Brazil

• Tuesday, March 10th 2009 - 06:47 UTC

  Rainfall mitigates Brazilian soy and corn crop forecasts

  

  Soybean and corn output in Brazil this year will drop less than previously forecasted following abundant rains last month which eased crop damage caused by a drought, according to the Ministry of Agriculture.

• Saturday, March 7th 2009 - 09:58 UTC

  Lula da Silva wants Obama to become “partner” of Latinamerica

  

  Brazilian president Lula da Silva said Friday that during his coming meeting with his US counterpart on Saturday March 14 he would ask President Obama to adopt a more “development minded” attitude towards Latinamerica.

• Saturday, March 7th 2009 - 09:52 UTC

  Brazil begins commercial extraction of oil at 6.000 metres

  

  Brazil's energy managed corporation Petrobras will extract its first crude oil from the potentially huge offshore Tupi field find, of late 2007, below the salt layer of the Santos basin next May, announced President Lula da Silva.

• Saturday, March 7th 2009 - 09:49 UTC

  Brazil denies trade reprisals against Argentina

  

  Brazil denied it was thinking on reprisals against Argentina because of the restrictive measures imposed to the access of Brazilian goods and also rejected it had threatened to take the case to the World Trade Organization.

• Friday, March 6th 2009 - 10:34 UTC

  World Bank 1.3 bn. loan to Brazil for green management

  

  The World Bank approved a 1.3 billion US dollars loan to Brazil for the First Programmatic Development Policy Loan for Sustainable Environmental Management, supporting Brazil’s ongoing efforts to improve its environmental management system.

• Friday, March 6th 2009 - 08:58 UTC

  Brazil Argentina trade clash; dispute could reach WTO

  

  Brazil’s Foreign Trade Secretary Welber Barral admitted publicly that Brasilia is considering taking its trade dispute claims with Argentina to the World Trade Organization. Insistent leaks to the press from “reliable sources” anticipated for days the growing trade rift between Mercosur two main partners.

• Thursday, March 5th 2009 - 23:00 UTC

  Argentine/Brazil bilateral trade drops 40% in Jan-Feb

  

  Bilateral trade between Argentina and Brazil continued to deteriorate during the first two months of the year, according to official statistics released in Brasilia. Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade said that exports to Argentina in January-February were down to 1.33 billion US dollars which represents 46.5% less than Jan-Feb. 2008.

• Thursday, March 5th 2009 - 17:22 UTC

  Exxon reports oil discovery off the Brazilian coast

  

  United States ExxonMobil has notified Brazilian regulatory agency Agencia Nacional de Petroleo, Gas Natural e Biocombustiveis (ANP) that it has found indications of hydrocarbons in block BM-S-22 off the Brazilian coast. The discovery was made in well 1-ESSO-3SPS.

• Thursday, March 5th 2009 - 16:54 UTC

  Petrobras unveils ambitious bio-fuels expansion program

  

  Brazil’s government managed oil and gas corporation Petrobras announced its bio-fuels business plan for 2009/2013 which involves 2.4 billion US dollars to increase the production of bio-diesel and ethanol, most of which to be sourced in Brazil.

• Wednesday, March 4th 2009 - 16:49 UTC

  Brazil, Germany help boost car sales; US continues to plunge

  

  Car sales in Brazil and Germany soared in February helped by tax breaks and a cash bonus to scrap old vehicles. In Brazil Fiat SpA reported its third straight sales increase in February and in Germany sales rose by 22% compared with the same month last year, reaching their highest level for 10 years.