Brazil

• Friday, December 12th 2014 - 06:16 UTC

  Financial aid from Brazilian government for scandal-hit Petrobras

  

  Brazil's government is wrapping up a financing plan for Petrobras aimed at ensuring the scandal-hit state-controlled oil giant can obtain the funding it needs for its massive investment program.

• Friday, December 12th 2014 - 06:03 UTC

  Brazilian executives from leading companies formally charged for the Petrobras corruption scandal

  

  Brazilian prosecutors formally charged executives from six of the country's largest engineering firms with forming a cartel to funnel kickbacks from state-run oil firm Petrobras to the ruling political party and its allies.

• Wednesday, December 10th 2014 - 07:56 UTC

  Weaker Latin American currencies against the US dollar next year

  

  Latin American currencies will lose value against the US dollar in 2015 because of the strong US recovery and lower commodities' prices according to Itau-Unibanco, Brazil's largest private bank which also anticipates a strong fiscal adjustment by President Dilma Rousseff's next administration, in an effort to regain investors' 'confidence'.

• Tuesday, December 9th 2014 - 23:08 UTC

  Despite Petrobras corruption, Rousseff has strong public opinion support

  

  Seven out of ten Brazilians believe President Dilma Rousseff has some responsibility in the Petrobras corruption scandal, which involves contractors and politicians, according to a public opinion poll from Datafolha, conducted on Dec. 2 and 3, including 2,896 interviews and published by Folha de Sao Paulo.

• Tuesday, December 9th 2014 - 08:26 UTC

  The man in charge of fighting corruption in Brazil resigns: “I've done my duty”

  

  Comptroller General Jorge Hage, the man in charge of fighting corruption in the Brazilian government, announced his resignation amid a widening graft scandal centered on state-run oil company Petrobras. Hage said he sent President Dilma Rousseff his resignation letter a few weeks ago, after she won re-election for a second term in office.

• Monday, December 8th 2014 - 11:12 UTC

  Dilma Rousseff after quick transition in Finance given the fiscal deterioration

  

  Brazil's new economic team headed by Joaquim Levy is expected to take office sometime in the next few days after the ruling coalition of President Dilma Rousseff finally managed Congress to approve a loosening of this year's budget targets including the crucial primary budget.

• Thursday, December 4th 2014 - 05:09 UTC

  Rousseff promises JPMorgan investors a balanced budget and full support of Levy

  

  President Dilma Rousseff said in a letter to investors that one of the main priorities of her second term will be to put Brazil's fiscal accounts in order, sending a strong message that her administration will adopt more market-friendly policies.

• Thursday, December 4th 2014 - 05:03 UTC

  Brazil raised the basic interest rate 50 basic points to 11.75%

  

  Brazil's central bank on Wednesday raised its key interest rate by 50 basis points to 11.75%. The rise came on the back of a one quarter point rise just over a month ago which was the first since April and in the wake of populist Dilma Rousseff's re-election as president, who last week appointed a new finance team to tackle rising inflation.

• Wednesday, December 3rd 2014 - 08:15 UTC

  Falklands' patrol vessels support, allegedly from Brazil and Chile, trigger debate in Argentina

  

  Argentine opposition lawmakers expressed concern about alleged logistic support from Brazil and Chile to British warships and other auxiliary vessels in the South Atlantic and demanded the government of president Cristina Fernández report to Congress on the matter.

• Wednesday, December 3rd 2014 - 08:06 UTC

  Brazil posts in November its worst trade monthly result in 20 years

  

  Brazil posted a 2.35 billion dollars trade deficit in November, the country's worst monthly result in 20 years, and cementing its slide into the red for the year after a decade of surpluses.