The Brazilian government has come to the rescue of the sugar-ethanol industry announcing that as of next May first the mandatory content of ethanol in gasoline will increase from 20% to 25%, taxes on the sugar-cane fuel will be eliminated and there will be soft loans to keep expansion going.
Brazil’ aircraft manufacturer Embrear is again resurfacing suspicions regarding the sale of commercial planes to Aerolineas Argentinas involving several million dollars in surcharges. The company informed the US Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC, that it is investigating companies from five different countries to which it sold aircraft allegedly in transactions suspicious of irregularities.
Brazil conditions the immediate return of Paraguay to Mercosur to the approval, by the new congress, of Venezuela’s full incorporation to the trade block, according to the influential Folha de Sao Paulo quoting foreign ministry reliable sources.
In his victory speech Paraguay president-elect Horacio Cartes said he expects to win the confidence of all the Paraguayan population and called on the opposition to work for the good of the nation. He also had a direct reference to the neighbouring giant saying he wanted to work with Brazil, a ‘brother-country’.
Brazil’s electricity producing nuclear plants, under the umbrella of Eletronuclear may face a 10% tax on revenue from its nuclear power operations as the country prepares to expand arrangements that target profits from oil and gas and its distribution among local governments.
Brazilian plane maker Embraer SA said on Friday that it ended talks with AgustaWestland, a subsidiary of Italy's Finmeccanica, without reaching an agreement to form a joint venture.
Brazil’s Finance Minister Guido Mantega slammed the United States and Europe for repeatedly delaying reforms of their dominated shareholding and voting power in the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Brazil’s central bank on Wednesday raised its benchmark rate for the first time since July 2011 as policy makers seek to slow inflation levels. The bank’s board, led by President Alexandre Tombini, voted 6-to-2 to increase the Selic rate 25 basis points to 7.50% from a record low.
Argentine President Cristina Fernández will travel to Lima for a UNASUR meeting on Thursday in which regional countries are expected to express their support for the elections results in Venezuela and President elect Nicolas Maduro.
The IMF estimates the Argentine economy is to grow by 2.8 % this year, exceeding estimations by private-sector analysts but below the 4% average set by the country’s forecasted budget. IMF 2014 projections for Argentina reach 3.5 % with renewed inflation and trade restrictions’ claims.