
Brazil’s biggest maker of steel products for the auto and construction industries, Gerdau SA, plans to sell as much as 4.2 billion Real (2.5 billion USD) of stock, boosting speculation that it has plans to buy a stake in a Brazilian rival, most probably Usiminas.

President Barack Obama, declaring support for Brazil’s rising global economic clout, said the country’s transition from dictatorship to democracy can serve as a model for pro-democracy movements around the world, including in North Africa and the Middle East.

Addressing the Brazilian Industry Federation, in Brasilia President Barack Obama emphasized the possibilities for partnership between the two countries mentioning trade, energy, infrastructure and education. The US leader said that “the future has arrived in Brazil” and promised the US would deal with the country in the same way it does with China and India.

Brazil and the United States agreed on Saturday to boost future cooperation on a range of key issues including trade and energy. The agreements were signed on the first day of US President Barack Obama's two-day visit to Brazil, where he met with Brazilian counterpart Dilma Rousseff. They include TECA, a trade and economic cooperation agreement with a road map for future negotiations.

US President Barack Obama heralded Brazil's extraordinary rise on the world stage but stopped short of backing its bid for a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council.

Brazil’s Foreign Affairs minister Antonio Patriota said that the visit of US president Barack Obama represents a significant reset in bilateral relations. What Brazil wants, declared the minister, ‘is to be treated as an equal, in a more seamless relationship without confrontations’.

President Barack Obama has cancelled a public speech he was scheduled to deliver Sunday in Rio’s main square during his visit to Brazil, the US embassy in Brasilia said.
The speech in the historic plaza known as Cinelandia, in the heart of Rio de Janeiro, is cancelled said an embassy spokesperson.

Brazil’s President Dilma Rousseff said that Barak Obama’s visit this weekend strongly consolidates the perception that Brazil “could be an important partner” for the United States, during a press interview.

Brazil stands on the brink of becoming an agricultural superpower and is one of the few countries in the world with the climate, technology, farming practices and the sheer quantity of land to be able to satisfy the surging global appetite for food in the coming decades.

A total of 9.1 million families plan to buy real estate in Brazil over the next 12 months which is a huge increase since the Minha Casa Minha Vida (My House, My Life) program was introduced in 2009