Brazil

• Tuesday, February 17th 2015 - 05:13 UTC

  Brazil and Argentina agree accords signed with China will not affect Mercosur

  

  Brazilian foreign minister Mauro Vieira discarded that the recent agreements reached by Argentina with China can interfere with Mercosur, while his Argentine counterpart Hector Timerman said that the package of accords with Beijing will “actually benefit Mercosur”.

• Tuesday, February 17th 2015 - 05:09 UTC

  Rolls-Royce allegedly caught in the Petrobras bribery scandal

  

  Rolls-Royce has said it does not “tolerate improper business” after the Financial Times reported that the firm had been accused of being caught up in a bribery scandal in Brazil. Ft reported allegations that the company paid bribes for a contract with Brazilian oil firm Petrobras.

• Monday, February 16th 2015 - 08:51 UTC

  Germany urges Brazil with an EU/Mercosur trade agreement

  

  Germany wants to speed negotiations for a free trade agreement between the European Union and Mercosur, said Foreign minister Walter Steinmeier in Brasilia. The agreement has been pending since 1999 when discussions started but so far have been unable to reach a deal or commit a date because of internal problems from both sides.

• Friday, February 13th 2015 - 09:13 UTC

  Snail growth in Brazil's 2014 retail sales anticipate a very tough 2015

  

  Retail sales in Brazil increased 2.2% in 2014 over the previous year, the smallest expansion in 11 years, the Brazilian Institute for Geography and Statistics, or IBGE, reported this week. The sector suffered its worst year since 2003 when sales tumbled 3.7%. In 2013, retail sales grew 4.3%.

• Friday, February 13th 2015 - 04:13 UTC

  Brazilian congress ignores Rousseff's call for spending cuts

  

  Brazil's Congress passed legislation on Tuesday that limits the president's ability to reduce pork-barrel spending passed by lawmakers, a setback for President Dilma Rousseff's efforts to fight a fiscal deficit.

• Thursday, February 12th 2015 - 20:57 UTC

  Argentina and Brazil admit trade disagreements between Mercosur main partners

  

  Argentina and Brazil failed to reach an agreement to help unlock the ongoing tension between the two key Mercosur allies over bilateral trade. Argentina's Hector Timerman and his counterpart Mauro Vieira met in Buenos Aires to try and ease Brazil’s growing concerns about restrictions on the flow of goods, but any decisions were pushed forward to an undetermined date.

• Thursday, February 12th 2015 - 05:55 UTC

  Petrobras CEO says he has 'full autonomy' in fuel-price policy and cash flow

  

  The new chief executive officer of Brazil's Petrobras said that he has full autonomy to dictate its own fuel-pricing policy and protect cash, even as he questioned the size of losses stemming from a giant corruption scandal.

• Thursday, February 12th 2015 - 05:45 UTC

  Petrobras has trouble finding an independent chairman of the board

  

  Petrobras plans to publish its delayed audited fourth-quarter results by the end of March, something it needs to do to avoid possible early repayment of its bonds, the Globo newspaper said on Wednesday. Globo also published that the Brazilian government was considering appointing Planning minister Nelson Barbosa as chairman of the oil giant.

• Thursday, February 12th 2015 - 05:23 UTC

  Explosion in Petrobras floating oil rig kills at least three; six missing

  

  At least three oil workers were killed and others were injured in an explosion at an offshore oil and natural gas platform in Brazil operated by state-run energy company Petroleo Brasileiro SA , union officials have said.

• Monday, February 9th 2015 - 17:34 UTC

  Food, housing and transportation prices accelerate January inflation in Brazil

  

  Brazil's consumer price inflation accelerated in January, putting the 12-month rate well above the central bank's tolerance band and at the highest level since September 2011, underscoring one of the main challenges facing Latin America's largest economy in the year ahead.