Brazil

• Friday, March 26th 2010 - 04:18 UTC

  Brazil/Argentina hold new round of talks to facilitate bilateral trade

  

  Mercosur main country members, Argentina and Brazil begun on Thursday a two-day round of bilateral trade talks in Brazil to discuss basically whether to continue or not with the non-automatic licenses both countries hold.

• Wednesday, March 24th 2010 - 05:24 UTC

  Crisis lesson: better to rely on international reserves than IMF credit says Brazil

  

  Brazil’s Central Bank believes it is better for the country to hold its own foreign exchange reserves than to rely on credit lines from international institutions such as the International Monetary Fund.

• Tuesday, March 23rd 2010 - 22:50 UTC

  Lula da Silva wants Hamas and Hezbollah in Mid East negotiations table

  

  Brazilian president Lula da Silva said he is willing and available to begin talks with the Palestine Hamas organization, as well as Lebanon’s Hezbollah and even Iran, to reach peace in the Middle East.

• Tuesday, March 23rd 2010 - 03:30 UTC

  Bloated budget with limited margin, for Lula da Silva’s successor

  

  Whoever succeeds Brazilian President Lula da Silva next January will receive a budget highly committed to infrastructure and with limited margin for economic decision-making according to Sunday reports in the Rio do Janeiro press.

• Monday, March 22nd 2010 - 20:50 UTC

  Petrobrás second most profitable corporation in US and Latam

  

  Brazilian Government managed energy corporation Petrobras was the second most-profitable company in the US and Latin America in 2009, even ahead of corporations such as Microsoft according to a study released Monday.

• Sunday, March 21st 2010 - 19:47 UTC

  The Dark side of Brazil’s Olympic Dreams: 2016 Olympic Host Battles Poverty, Violent Crime, and Police Brutality

  With colorful and scandalous flourishes, in a nation where the bizarre is often normal, Brazil’s Carnaval kicked off throughout the country on February 12th. The celebration is especially exotic in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil’s second largest city, where the samba dancers’ elaborate talents draw millions of tourists each year.

• Saturday, March 20th 2010 - 01:58 UTC

  Opposition leader Serra confirms he will run for Brazilian presidency

  

  Brazil’s main opposition leader and governor of the country’s biggest state of Sao Paulo Jose Serra, said Friday for the first time publicly that he will be a presidential candidate in this year's elections.

• Thursday, March 18th 2010 - 23:48 UTC

  Lula da Silva fined for “anticipated” electoral campaigning

  

  Brazilian Electoral Justice announced it had fined President Lula da Silva for having “anticipated” the campaign for next October presidential election, thus favouring the incumbent candidate and cabinet chief Dilma Rousseff.

• Thursday, March 18th 2010 - 23:45 UTC

  Brazil leaves basic rate unchanged at 8.75%, in divided decision

  

  The Brazilian central bank kept its benchmark Selic interest rate at a record low 8.75% in a less-than-unanimous decision, signaling that borrowing costs may rise as soon as next month.

• Thursday, March 18th 2010 - 02:02 UTC

  Lula da Silva laid a wreath at Arafat’s mausoleum and ready “to talk to Hamas”

  

  Brazil's president criticised Israeli policies towards the Palestinians, warning that Israel's separation barrier, its blockade of Gaza and its continued settlement building was extinguishing “the candle of hope”.