Brazil

• Saturday, October 30th 2010 - 05:16 UTC

  New ultra-deep pre-salt offshore find confirms Brazil an oil giant

  

  Brazil’s oil industry regulator announced Friday that a recent ultra-deep offshore find is estimated to hold between 3.7 billion and 15 billion barrels of oil equivalent, which could make it the largest crude accumulation in the country’s pre-salt region and the biggest discovery in the Western Hemisphere in more than three decades.

• Friday, October 29th 2010 - 03:44 UTC

  Pope calls on Brazilian Catholic bishops to oppose legalization of abortion

  

  Bishops must guide their faithful to use their vote to oppose efforts to legalize abortion and euthanasia, Pope Benedict XVI told bishops from Brazil.

• Thursday, October 28th 2010 - 05:29 UTC

  Petrobras confirms light oil at deepwater exploration well in north-east

  

  Brazilian government-controlled energy giant Petrobras said signs of oil found at in its first deepwater exploration well in the Sergipe-Alagoas Basin mark the opening of a new “exploratory frontier”.

• Wednesday, October 27th 2010 - 17:17 UTC

  With Lula da Silva campaigning, Dilma consolidates as a clear frontrunner

  

  With only four days left for the presidential run-off and President Lula da Silva fully involved in the campaign frontrunner Dilma Rousseff consolidated her lead over opposition rival Jose Serra according to the latest Sensus public opinion released Wednesday.

• Monday, October 25th 2010 - 21:28 UTC

  Brazil’s current account deficit at an annual record boosted by the strong Real

  

  Brazil’s 12-month current account gap widened to a record high in September as domestic demand and the Real appreciation boosted spending on imports.

• Monday, October 25th 2010 - 21:19 UTC

  Severe drought leaves major tributary of the Amazon almost dry

  

  A severe drought has dropped water levels on a major Amazon tributary to their lowest point since Brazilian officials began keeping records more than a century ago, the government reported Monday, cutting off dozens of communities who depend on the river for work and transportation.

• Monday, October 25th 2010 - 03:49 UTC

  Petrobras Confirms Tupi Field Could Hold 8 Billion Barrels

  

  Brazilian state-controlled energy giant Petrobras said Friday that the drilling of a new exploratory well at the offshore Tupi field confirms potential recoverable reserves of between 5-8 billion barrels of oil equivalent.

• Monday, October 25th 2010 - 02:33 UTC

  Serra promises “substantial” changes to relations with Mercosur if elected president

  

  Brazil’s presidential opposition candidate Jose Serra promised substantial changes to the country’s foreign policy if elected next Sunday. He specifically mentioned Brazil’s lobbying for a seat at the UN Security Council, the functioning of Mercosur and relations with Cuba and Iran.

• Sunday, October 24th 2010 - 03:00 UTC

  The Economist prefers Jose Serra as a better president but admits the inevitable

  

  Nevertheless it admits that Dilma Rousseff, with the help from outgoing president Lula da Silva, (and his extraordinary political gifts and innate pragmatism), will most probably be the winner.

• Saturday, October 23rd 2010 - 03:21 UTC

  South American soy producers ally “to avoid buyers’ manipulation”

  

  Argentina and Brazil are negotiating an alliance with other South American producers of grains and oilseeds to deal jointly with buyers in Asia and elsewhere, according to Brazilian Agriculture Minister Wagner Rossi.