Brazil

• Monday, May 2nd 2011 - 00:59 UTC

  Spain main bank’s profits sustained by Latin America branches, mainly Brazil

  

  Spain’s biggest bank Santander reported first-quarter profit declined 5% as lower earnings at home offset gains in Latin America. Net income fell to 2.11 billion Euros from 2.22 billion Euros a year earlier, the Spanish bank said in a filing Friday.

• Sunday, May 1st 2011 - 23:38 UTC

  Air France flight 447 memory unit recovered from bottom of the Atlantic

  

  The memory unit that may tell why an Air France jet plunged into the Atlantic nearly two years ago was recovered from the bottom of the ocean Sunday, France's Bureau of Investigation and Analysis (BEA) said.

• Saturday, April 30th 2011 - 22:34 UTC

  Brazil furious with Human Rights Commission decision cuts all relations

  

  Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff decided to cut all relations with the Inter American Human Rights Court following on the CIDH decision to request that the construction of a huge dam in the Amazon be suspended, following an appeal from indigenous groups.

• Saturday, April 30th 2011 - 10:07 UTC

  Brazilian has 190.7 million population, and 14.6 million illiterates

  

  Brazil’s population reached 190.7 million according to primary data collected from the 2010 demographic census and released Friday by the Brazilian Geography and Statistics Institute, IBGE. The census also showed that almost 10% of the population is illiterate.

• Friday, April 29th 2011 - 23:23 UTC

  World Cup, Olympics, excellent opportunity to promote the Brazil brand

  

  Rio de Janeiro's hosting of the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympics is an unprecedented chance to promote the Brazil brand and ensure a legacy of economic and social benefits, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair said on Friday.

• Friday, April 29th 2011 - 05:47 UTC

  Brazil’s mining giant buys stake in controversial Amazon dam project

  

  Brazil giant mining corporation Vale SA, in which the government has a dominating stake position, agreed to buy a stake in a controversial hydro-power project in the Amazon and invest about 2.3 billion Real (1.5 billion USD).

• Friday, April 29th 2011 - 05:40 UTC

  Brazilian exporters demanding a “weaker” Real to regain competitive edge

  

  The strength of the Brazilian Real against the US dollar is “very worrying” for the country's exporters, with many companies struggling with higher production costs and a reduced ability to compete in global markets, Bunge Brasil CEO Pedro Parente said Thursday.

• Friday, April 29th 2011 - 05:37 UTC

  High interest rates in Brazil for a long period, anticipates central bank

  

  The Brazilian central bank said it will raise interest rates at a slower pace for a longer period than initially planned as the country’s inflation outlook worsens, according to the minutes of its April 19-20 meeting.

• Thursday, April 28th 2011 - 18:48 UTC

  EU report quantifies losses for farmers from a trade accord with Mercosur

  

  A week before the next round of negotiations for an ambitious association and trade agreement between the European Union and Mercosur, a paper from the EU Joint Research Study centre, JRS, quantifies the alleged losses of such a deal for European farmers.

• Thursday, April 28th 2011 - 06:43 UTC

  UN claims human rights violations in Brazil’s preparations for World Cup

  

  An independent United Nations human rights expert this week voiced concern about alleged displacement and evictions in various cities across Brazil as the country prepares to host the 2014 soccer World Cup and the 2016 Olympic Games.