
Brazilian Foreign minister Antonio Patriota said he was hopeful that the European Union and Mercosur could advance this year towards a trade agreement they have been negotiating so far unsuccessfully for almost fifteen years and also warned about the coming EU/US trade talks for a comprehensive accord.

Brazil’s industrial output shrank more than expected in February, reversing most of the previous month’s gains and casting fresh doubt over the health of an anaemic recovery in the struggling sector.

Brazil’s Central Bank will keep a close eye on the economy to see if there is a need for any action to tame stubbornly high inflation, the bank's chief Alexandre Tombini said in a presentation to the Senate's economic affairs committee

Brazil’s soybean production has reached record levels this season which could make the country the world’s leading producer but port congestion and lack of storage capacity are impeding exports of soybean as producers fear losing international markets.

The latest Knight Frank’s Global Real Estate Index released this month has Brazil ranking No. 3 in the world and No. 1 in the Americas for rising home prices. Only ridiculously expensive Hong Kong and Dubai, which are not countries, have seen prices rise more. So in fact, no single country has seen its housing prices increase as much as Brazil.

The Brazilian economy is expected to grow 3.1% this year while inflation will reach 5.7% according to the latest estimates from the Central bank released in its “Quarterly inflation report”. In the previous report at the end of last year inflation was estimated at 4.8% but there was no figure for growth.

Brazil is after “brains and human capital” and a special Strategic Actions Secretariat (SAE) which depends directly from the Executive is working on a strategy to attract selective quality immigration according Ricardo Paes de Barros head of SAE interviewed by the Miami Herald.

The Brazilian government postponed until next year increases in taxes on the sale of cars and trucks in a bid to stimulate demand for manufactured goods and spur economic growth, announced the Finance Ministry.

Germany is keen to boost its already substantial investment in Brazil ahead of the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Rio summer Olympics, the new president of the Brazil-Germany Chamber of Commerce said.

China and Brazil signed an agreement to do billions of dollars of trade in their local currencies, as the five-nation BRICS forum of emerging market powers work to lessen dependence on the US dollar and Euro.