Brazil

• Saturday, September 26th 2015 - 09:04 UTC

  Bill & Melinda Gates foundation sues Petrobras alleging 'pervasive bribery'

  

  Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation have sued Petrobras to recoup stock losses stemming from a corruption scandal at the state-run oil company.

• Saturday, September 26th 2015 - 08:55 UTC

  Minister Swire opens Minas Gerais Consulate General, ahead of Rio 2016 Olympics

  

  The United Kingdom preparing for Rio Olympics 2016 with a new pilot Consulate General in Belo Horizonte to make the most of trade and business opportunities ahead of the Games.

• Saturday, September 26th 2015 - 08:03 UTC

  Petrobras increases LPG price 11% for commercial and industrial clients

  

  Petrobras announced that the price of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) for commercial and industrial clients has risen 11%, effective midnight Friday. The company said the increase does not affect the price of LPG sold in smaller containers for residential uses such as household cooking, which rose 15% on September first.

• Friday, September 25th 2015 - 07:17 UTC

  Brazil's Real recovers ground after Central bank promises to use all 'instruments available'

  

  Brazil's depressed currency rebounded Thursday after the head of its central bank vowed to use all instruments in its arsenal to curtail the Real's collapse. Earlier in the day the Real tumbled to an all-time low of 4.248 to the U.S. dollar, but bounced back to 4.023 after central bank President Alexandre Tombini, in an unscheduled press briefing, did not rule out selling part of the country's $371 billion foreign reserves to calm the exchange rate market.

• Friday, September 25th 2015 - 06:37 UTC

  Minister Swire will open UK consulate in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais

  

  The UK will be opening a general consulate office in Belo Horizonte, capital of Minas Gerais, one of Brazil's most dynamic states, which outstands both for agriculture and industrial production. Foreign Office minister for Latin America, Hugo Swire is scheduled to be present at the opening ceremony on Friday.

• Thursday, September 24th 2015 - 09:05 UTC

  Rousseff partial victory: Congress upholds vetoes cutting additional expenses

  

  Brazil's Congress on Wednesday voted to uphold most of President Dilma Rousseff's vetoes on billions of dollars in additional expenses, marking a partial victory for the president, who is fighting a weakening economy and calls for her ouster, plus a plunging currency.

• Thursday, September 24th 2015 - 07:41 UTC

  Brazil and UK joint research of critical elements in the deep northeast Atlantic

  

  Scientists from the U.K. and Brazil will work together to study the formation of ocean minerals essential for new technology, particularly environmental technology such as photovoltaic cells.

• Wednesday, September 23rd 2015 - 07:17 UTC

  Uruguay pumps greenbacks to keep the US dollar rate on sliding stability

  

  Uruguay's central bank was forced to sell almost 65 million dollars on Tuesday, the highest volume so far this year, to keep the US dollar from ballooning as fears of the collapse of the Brazilian economy are felt through the region. The dollar finally ended trading with a slight 0.12% increase at 28,826 Pesos to the greenback.

• Wednesday, September 23rd 2015 - 07:05 UTC

  Brazil's currency falls to its weakest level against the US dollar, 4.06 Reais

  

  Brazil's currency fell to its weakest level ever as investors cast a wary eye on negotiations over spending bills that could further complicate the country's tenuous fiscal position. The currency, like others across Latin America, was also hammered by a global rise in the dollar sparked by increased expectations that the US Federal Reserve is still on track to raise interest rates this year.

• Tuesday, September 22nd 2015 - 07:53 UTC

  Former treasurer of Brazil's ruling party sentenced to 15 years in prison over Petrobras corruption

  

  The former treasurer of Brazil's ruling party was sentenced Monday to more than 15 years in prison for his role in a massive corruption scandal at state oil giant Petrobras. The judge investigating the scandal found Joao Vaccari, who was the Workers Party treasurer until April, guilty of “corruption, money-laundering and conspiracy,” and sentenced him to 15 years and four months.