Brazil’s central bank on Wednesday cut its benchmark interest rate by 50 basis points to a record-low 3.75% to cushion the economic blow of the coronavirus pandemic but signaled no rush to cut again and emphasized the need for more economic reforms.
The number of Coronavirus cases tested positive are increasing significantly, in the exponential leg of the process, in Mercosur country members and in Chile. Brazil reported the first death, a 62 year old man in Sao Paulo with a medical record of high pressure and diabetes.
Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro said on Tuesday his second coronavirus test was negative and his government asked Congress to authorize a state of emergency that would allow it to scrap fiscal targets and free up funds to combat the virus’ spread.
Brazilian meatpackers JBS and Minerva Foods are considering suspending operations at some slaughterhouses in Brazil due to supply chain issues from China, JBS and sources close to Minerva said this week.
Brazilian Foreign Trade Secretary Marcos Troyjo, who was part of the Brazilian delegation that recently visited Florida, has tested positive for the coronavirus, his office said in a statement on Monday.
Anyone hoping to escape wall-to-wall coronavirus coverage with a day at the beach can forget about it in Rio de Janeiro, where authorities armed with megaphones blared out messages on Monday ordering everyone home.
Brazil’s government on Monday announced emergency measures to inject nearly 150 billion reais (US$ 30 billion) into the economy to soften the blow from the coronavirus pandemic.
Hundreds of prisoners broke out of four Brazilian jails on Monday, the day before their day-release privileges were due to be suspended over the coronavirus outbreak, Sao Paulo state prison authorities and local media reported.
Flamengo coach Jorge Jesus has tested positive for coronavirus and is under quarantine in Rio de Janeiro while doctors perform a second confirmatory test, he and his club said on Monday.
As if things were not difficult enough for markets in Brazil, whose stocks and currency are among the world's worst-performing this year, an unexpected twist in the country's fragile politics threatens to make the situation even tougher.