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☆ How a maverick Brazil lawmaker helped Lula beat Bolsonaro's propaganda machine
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Gabriel Stargardter | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

RIO DE JANEIRO, Nov 10 (Reuters) - To bring down far-right Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, Andre Janones had to fight fire with fire. Janones also raised eyebrows among some in Lula's Workers Party (PT) for his vulgar attacks on Bolsonaro and his allies. One senior Lula aide defended the role of Janones, saying he could tread where the official campaign did not dare. He was the most prominent Lula ally to drop the gloves in a bruising run-off race that took even Bolsonaro's campaign by surprise. Despite his hell-raising, Janones has not lost sight of digital media as a public service.

☆ Iconic Brazilian singer Gal Costa dies at 77
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

RIO DE JANEIRO — Singer Gal Costa, an icon in the Tropicalia and Brazilian popular music movements who enjoyed a nearly six-decade career, died on Wednesday. Her death was confirmed by a press representative, who provided no further information. Their joint side project became an important counterculture reference during Brazil’s two-decade military dictatorship, inspiring a record, tour and documentary. In 2011, Costa was awarded a Latin Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. She remained an active performer until nearly the end, having recently suspended shows to undergo a surgery on one of her nostrils.

"I will do anything I can to keep him from running," said Gordon Nelson, 77, who cast an all-Republican ballot on Tuesday in Birmingham, Michigan. Nelson voted for Trump twice, but now blames him for the nation's tense political climate and for the Democrats' majority in Congress. Nelson's opinion was shared by six other Republican voters in Arizona, Georgia and Michigan who Reuters interviewed on Tuesday, most of whom brought up their distaste for Trump unprompted. About 60% of Republicans surveyed by Reuters/Ipsos last month said they thought Trump should run again in 2024, with 36% saying he should not. "I think (Trump) would just keep the pot stirring.

☆ Brazil's Bradesco quarterly profit dips, outlook on loan provisions worsens
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Peter Frontini | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Bradesco's recurring net profit totaled 5.22 billion reais ($1.01 billion), coming in below a Refinitiv consensus estimate of 6.76 billion reais. It now expects to hold provisions in the range of 25.5-27.5 billion reais, as high interest rates have caused a deterioration in asset quality. During the July to September period, Bradesco set aside 7.27 billion reais, more than double the amount compared to a year ago. In September, Brazil's central bank paused an aggressive monetary tightening cycle, leaving its key Selic interest rate at 13.75% after 12 consecutive hikes. Its consolidated loan book grew 13.6% to 878.57 billion reais, mainly driven by credit card transactions, personal and payroll-deductible loans.

☆ Banco do Brasil hikes 2022 outlook as surging profit tops forecasts
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SAO PAULO, Nov 9 (Reuters) - Brazilian state lender Banco do Brasil SA (BBAS3.SA) on Wednesday hiked its full-year profit outlook on the back of bigger-than-expected quarterly earnings, helped by higher interest income on a bigger loan book. Banco do Brasil now expects its 2022 profit to reach between 30.5 billion and 32.5 billion reais ($5.9-$6.3 billion), up from a previous range of 27 billion to 30 billion reais. Over the third quarter, its loan book grew 19% for the same period last year to 969.2 billion reais. The lender's quarterly adjusted net income meanwhile surged 63% from a year earlier, reaching 8.36 billion reais and surpassing the 7.36 billion estimate of analysts polled by Refinitiv. Banco do Brasil set aside 4.52 billion reais in provisions for possible loan defaults, up 15.1% from a year earlier.

☆ Brazil's Embraer delivers 33 jets in Q3, reaffirms full-year forecast
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SAO PAULO, Nov 7 (Reuters) - Brazilian planemaker Embraer SA (EMBR3.SA) on Monday said it has delivered a total 33 jets in the third quarter, up from 30 in the year-ago period, and reaffirmed its full-year forecast even with supply chain constraints hitting the industry recently. Embraer said that quarterly deliveries included 10 commercial aircraft and 23 executive jets, up from nine and 21 respectively in the same period of 2021. The latest backlog data included a firm order for six E195-E2 jets signed with Oman's low-cost carrier SalamAir in October. Embraer had also agreed on a deal with Canada's Porter Airlines for 20 aircraft earlier this year. The Brazilian company reaffirmed its full-year deliveries forecast set at 100 to 110 executive jets and 60 to 70 commercial jets.

☆ Highly processed foods are linked to early death, a new study finds
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( Aria Bendix | Aria Bendix Is The Breaking Health Reporter For Nbc News Digital. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

That amounts to more than 10% of annual premature deaths in Brazil among that age group. The authors say their study is the first to estimate the impact of ultra-processed food on the risk of early death. The authors applied that model to Brazil's population and level of ultra-processed food consumption. Ultra-processed foods can often be identified by their long list of ingredients, many of which you wouldn’t normally find in your own kitchen. Willett also said that there may be little benefit to replacing ultra-processed foods with certain items, such as more red meat or foods cooked in a lot of butter.

Progress since has been patchy, with only a few countries instituting more aggressive policies on deforestation and financing. Among the new sources of financing, Germany said it would double its financing for forests to 2 billion euros ($1.97 billion) through 2025. PRIVATE CASH PILES UPPrivate companies announced $3.6 billion in extra money. Other initiatives towards meeting the 2030 forest pledge also announced incremental progress at the opening of COP27. In September, the initiative announced standards that companies should follow to trace commodities and disclose links to deforestation.

☆ 'Now I'm one of you,' Hamilton tells Brazil as he becomes honorary citizen
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/4] British Formula One racing driver, Lewis Hamilton gestures, after he received the title of honorary citizen of Brazil at the Chamber of Deputies in Brasilia, Brazil November 7, 2022. REUTERS/Adriano MachadoNov 7 (Reuters) - Seven-times Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton was made an honorary citizen of Brazil on Monday by the country's lower house of Congress and dedicated the honour to his boyhood idol, the late Brazilian triple world champion Ayrton Senna. The lower house passed in June a bill to make the 37-year-old an honorary citizen that was proposed by congressman Andre Figueiredo after the British driver won the 2021 Brazilian Grand Prix for the third time. "I have so many amazing memories of Brazil," Hamilton said. Hamilton pledged to continue pushing for diversity and said that visiting the Amazon rainforest was one of his dreams.

☆ Brazil's TIM reports flat Q3 profit, surge in revenue
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SAO PAULO, Nov 7 (Reuters) - Brazilian telecom operator TIM SA (TIMS3.SA) on Monday reported a third-quarter net profit of 473 million reais ($91.73 million), consistent with the same period last year, and alongside strong revenue growth. TIM Brazil, controlled by Telecom Italia <TLIT.MI>, reported a 24.4% annual increase in net revenue to 5.61 billion reais, aided by the expansion in the firm's mobile phone services; accounting for roughly 92% of its total revenue. Costs, however, grew 25.5% to 2.95 billion reais, mainly due to inflationary effects on wages, bonuses and incentives, the firm said. TIM's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) came in at 2.7 billion reais, 24.5% above the third quarter of 2021. ($1 = 5.1567 reais)Reporting by Peter Frontini; Editing by David Alire Garcia and Isabel WoodfordOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Nonpartisan forecasts and polls show Republicans are heavy favorites to win control of the House of Representatives, with the Senate a toss-up. In recent weeks momentum has shifted toward the Republicans, Democratic strategists acknowledge, as voters' concerns about inflation and crime have outweighed those about abortion after the Supreme Court ended the nationwide right to abortion in June. For Democrats, Sunday's rallies in areas traditionally friendly to the party are a last-minute chance to minimize losses on Tuesday. Florida for years swung from party to party, but has recently trended Republican and is not considered a major battleground this election. Trump's frequent rallies maintain his profile as he weighs launching a third run for the White House after the midterms, according to advisers.

Trump, meanwhile, will appear in Miami alongside both the state's U.S. senators and several U.S. representatives. Trump's frequent rallies have served to maintain his own profile as he contemplates launching a third run for the White House after the midterms, according to advisers. Both Trump and Biden appeared in Pennsylvania on Saturday, as did former Democratic President Barack Obama. For Democrats, the Sunday rallies - held in areas that are traditionally friendly to the party - are a last-minute opportunity to minimize losses on Tuesday. In recent weeks, the momentum has shifted toward the Republicans, Democratic strategists acknowledge, as voters' concerns about inflation and crime have proven more durable than concerns about abortion.

☆ South American fans bite their nails over World Cup chances - and inflation
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-06 | by ( Gabriel Araujo | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

That is pushing up costs from soccer stickers and jerseys to game time snacks and beer. "Prices are just too inflated," said 20-year-old Brazilian Breno Nery, who was buying popular collectible soccer stickers in a Sao Paulo mall. A pack of five stickers has doubled to 4 reais ($0.79) since the 2018 Russia World Cup. STICKER SHOCKThe World Cup will be played from Nov. 20 to Dec. 18 - late spring in the southern hemisphere, a change from the normal dates that fall in the region's winter. The World Cup even led Argentina to launch capital controls of overseas travel and spending dubbed as the "Qatar" FX rate, making travel to the Middle East nation even more expensive in local currency.

Former President Obama caps a five-state tour aimed at stemming his party's losses in Tuesday's congressional elections with appearances in Pittsburgh alongside Democratic Senate nominee John Fetterman before heading to Philadelphia, where he will take the stage at Temple University with President Biden. Former President Trump, meanwhile, will be ginning up support for his hand-picked Republican Senate nominee, celebrity doctor Mehmet Oz, and Republican gubernatorial nominee Doug Mastriano at a rally in Latrobe, southeast of Pittsburgh. Nonpartisan election forecasters and polls show Republicans are heavy favorites to win control of the House of Representatives, with the Senate a toss-up. Control of even one of those chambers would give Republicans the power to block Biden's legislative agenda and launch potentially damaging investigations. At a debate last month, he often stumbled over his words, in a performance even allies privately described as shaky.

☆ Haitians hope for fuel supplies after police break up gang blockade at terminal
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Nov 5 (Reuters) - Haitians on Saturday hoped for a quick return of fuel supplies after police broke up a gang blockade that for two months had left the economy without gasoline or diesel and triggered a humanitarian crisis. Haiti's National Police said in a statement late on Friday that it took back control of the Varreux fuel terminal, where the G9 gang coalition had dug trenches and set up barricades to prevent fuel distribution. "We don't know exactly when fuel deliveries will begin," said one source with knowledge of the situation. The gasoline and diesel shortages had halted almost all economic activity, including in transportation and hospitals, and forced many local business owners to shut operations. Reporting by Brian Ellsworth in Sao Paulo and Harold Isaac in Port-au-PrinceOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Brazil election marked by disinformation networks, says Carter Center
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SAO PAULO, Nov 4 (Reuters) - The Carter Center said on Friday that Brazil's presidential election was marked by a proliferation of sophisticated disinformation attacking the voting system and then questioning the impartiality of the national electoral authority. The U.S.-based non-profit group, a pioneer of international election observation since the 1980s, said that both the winning leftist candidate Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and far-right President Jair Bolsonaro were targets of disinformation. In the second round of the election, the focus shifted to questioning the impartiality of the TSE, the Carter Center said. In the final weeks of the campaign, the court decided to expand its ability to rapidly remove content from social media platforms, a move the Carter Center said "raised concerns about interference with fundamental rights." Lula, a former president, narrowly won the run-off by 50.9% against 49.1% for Bolsonaro in Brazil's most divisive election in decades.

The pledge was praised widely at last year's COP26 climate summit, particularly as Brazil, Indonesia and Congo all signed on. To fulfill the pledge, the world would need to ensure 10% less area is deforested on average each year from 2021 to 2030. Most countries under the pledge have yet to detail plans for passing stronger forest protections or implementing them. BRAZILThe biggest rainforest country also leads the world in deforestation, as the Amazon falls rapidly to illegal logging, agriculture and land speculation. Deforestation driven by land-clearing for palm oil plantations continued to slow in the first seven months of the year - even as palm oil prices soared.

REUTERS/Ralph Tedy Erol/File PhotoNov 4 (Reuters) - The United States and Canada on Friday imposed sanctions on two Haitian politicians, including the president of the country's Senate, as Washington accused them of abusing their positions to traffic drugs and collaborate with gang networks in the country. The sanctions target Haitian Senate President Joseph Lambert and Youri Latortue, who served as president of the chamber from 2017-2018, the U.S. Treasury Department and Canada's foreign ministry said in separate statements. The sanctions essentially freeze any assets Lambert and Latortue may hold in the United States or Canada and generally bar Americans from dealing with them. Lambert, Latortue and Prime Minister Ariel Henry's office did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Canada and the United States did not identify which Haitian gangs it believed were tied to the officials.

Demonstrations erupted on Sunday in support of Bolsonaro after he was narrowly defeated by Lula, who previously governed from 2003 to 2010. Carvalho asked Brazil's federal police to open an official probe on 70-year-old Piquet to "clarify the facts". He said that Piquet, as a public figure, should have been aware that his remarks had the power to reach hundreds of thousands of people. One of Lula's closest allies, Senator Humberto Costa, stated earlier this week he was filing a complaint against Piquet with the public prosecutor's office following his comments. His latest remarks come just days ahead of the Brazilian Grand Prix, which is set to begin in Sao Paulo on Nov. 13.

☆ FIFA pleads with World Cup nations to 'focus on football' in Qatar
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Sky News quoted Infantino and Samoura as saying in the letter to the 32 nations contesting the World Cup. The World Cup, the first held in the Middle East, starts on Nov. 20. read moreFootball Australia was unable to provide immediate comment to Reuters on the FIFA letter on Friday. World Cup organisers have said that everyone, no matter their sexual orientation or background, is welcome, while also warning against public displays of affection. Qatar has acknowledged there are "gaps" in its labour system but the World Cup has allowed the country to make progress on worker rights.

WASHINGTON, Nov 4 (Reuters) - North Carolina officials have registered 14 instances of potential intimidation or interference with voters and election officials in the run-up to Tuesday's U.S. midterm elections, according to records provided to Reuters on Friday. Incident reports released to Reuters on Friday show that the North Carolina State Board of Elections is tracking eight instances of potential voter intimidation, one of potential voter interference and five of potential interference with election workers during early voting. Arizona late last month asked the Justice Department to investigate a case of possible voter intimidation, and officials there have since said they have observed several more possible instances of intimidation. Most of the North Carolina incidents, which were described in only general terms, involved photographing, videotaping or yelling at voters and officials, the reports show. North Carolina officials noted unusually aggressive observers during May's primary election in 16 counties.

☆ Brazil's Petrobras third-quarter profit rises 48%
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SAO PAULO, Nov 3 (Reuters) - Brazil's state-run oil firm Petrobras (PETR4.SA) on Thursday posted a stronger than expected 48% surge in third-quarter profit, boosted by higher prices for Brent crude . Petroleo Brasileiro SA, as it is formally known, reported net profit of 46.1 billion reais ($9.01 billion), above the 43.37 billion reais forecast of analysts polled by Refinitiv. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) rose 50.5% from a year earlier to 91.42 billion reais, also beating analysts' 88 billion reais estimate. The average price of Brent crude over July to September was $100.85, Petrobras said, significantly higher than the $73.47 it recorded a year earlier. Earlier on Thursday, Petrobras had said it would distribute some 43.68 billion reais ($8.5 billion) in dividends.

☆ Haiti police confront gangs near blocked fuel terminal, sources say
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Nov 3 (Reuters) - Haiti's police on Thursday launched an operation to confront gangs that are blocking the Varreux fuel terminal, according to three sources with knowledge of the situation, in an effort to restore fuel distribution halted by the gangs in September. The police operation began at mid-morning and has resulted in heavy shooting near the terminal's main entrance, where the G9 coalition of gangs have dug trenches to prevent trucks from loading fuel, according to the sources. "There is a big police operation in the area," said one of the sources, who like the other two asked not to be identified. The fuel blockade has created a humanitarian crisis so severe that the United Nations has discussed sending a strike force to open the terminal and resume fuel distribution. Reporting by Harold Isaac in Port-au-Prince and Brian Ellsworth in Sao PauloOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Latam's MercadoLibre's net profit rises 36%, fueled by fintech
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SAO PAULO, Nov 3 (Reuters) - South American e-commerce giant MercadoLibre Inc (MELI.O) on Thursday reported a third-quarter net income up 36% from a year earlier, as it nearly doubled its fintech revenues, helping offset a relative slowdown in online shopping. The Argentina-based company, which operates in countries across Latin America, posted a quarterly net income of $129 million. The company's loan portfolio meanwhile reached $2.8 billion in the quarter, up 4% from the previous quarter, as it expanded its credit business. Over the quarter MercadoLibre said it added 4 million new users, bringing its active use base up 12% to 88 million. This helped net revenues leap 61% in constant currency (45% in dollars) to reach $2.7 billion - in line with Refinitiv estimates.

☆ Brazil's Petrobras beats profit expectations as uncertainty looms
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( Peter Frontini | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The average price of Brent crude over July to September was $100.85, Petrobras said, significantly higher than the $73.47 it recorded a year earlier. Earlier on Thursday, Petrobras had said it would distribute some 43.68 billion reais ($8.5 billion) in dividends. Petrobras' revenue jumped 40% to 170.08 billion reais. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) rose 50.5% to 91.42 billion reais, also beating analysts' estimate of 88 billion reais. "These results demonstrate, once again, the high level of performance achieved by Petrobras," its chief executive Caio Paes de Andrade said in a statement.

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