The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) will hold its 2014 Annual Meeting in Bahía, Brazil, March 27-30, bringing top economic and business leaders to discuss how the private sector can help boost economic and social development in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Brazil's central bank raised its benchmark interest rate Wednesday to 10.75% from 10.5%, and left the door open for more rate increases while slowing the pace of the hikes. The move continues the bank's yearlong fight against inflation even as rising interest rates and the poor performance of the country's exporters jeopardize already feeble growth in an election year.
Brazil would like free-trade talks between the European Union and Mercosur to include Argentina, but would be prepared to proceed without its regional ally if an understanding can't be reached on March 7, according to the head of Brazil's farming confederation.
Brazil's federal police started on Tuesday a two-day work stoppage to demand better wages and improved security for the World Cup.
Brazil and the European Union agreed on Monday to lay an undersea communications cable from Lisbon to Fortaleza to reduce Brazil's reliance on the United States after Washington spied on Brasilia.
Trade negotiations between the European Union and Mercosur could move quickly once a technical meeting next month has taken place, EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said after a meeting on Monday with Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff in Brussels and the European Council president Herman Van Rompuy.
Brazilian police used tear gas and made an estimated 230 arrests on Saturday evening to disperse a protest in Sao Paulo ahead of the World Cup. Among those arrested in Brazil's business hub, which will host the opening match of the World Cup on June 12, were five journalists, O Estado de Sao Paulo daily reported.
Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff remains the favorite to win re-election in October with a comfortable lead over possible contenders, according to a poll published Sunday. The Datafolha polling institute said Rousseff has recovered much of the support she had lost in the wake of mass street protests in the middle of last year.
Pope Francis received Friday in a private audience Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, who formally invited the Argentine pontiff to visit her country during the World Cup soccer championship, which begins June 12.
Brazil's government on Thursday announced 44 billion Reais (18.41 billion dollars) in spending cuts as it seeks to meet its primary budget surplus target for 2014. This year's cuts exceed the 38 billion Reais (some 15.9 billion) in budget reductions announced in 2013 and extend to all government departments except education, health, social development, and science and technology.