Brazil

• Thursday, December 1st 2016 - 18:26 UTC

  Temer admits Brazil “lacks solid institutions”, but foreigners are eager to invest in the country

  

  President Michel Temer said that “Brazil doesn’t have solid institutions” and that is why, “small factoids” menace the country’s institutional framework. Temer made such statements during an event Monday evening with private businessmen.

• Thursday, December 1st 2016 - 18:14 UTC

  Brazil anticipates blockbuster 2017 harvest and exports

  

  Brazil is getting ready for a blockbuster 2017 harvest and booming exports, amid favorable weather forecasts, according to recent estimates. With a plentiful harvest expected, Brazil’s National Grain Association predicts grain exports will rebound, with soybean exports of 60 MT in 2017, compared with some 51 MT for 2016. Corn exports will increase to 30 MT, compared with some 18.5 MT in 2016, the association reported.

• Thursday, December 1st 2016 - 18:12 UTC

  Petition to impeach President Temer mostly symbolic but erodes his political standing

  

  Brazilian opposition party filed a petition for the impeachment of President Michel Temer, underlining the growing difficulties facing the centre-right leader as he tries to introduce austerity reforms.

• Thursday, December 1st 2016 - 14:13 UTC

  From dream to nightmare in seconds: Chapecoense fans cry their heroes

  

  Fans of Chapecoense, the Brazilian football club enjoying a fairy tale season until almost wiped out in a plane crash, wept outside the stadium on Tuesday. All year, the once struggling, impoverished club had delighted the people of Chapeco, a city of about 200,000 in Santa Catarina state. Now, only grief remains.

• Thursday, December 1st 2016 - 14:00 UTC

  ºBrazil central bank lowers Selic rate to 13.75%; warns about global uncertainty

  

  Brazil's central bank cut its key interest rate Wednesday for the second month running, as data showed that the recession hitting Latin America's largest economy continued into the third quarter. The central bank lowered the benchmark Selic rate by a quarter of a percentage point, to 13.75% -- still one of the world's highest.

• Wednesday, November 30th 2016 - 11:08 UTC

  University of Sao Paulo targets the Moon for 2020

  

  According to a project announced Tuesday by the University of São Paulo, Brazil plans to launch its first mission to the moon in December 2020 with a nanosatellite to orbit the star to the effects of the space environment on different life forms.

• Wednesday, November 30th 2016 - 10:39 UTC

  Massive violent protests against Brazilian congress discussing austerity bill

  

  Thousands of people gathered on Tuesday in Brasilia outside Brazil's Congress to protest against the austerity plan of President Michel Temer and against what they see as attempts to shield corrupt politicians. Student groups and labor unions organized the demonstration to coincide with a debate in the Senate on Temer's proposal for a constitutional amendment that would cap public spending for 20 years.

• Wednesday, November 30th 2016 - 10:14 UTC

  Brazil economic outlook lowered according to Central bank survey

  

  Economists again lowered their outlook for Brazil's economic performance in 2016 and 2017, as the effects of a deep recession persist in Latin America's largest economy.

• Wednesday, November 30th 2016 - 09:31 UTC

  Temer signs bill that opens sub-salt oil deposits to private the sector

  

  Brazilian president Michel Temer signed legislation on Tuesday which opens the way for oil companies other than state-controlled Petrobras to operate the coveted sub-salt acreage. The bill repeals a controversial 2010 rule that requires Petrobras to hold a minimum 30% operating stake in assets governed by production-sharing contracts, mainly sub-salt assets.

• Tuesday, November 29th 2016 - 08:49 UTC

  Brazil lost 751,800 formal jobs in ten months of 2016

  

  Brazil lost 751,800 formal jobs from January to October 2016, the country's Labour Ministry reported. According to the ministry's unemployment registry, the figures are only slightly better than the same period last year, when the Brazilian economy registered a net loss of 818,900 jobs.