
Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff was granted breathing space by the Supreme Court in her fight against impeachment, when late Tuesday it imposed a week-long freeze on the special commission formed to recommend Congress whether Rousseff should be removed from office.

The Brazilian Congress set in motion on Tuesday a complex process that will weigh the possible impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff, but even more significant was a letter made public by vice president Michel Temer, which clearly indicates a rift and a possible distancing of the senior partner in the ruling coalition.

Analysts expect Brazil's economy to contract by 3.50% this year, with inflation hitting 10.44%, the Central Bank said on Monday. GDP and inflation estimates come from the Boletin Focus, a weekly Central Bank survey of analysts from about 100 private financial institutions on the state of the national economy.

Impeachment proceedings against Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff were delayed on Monday by a fight between supporters and opponents trying to stack a lower house committee that will report on whether she committed an impeachable offense.

Impeachment proceedings against Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff face their first major hurdle Monday when a special committee forms to decide whether to send the case to the full lower house. Once established, the 65-member committee representing all parties will hear Rousseff's defense, then rule on whether to allow the matter to go further.

Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff on Friday suffered two setbacks to her fight against impeachment, as a minister from her main coalition ally resigned and the Supreme Court quashed appeals from supporters seeking to stop the impeachment process.

The speaker of Brazil's lower house of Congress, Eduardo Cunha has announced plans to open impeachment proceedings against President Dilma Rousseff, allegedly on violation of fiscal legislation. In practical terms this means further political upheaval in the months ahead in a country that has been rocked by the steepest recession in 25 years, job losses, and a corruption scheme of planetary proportions in oil giant Petrobras.

Brazil's deadly mining disaster could cost Vale SA at least US$443 million, but it is too early to put a price tag on what it expects to be a long clean-up from the pollution spilled when the toxic dam burst.

Next Friday Argentine president elect Mauricio Macri will be travelling to Brasilia to meet with president Dilma Rousseff, which will be the incoming leader's first overseas trip.

Brazilian government said in an executive order published Monday in the Official Daily that it was cutting spending by an additional 11 billion reais ($2.82 billion) this year. The move is part of an effort by the government to a budget deficit target of 1 percent of the gross domestic product, a goal agreed to during the last budget review.