Brazil

Tuesday, July 5th 2016 - 07:49 UTC
Temer calls for “national reunification” at a friendly agro-business forum

Brazil's interim president, Michel Temer emphasized the role of agro-industry in the country's development and called for “national reunification” to guarantee jobs in the sector.
Tuesday, July 5th 2016 - 07:41 UTC
Petrobras: new round of arrest warrants in three different states

Brazil’s federal police served five arrest warrants and conducted search and seizure operations in three states on Monday, in the latest round of a sweeping corruption probe around state-run oil firm Petroleo Brasileiro SA. Police said contractors paid at least 39 million reais (US$ 12m) in bribes to executives of Petrobras, and rigged public auctions at Petrobras’ research centre Cenpes.
Tuesday, July 5th 2016 - 07:31 UTC
Brazil manages US$23.6bn trade surplus in the first half of the year

Brazilian exports exceeded imports by US$23.6 billion in the first half of the year - a record for the period. In addition to the basic products, sales grew strongly with the sale of vehicles for Latin America. The data were released by the Ministry of Industry Trade and Services.
Monday, July 4th 2016 - 10:18 UTC
Brazilian unemployment reached a record 11.2% in the March/May quarter

Brazil's jobless rate remained stuck at a record 11.2% at the end of May, the government statistics office reported. The rate for March through May was unchanged from the previous quarter, with 11.4 million people officially out of work, the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) said. A year ago, the jobless rate was 8.1%.
Monday, July 4th 2016 - 09:45 UTC
New York Times gets involved in Rio Olympics Games catastrophe controversy

Rio de Janeiro’s mayor lashed out Sunday at an opinion piece in The New York Times which warned of “catastrophe” at next month’s Olympic Games.
Thursday, June 30th 2016 - 13:22 UTC
Paraguay does not accept Venezuela as Mercosur pro tempore chair; group split in half

Mercosur is again split over Venezuela because Paraguay, and apparently Brazil, have not been consulted regarding the decision to hand the pro tempore presidency of the block to Venezuela in July, as was agreed in Montevideo by Uruguay and Argentina.
Wednesday, June 29th 2016 - 11:22 UTC
“Welcome to Hell”, Rio police and firefighters tell arriving passengers

There was a nasty surprise awaiting passengers in the arrivals hall at Rio De Janeiro's Galeao International Airport on Monday. Along with the relatives carrying flowers and taxi drivers waiting with name boards there were lines of off-duty police with banners that had a far more ominous message: “Welcome to Hell”.
Wednesday, June 29th 2016 - 05:04 UTC
Brazil inflation should reach Central bank target by second half of 2018

Brazil's inflation will again miss the government target next year, but will be getting much closer at 4.7%, the Central Bank said on Tuesday. For this year, inflation is forecast at 6.9%, well off the 4.5% target. However, even that represents relief for Latin America's largest economy, but sickly economy where annual inflation hit 9.32% in May.
Wednesday, June 29th 2016 - 04:57 UTC
Investors suing Petrobras argue top executives knew of the massive bribery scheme

Investors suing Petrobras to recoup billions of dollars in losses argued on Tuesday that the arrests and plea deals of top company executives prove that it knew of a massive bribery and political kickback scheme. Lawyers for the investors asked U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff in Manhattan to rule, ahead of a trial set for Sept. 19, on claims that the company violated U.S. securities laws, according to a court filing.
Tuesday, June 28th 2016 - 07:28 UTC
Rousseff signed budget decrees without congressional approval, claim Senate experts

A nonpartisan team from the Brazilian Senate budget analysts on Monday handed potential legal ammunition both to opponents and supporters of suspended President Dilma Rousseff as she tries to survive n impeachment trial.