Economy

• Tuesday, October 11th 2016 - 08:52 UTC

  Brazil congress limiting Petrobras monopoly over subsalt oil resources

  

  Brazil's lower chamber of Congress approved this week the main points of a bill removing a requirement that state-led oil company Petrobras be the sole operator of vast offshore oil reserves in the costly subsalt layer with a minimum 30% stake in their development.

• Tuesday, October 11th 2016 - 08:49 UTC

  Month to month inflation in Brazil during September was the lowest since 1998

  

  Brazil's inflation continued its slow fall in September in a positive sign for the new government as it wrestles to end the worst recession in nearly a century. The 12 month rate fell to 8.48%, down from 8.97% August hitting its lowest level for the month since 1998.

• Tuesday, October 11th 2016 - 08:05 UTC

  Lula da Silva formally charged with corruption related to contracts in Angola

  

  Brazilian prosecutors said on Monday they had charged former President Lula da Silva and Marcelo Odebrecht, ex-CEO of engineering group Odebrecht SA, with corruption related to contracts in Angola.

• Tuesday, October 11th 2016 - 03:20 UTC

  Brazil's prosecutor office questions spending cap: fears it could limit corruption investigations

  

  Brazil’s Prosecutor-General’s Office questioned the constitutionality of President Michel Temer’s proposed public spending cap and recommended that Congress shelve the austerity measures. The office said in a statement the proposal interferes with the autonomy of other federal powers and would weaken the country’s judicial system, handicapping efforts to combat corruption.

• Monday, October 10th 2016 - 23:28 UTC

  Brazil's economy could again rank eighth world largest next year, says IMF

  

  Brazil's economy is expected to return to growth next year and with a decrease in the value of the dollar vis-a-vis the Real in recent months, the country is back on track to becoming the world's eighth largest GDP in 2017 according to the IMF. Since last year, Brazil has been ranked ninth (2 positions below its ranking in 2014) due to the recession that started at the end of 2014.

• Monday, October 10th 2016 - 23:13 UTC

  Global debt reached 225% of world GDP; concern with private debt buildup in China and Brazil

  

  The world is swimming in a record US$152 trillion in debt, the IMF said on Wednesday, even as the institution encourages some countries to spend more to boost flagging growth if they can afford it. Global debt, both public and private, reached 225% of global economic output last year, up from about 200% in 2002, the IMF said in its new Fiscal Monitor report.

• Monday, October 10th 2016 - 19:03 UTC

  FAO September food price index 10% higher over a year ago; dairy prices up 13.8% in a month

  

  The FAO Food Price Index averaged 170.9 points in September, up 2.9% from August and 10% from a year earlier. The increase was driven by a 13.8% monthly jump in the FAO Dairy Price Index, partly as a result of a sharp jump in butter prices benefiting exporters in the EU, where dairy output is declining.

• Monday, October 10th 2016 - 18:57 UTC

  Airline industry agrees to significantly reduce jetliners carbon emissions

  

  The airline industry agreed on a framework for reducing its carbon footprint at a UN meeting in Montreal, the first commercial sector on its own to tackle climate change. Six years of negotiations culminated in what International Civil Aviation Organization president Azharuddin Abdul Rahman called a “historic” deal at the ICAO's plenary session to cap carbon-dioxide emissions by 2035 at 2020 levels.

• Monday, October 10th 2016 - 11:49 UTC

  Combating inflation and austerity reforms Brazil central bank's priorities

  

  Brazilian central bank chief Ilan Goldfajn said policymakers have no set time frame to cut interest rates, even as industrial data suggested that Latin America's biggest economy may take longer than expected to emerge from recession.

• Monday, October 10th 2016 - 11:38 UTC

  Record global productions of wheat, rice and corn will keep prices low

  

  Global food markets will likely remain “generally well balanced” in the year ahead, as prices for most internationally-traded agricultural commodities are relatively low and stable, FAO said. The benign outlook, especially for staple grains, is poised to lower the world food import bill to a six-year low, according to the Food Outlook.