Brazil

• Monday, July 6th 2009 - 08:59 UTC

  Lula da Silva stands by his Senate ally; warns about “instability”

  

  Brazilian president Lula da Silva said that the resignation or suspension of Jose Sarney as president of the Senate could generate a “very serious crisis” leading to “instability”, according to official sources in Congress.

• Saturday, July 4th 2009 - 09:17 UTC

  Brazil threatens to take Argentina to WTO on import licences

  

  Brazil may file a complaint at the World Trade Organization against Argentina because of its delays in issuing import licenses for Brazilian goods according to Foreign Trade Chamber Secretary Lyntha Spindola.

• Saturday, July 4th 2009 - 08:21 UTC

  Petrobras begins refining oil from the pre-salt basin

  

  Brazil’s government managed oil corporation Petrobras reported this week it had begun refining oil from the Tupi field, located at the pre-salt area of Santos Basin which is Brazil’s great hope for becoming a major player in the world’s hydrocarbons market.

• Thursday, July 2nd 2009 - 12:26 UTC

  Brazilian inflation seems under control; further rate cuts expected

  

  Brazil's government set its inflation target for 2011 at 4.5%, seeing no evidence of significant inflationary pressures going forward. May consumer price inflation or IPCA, was 0.47%, and 5.2% in the last twelve months and is expected to have slowed down further during June.

• Thursday, July 2nd 2009 - 09:20 UTC

  Boosted by tax exemption GM Brazil breaks sales record

  

  General Motors Brazil car sales broke a record in June thanks to continued government tax breaks for auto makers, the company said Wednesday. The company said sales soared to 55.629 vehicles last month, the highest monthly sales volume in the company's 84-year history in Brazil.

• Wednesday, July 1st 2009 - 12:54 UTC

  Brazil boosts capital goods sector cutting taxes and lowering rates

  

  Brazil will cut sales taxes on 70 capital goods and lower the long-term interest rate charged by the state development bank, BNDES in a bid to speed up the economy’s recovery, announced Finance Minister Guido Mantega.

• Tuesday, June 30th 2009 - 15:01 UTC

  Top advisor and a banker leaving Lula da Silva administration

  

  Two officials from the Lula da Silva administration which have played crucial roles are expected to leave the government in the coming months. One of them is presidential advisor Roberto Mangabeira Unger who is returning to Harvard University, the other banker Henrique Meirelles who is planning to run for governor of the state of Goias.

• Tuesday, June 30th 2009 - 06:40 UTC

  Brazil-China bilateral trade in Real and Yuan instead of US dollar

  

  The Brazilian Central Bank announced it had reached an initial understanding with China for the gradual elimination of the US dollar in bilateral trade operations which in 2009 are estimated to reach 40 billion US dollars.

• Saturday, June 27th 2009 - 17:11 UTC

  Lula da Silva Is Likely To Run For The Presidency Again In 2014

  

  Lula, who is barred by the constitution from running for a third straight term in October 2010, said he would support likely Workers' Party candidate Dilma Rousseff if she won next year and would not seek to succeed her in 2014.

• Saturday, June 27th 2009 - 15:11 UTC

  Flight AF 447: Brazil Ends Search for bodies and wreckage

  

  Brazil’s Air Force and Navy called off permanently a search for bodies and wreckage from the Air France airplane that crashed in the Atlantic Ocean, according to a statement posted on the Air Force’s Web site.