Brazil

• Monday, October 12th 2015 - 06:16 UTC

  Petrobras corruption scandal could reach US$ 5.3bn: “we've only seen the tip of the iceberg”

  

  Damage from the gargantuan corruption scandal centered on Brazilian state oil company Petrobras could amount to as much as 20 billion Reais ($5.3 billion), a lead prosecutor revealed last week.

• Monday, October 12th 2015 - 06:14 UTC

  Levy confident congress will finally approve austerity measures to help Brazil's economy

  

  The president Dilma Rousseff administration is geared to “preparing the country to deal with a new international reality”, Brazilian Finance Minister Joaquim Levy told Reuters in an interview on Saturday.

• Saturday, October 10th 2015 - 07:11 UTC

  Opposition will push for impeachment proceedings against Rousseff next week

  

  Brazil opposition lawmakers will push for impeachment proceedings to begin next week against embattled President Dilma Rousseff, local media reported Friday. It comes after the country’s top audit court, the TCU, ruled that the government’s 2014 accounts had been manipulated in the run-up to last year’s presidential elections to give a better impression of the economy and sustain spending on social programs.

• Thursday, October 8th 2015 - 18:51 UTC

  Brazilian congress again exposes President Rousseff's political weakness

  

  Brazil's Congress on Wednesday postponed for a fourth time voting on whether to overrule President Dilma Rousseff's vetoes of two spending bills in a defeat for her government as it scrambles for support to rebalance overdrawn public accounts.

• Thursday, October 8th 2015 - 12:14 UTC

  Rousseff closer to impeachment: government accounting practices 'illegal' says Accounts Court

  

  Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff suffered a major new setback Wednesday when a court ruled that her government's accounting practices were illegal, handing ammunition to opponents threatening impeachment proceedings. The decision by the Federal Accounts Court or TCU was the latest blow to Rousseff, less than a year into her second term.

• Thursday, October 8th 2015 - 12:08 UTC

  Brazil's inflation eases in September but still too close to two digits

  

  Inflation in Brazil has eased for second consecutive month, which takes some pressure of the central bank to hike rates further. The Real has also gained pace last month after the central bank promised to do whatever it takes to stem the Brazilian currency's slide. The Real has strengthened to 3.84 per dollar after touching new all-time high of 4.247 per dollar only a couple of weeks ago.

• Thursday, October 8th 2015 - 10:21 UTC

  With Brazil contracting 3%, Latin America's economy will shrink 0.3%, says IMF report

  

  The International Monetary Fund said today that it now expects Latin America's economy to shrink 0.3% this year instead of growing 0.5%, largely due to a steep recession in Brazil and slumping commodity prices. It would be the first recession for the Latin American and Caribbean region since 2009.

• Wednesday, October 7th 2015 - 10:28 UTC

  Brazil's top electoral court will investigate Rousseff's reelection campaign for alleged 'irregularities'

  

  Brazil's top electoral authority ruled on Tuesday there are grounds to investigate irregularities in President Dilma Rousseff's re-election campaign last year. The TSE electoral court voted 5-2 on the decision. It is seeking to determine whether Rousseff and Vice President Michel Temer abused their power while in office to run the campaign, and whether illegal money was used as funding.

• Wednesday, October 7th 2015 - 10:21 UTC

  Brazil's September auto production down 42.1% compared to a year ago

  

  Brazil’s auto industry produced 174,200 units last month, down 19.5% from August and a whopping 42.1% from September 2014, the national Association of Car Manufacturers, or Anfavea, said on Tuesday.

• Wednesday, October 7th 2015 - 02:02 UTC

  The Globe with Shakespeare's “Much ado about nothing”, in Chile, Uruguay and Brazil

  

  Thanks to an alliance between the British Embassy and Corpartes, renowned British theatre company The Globe will present William Shakespeare’s ‘Much ado about nothing’ at the Centro de las Artes 660 / CA660 in Santiago de Chile. The play will be on stage from 9 to 11 October, sponsored by the British government’s GREAT Campaign.