzed by a protest that prevented military police from patrolling. Amid fears a similar protest could erupt in the days before Carnival, the Brazilian government announced it would deploy troops to police the state of Rio de Janeiro.

• Monday, February 13th 2017 - 10:45 UTC

  Brazilian police returned on Sunday to patrolling Espirito Santo state

  

  More than 1,200 military police returned to patrols in Espirito Santo on Sunday as the n Brazilian state inched toward normalcy after a protest left a security vacuum that fueled a crime wave. Schools in the state (north of Rio de Janeiro) are scheduled to reopen Monday and public transport will resume a full schedule, the president's office said on Twitter.

• Monday, February 13th 2017 - 09:20 UTC

  Mercosur/EU technical discussions in Brussels ahead of Buenos Aires meeting

  

  Mercosur representatives will be meeting their European Union counterparts this week, beginning Monday, in Brussels in anticipation of another round of trade and cooperation discussions scheduled for March in Buenos Aires. Mercosur members, under the coordination of Argentina, which currently holds the group's chair are attending with a common position reached after several days of videoconferences.

• Sunday, February 12th 2017 - 13:59 UTC

  Brazilian Army unable to keep order in rioting city; fears chaos could spread to other states

  

  More than 100 people have been reported killed during a six-day strike by police in the Brazilian state of Espirito Santo, as hundreds of troops patrolled streets attempting to keep order with schools and businesses closed and public transport frozen.

• Saturday, February 11th 2017 - 10:52 UTC

  Fears police strike and street violence could spread to Rio do Janeiro

  

  A partial police shutdown over unpaid wages put Rio de Janeiro on edge Friday, sparking fears of chaos similar to that seen in a neighboring Espirito Santo state where police are in revolt and criminals have run amok. Morale among street police is low as a result of nearly bankrupt Rio state's inability to pay full wages, as well as brutal crime fighting that has seen more than 3,000 officers killed in Rio since 1994.