Brazil’s energy minister this week threw his support behind the CEO of Petrobras, the embattled state-run oil company embroiled in a vast corruption scandal that has dominated national headlines. Maria das Graças Silva Foster will keep her job as CEO, the minister said, despite growing demands for her resignation.
Second quarter profits for Brazil's Petrobras dropped 20% compared to the same period one year earlier, the state-run oil giant said. Petrobras recorded profits of 4.96 billion Reais (about 2.22 billion dollars) in the quarter, compared to 6.2 billion Reais (nearly 3 billion) for the same period in 2013.
Brazil, Argentina and Chile presidents figure among the list of the 25 most powerful women in the world according to the latest release from Forbes. Dilma Rousseff ranks in fourth place, Cristina Fernandez 19 and Michele Bachelet, 25. Only nine heads of state figure in the 100 names list.