A former Brazilian senator was sentenced on Thursday to 19 years in prison for corruption, money laundering and obstruction of justice in the investigation of kickbacks at state-run oil company Petrobras. Gim Argello was arrested in April on evidence he took 7.35 million reais ($2.28 million) in bribes to ensure executives at major infrastructure companies... Continue Reading →

Brazil’s real advanced as a rebound in oil prices overshadowed disappointing Chinese data and increased bets on a Federal Reserve interest-rate hike that bolstered the dollar. The real gained 0.2 percent to 3.1904 per dollar at 3:24 p.m. in Sao Paulo after declining as much as 0.7 percent earlier. The Bloomberg Commodity Index gained 0.7... Continue Reading →

By Rodrigo Viga Gaier | Reuters Oct 11 State development bank BNDES has temporarily frozen loan disbursements worth $4.7 billion for several major engineering firms ensnared in Brazil's biggest corruption investigation. The suspension was enacted in May but only made public on Tuesday by Ricardo Ramos, director of the bank's exports division. The move blocks... Continue Reading →

Oct 11/Reuters - The approval of a federal spending cap in a first-round vote shows Brazil is tackling its fiscal woes and is on its way to entering a sustainable growth path, Finance Minister Henrique Meirelles said on Tuesday. Meirelles said the mere expectation of a budget reform has lifted confidence, but stressed that the... Continue Reading →

Rising demand for oil over the next two decades is likely to overwhelm the impact of the electric car on crude markets, said Spencer Dale, chief economist for BP Plc. “They’ll have a huge impact in terms of air quality, but it’s not a game changer over 20 years even with aggressive electric vehicle penetration,’’... Continue Reading →

Brazil’s President Michel Temer secured his most important congressional victory to date as the lower house overwhelmingly supported a constitutional amendment that will cap growth in public spending as part of the government’s efforts to tackle a near-record budget deficit. Lawmakers approved the controversial proposal with 366 votes in favor, while 111 voted against. The... Continue Reading →

Brazilian financial markets are unlikely to repeat their dramatic rally in 2016 even if Congress approves a business-friendly reform agenda during the coming year, as asset values are nearly at the ceiling of the country's junk credit rating. Brazil's bonds, stocks and currency have been among the best-performing assets in the world this year as... Continue Reading →

Corruption charges against former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva piled up on Monday as prosecutors accused him and Marcelo Odebrecht, ex-CEO of engineering group Odebrecht SA, in an alleged bribery scheme related to contracts in Angola. Lula already faced several other charges related to a sweeping kickback probe at state-run oil company Petrobras,... Continue Reading →