Brazil

• Wednesday, July 29th 2015 - 06:12 UTC

  “Operation radioactivity” unveils corruption in Brazil's Electrobras

  

  Brazilian police on Tuesday arrested two executives involved in building a nuclear power plant for Eletrobras, pulling the state-run utility into a corruption scandal that has engulfed government-owned oil company Petrobras.

• Wednesday, July 29th 2015 - 06:00 UTC

  S&P warns Brazil could lose investment-grade rating as economic slippage continues

  

  Standard & Poor's on Tuesday said Brazil could lose its coveted investment-grade rating in the coming year if fallout from a number of corruption investigations further stymies economic growth and the implementation of austerity measures.

• Tuesday, July 28th 2015 - 06:13 UTC

  Brazil central bank survey confirms worst economic performance since 1990

  

  Analysts expect Brazil's economy to contract by 1.76% this year, marking its worst performance since 1990, with the inflation rate hitting 9.23%, the Central Bank said on Monday.

• Monday, July 27th 2015 - 06:45 UTC

  Banks forecasting two years of economic contraction for Brazil

  

  Banks in Brazil are now forecasting economic contraction in 2016 and if this proves correct it will be first time Latin America's largest economy shrinks two years running since the Great Depression.

• Saturday, July 25th 2015 - 06:16 UTC

  Petrobras workers on a nationwide 24 hour strike to protest sale of assets

  

  Tens of thousands of workers at Brazil's state-owned Petrobras went on a nationwide 24-hour strike on Friday to protest the oil company's plans to sell 15.1 billion dollars worth of assets by the end of next year to help pay off a debt of about 120 billion dollars.

• Saturday, July 25th 2015 - 00:39 UTC

  Brazil's Odebrecht CEO charged with money laundering, corruption and criminal conspiracy

  

  Brazilian prosecutors presented formal charges on Friday against the chief executive of Latin America's largest engineering firm and other senior executives detained last month in a landmark investigation meant to show that the country's elite are not above the law.

• Friday, July 24th 2015 - 10:39 UTC

  Brazilian currency and markets drop on latest fiscal savings goals

  

  Brazil's currency, the Real, tumbled on Thursday after the government announced it would slash its fiscal savings goals for this year and next, raising investor fears that the country may lose its investment-grade credit rating.

• Thursday, July 23rd 2015 - 08:52 UTC

  Brazil's recession expected to continue next year according to top bank

  

  Brazil's recession will extend into next year, hurting President Dilma Rousseff's efforts to shore up public finances and arrest a sharp increase in unemployment, Itau Unibanco's chief economist said in a report on Wednesday. Ilan Goldfajn forecasts a drop of 2.2% in 2015 and 0.2% in 2016, down from previous estimates for a decline of 1.7% in 2015 and an increase of 0.3% in 2016.

• Thursday, July 23rd 2015 - 08:02 UTC

  Brazil slashes fiscal savings' goals for 2015 and 2016 on plunging tax revenue

  

  Brazil dramatically lowered its fiscal savings goals for 2015 and 2016 on Wednesday due to plunging tax revenues, and announced new spending cuts to underscore its commitment to austerity. The government cut its primary surplus goal for this year to 8.7 billion reais ($2.70 billion), or 0.15% of GDP, from 66.3 billion reais, the equivalent of 1.1% of GDP, originally budgeted.

• Wednesday, July 22nd 2015 - 07:34 UTC

  Dilma almost KO: 84.6% don't believe she can handle the economy and 62.8% want her impeached

  

  Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff's popularity slumped to a new low and support for her impeachment grew amid a deepening corruption scandal and a severe economic downturn, according to an opinion poll published on Tuesday.