Brazil kept borrowing costs unchanged for the ninth straight meeting on Wednesday, as policy makers grapple with a deepening recession, stubborn inflation and the fallout from a presidential impeachment trial. The central bank’s board, led for the second time by its new chief, Ilan Goldfajn, unanimously voted to maintain the so-called Selic rate at a... Continue Reading →
Investment rebound expected to end Brazilian recession, boost Temer
A rebound in spending on machinery and equipment by Brazilian companies should lead Latin America's largest economy out of a deep recession in the coming months, providing a much-needed boost for new center-right President Michel Temer. A recent survey of chief financial officers by the local American Chamber of Commerce showed nearly half of the... Continue Reading →
QuickTake Q&A: What’s in Store for Post-Impeachment Brazil
Brazil has been steeped in a set of overlapping crises: its biggest corruption scandal, its deepest recession in more than a century and its worst political crisis in decades. Many executives and politicians have been charged with graft and locked up, the economy shows signs of having bottomed out, and now the suspended president, Dilma... Continue Reading →
Rousseff Is Ousted, and Investing in Brazil Is Getting Trickier
For months, investing in Brazil has been a breeze. Buying into any asset class delivered some of the world’s biggest gains on wagers that President Dilma Rousseff was about to be ousted and new leadership would restore growth and curb a record fiscal deficit. Now that Rousseff has been impeached -- the Senate voted 61-to-20... Continue Reading →
Brazil’s Senate decides not to bar Rousseff from public office
Brazil's suspended President Dilma Rousseff attends the final session of debate and voting on Rousseff's impeachment trial in Brasilia, Brazil, August 29, 2016. REUTERS/Ueslei Marcelino/File Photo Brazil's Senate decided that former President Dilma Rousseff, who was removed from officeearlier on Wednesday, should not be barred from holding public office. Senators voted 42-36 to allow Rousseff... Continue Reading →
Dilma Rousseff Ousted in Historic Brazil Impeachment Trial
Dilma Rousseff became the second president to be impeached in Brazil’s 31-year-old democracy, paving the way for a fundamental shift in economic policy after 13 years of her party’s leftist rule. With 61 against 20 votes, the Senate found Rousseff guilty of bypassing Congress to finance government spending, paving the way for her vice... Continue Reading →
Brazil Real Fluctuates as Impeachment Vote Nears and Oil Slides
Brazil’s real reversed earlier gains as oil prices plunged, offsetting investor optimism as the months-long efforts to impeach President Dilma Rousseff drew to a close. The currency slid 0.2 percent to 3.2474 per dollar as of 12:51 p.m. in Sao Paulo after earlier rising as much as 0.6. Crude oil declined 3 percent after a government... Continue Reading →
UPDATE 1-Brazil’s Senate expected to dismiss Rousseff in impeachment vote
Aug 31 Brazil's Senate is expected to vote on Wednesday to dismiss President Dilma Rousseff, finalizing a nine-month impeachment process and confirming the country's shift to the center-right with the end of 13 years of leftist Workers Party rule. Rousseff's supporters seemed resigned to the likelihood that more than two-thirds of the 81-member Senate would... Continue Reading →
Brazil, Petrobras to revise subsalt oil contract terms this year
Aug 31 The Brazilian government and state-controlled oil company Petróleo Brasileiro SA could finalize a thorough revision of contractual terms for the exploration of a vast offshore oil region before year-end, a senior official said on Wednesday. The revision of a clause granting Petrobras the right to operate a minimum 30 percent of exploration and... Continue Reading →
Congress expects favorable vote for pre-salt bill
The bill removes the requirement for Petrobras to operate in all subsalt consortia with a 30% minimum. The bill changes the rules of oil exploration in the subsalt layer and should begin to be voted in the House next week. It promises to be the symbol of new government's shift in this sector. With the... Continue Reading →
Brazil Energy Insight 