Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff shows a document confirming former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's appointment as chief of staff, at Planalto palace in Brasilia, Brazil, March 17, 2016. REUTERS/ADRIANO MACHADO A senator accused of involvement in Brazil's biggest corruption scandal said President Dilma Rousseff and her predecessor Lula were both aware of it and... Continue Reading →
Rousseff supporters rally to counter anti-government protests
Supporters of Brazil's ruling Workers' Party joined street rallies on Friday to back the beleaguered government of President Dilma Rousseff, while her opponents in Congress started the clock on impeachment proceedings. Brazil's political crisis also reached the Supreme Court, which has received a dozen motions to suspend this week's appointment of former President Luiz Inacio... Continue Reading →
Impeachment session starts in Brazil, police disperse protest
In Brasilia, where thousands of demonstrators have demanded Rousseff's ouster over the last two days, police told protesters to stay away from the Congress building where a pro-government demonstration was planned for 5 p.m local time (2000 GMT). In Congress' lower house, opposition parties sped up the impeachment of Rousseff by holding a session on... Continue Reading →
Judge’s bar on Lula puts Brazil on edge of constitutional crisis
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/62207c4a-ec65-11e5-9fca-fb0f946fd1f0.html#ixzz43CKvOUsZ March 17, 2016 5:48 pm Judge’s bar on Lula puts Brazil on edge of constitutional crisis Samantha Pearson in São Paulo ©AFP Brazil was teetering on the brink of a constitutional crisis on Thursday after a judge blocked President Dilma Rousseff’s appointment of her predecessor, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, to her cabinet, prompting... Continue Reading →
Brazil’s Foreign Investors See a New President as Last Best Hope
The political storm descending on Brazil right now is a boon in the eye of foreign investors who see a change in government as the best way to pull the country out of its doldrums. Stocks and the real led global gains Thursday after President Dilma Rousseff’s naming of Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, her predecessor... Continue Reading →
Brazil’s Central Bank Says It May Partially Unwind Swaps Program
Brazil’s central bank said it sees room to partially unwind a program aimed at boosting the real, prompting the currency to pare gains. Policy makers see the international economic environment creating an opportunity to unwind part of its foreign exchange swaps program by reducing its daily rollovers, the central bank press office told reporters on... Continue Reading →
Brazil Judge Suspends Lula’s Appointment to Rousseff Cabinet
Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on March 17. Photographer: Evaristo Sa/AFP via Getty Images A federal judge in Brazil issued an injunction to suspend the appointment of Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva as President Dilma Rousseff’s chief of staff, further deepening a political crisis that has paralyzed Latin America’s largest nation. Judge Itagiba Catta Preta... Continue Reading →
Protesters clash ahead of swearing-in of Lula in Brazil
An anti-government demonstrator (L) and a supporter of Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff clash before the appointment of former Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva as chief of staff, near the Planalto palace in Brasilia, Brazil, March 17, 2016. REUTERS/RICARDO MORAES Supporters of leftist leader Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva clashed briefly with opponents of... Continue Reading →
Brazil Police Tapped Rousseff Discussing Lula Cabinet Post
The federal judge leading Brazil’s largest corruption probe released phone recordings of President Dilma Rousseff and her predecessor Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva discussing his cabinet appointment. Judge Sergio Moro published transcripts of conversations that federal police obtained by tapping Lula’s phone as part of a corruption investigation, known as Carwash. In one of the... Continue Reading →
Brazil’s Crushing Debt Loads Are Leading to a Restructuring Boom
Brazil’s economic quagmire, with an ever-growing corruption scandal on top of the longest and deepest recession in at least a century, is producing an unprecedented era of corporate debt restructuring in the country. The borrowing binge Brazilian companies went on during the country’s economic boom earlier this decade has now turned into an albatross... Continue Reading →
Brazil Energy Insight 