Brazil

• Friday, February 19th 2016 - 04:24 UTC

  Brazil biggest environmental disaster: compensation agreement could be signed this week

  

  The Brazilian government expects to reach an agreement by Friday with Samarco Mineração to settle a 20 billion-real (US$4.9 billion) lawsuit for damages in the deadly dam disaster which burst in inland Minas Gerais creating a tsunami of mud and waste that killed 17 people and reached the Atlantic ocean.

• Thursday, February 18th 2016 - 06:57 UTC

  S&P sends Brazil's credit rating deeper into junk territory; officials 'surprised'

  

  Standard & Poor's downgraded Brazil's credit rating deeper into junk territory on Wednesday, citing its failure to curb its fiscal deficit, in a surprise blow to President Dilma Rousseff`s bid to haul the economy out of its worst recession in decades.

• Tuesday, February 16th 2016 - 11:24 UTC

  Brazilian economy prospects worsen, says central bank survey

  

  Analysts expect Brazil's economy to contract by 3.33% this year, with the outlook worsening from last week, the Central Bank said Monday. Last week, analysts said they expected Brazil's economy to contract by 3.21% this year.

• Tuesday, February 16th 2016 - 07:55 UTC

  President Rousseff with 200.000 troops leads the “Zika Zero” campaign

  

  More than 200,000 troops fanned out across Brazil over the weekend to raise awareness about the mosquito that spreads the Zika virus, which has been linked to a surge in birth defects.

• Tuesday, February 16th 2016 - 07:43 UTC

  Brazil will hold Olympic Games despite Zika, says president Rousseff

  

  Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff said that the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro would take place despite the Zika virus, at a time when various athletes have expressed their fears about competing.

• Saturday, February 13th 2016 - 05:45 UTC

  Valcke banned for 12 years from FIFA for misconduct and destruction of evidence

  

  Two weeks before the presidential election, FIFA's top judge bans former secretary general Jerone Valcke for 12 years for misconduct relating to World Cup ticket sales, travel expenses and destruction of evidence.

• Friday, February 12th 2016 - 06:27 UTC

  Petrobras faces legal challenges in the billions from international investors

  

  Brazil’s troubled state oil firm Petrobras faces possible new legal challenges from a coalition of groups representing international investors based in Europe in the US. The financially hobbled and corruption-racked company is being sued over alleged fraud-related losses the investors suffered on its shares and bonds traded outside the Americas.

• Friday, February 12th 2016 - 06:21 UTC

  Brazil's economic outlook worsens, according to latest central bank survey

  

  Analysts expect Brazil's economy to contract by 3.21% this year, with the outlook worsening from last week, the Central Bank said this week. Seven days ago analysts said they expected Brazil's economy to contract by 3.01% in 2016.

• Thursday, February 11th 2016 - 05:40 UTC

  Brazil reopens crucial waterway for transporting soy; water was used to generate power

  

  Brazil's Tiete-Parana waterway, a key transport corridor for soybeans, corn, cellulose, fertilizer and other agricultural products, has reopened after a 20-month closure due to drought and the use of water for electricity, the Estado de S. Paulo newspaper reported this week.

• Saturday, February 6th 2016 - 05:31 UTC

  Brazil's inflation at 12-year high in January driven by food and transportation prices

  

  Brazil's inflation rate rose to a 12-year high, officials said on Friday, as Latin America's largest economy continues to struggle through a protracted recession. Driven by rising food prices, the annual inflation rate hit 10.71%, the highest since November 2003 and well beyond the central bank's target ceiling of 6.5%, said national statistics institute IBGE.