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☆ Death toll from Brazil downpours hits 48, dozens still missing
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/7] Volunteers, firefighters, army officers and a civil guard carry the body of a woman who died at one of the landslide sites after severe rainfall at Barra do Sahy, in Sao Sebastiao, Brazil, February 22, 2023. REUTERS/Amanda PerobelliSAO PAULO, Feb 22 (Reuters) - The death toll from heavy rains that devastated coastal areas of Brazil's southeastern Sao Paulo state reached 48 people, official figures showed on Wednesday, but dozens were still missing as search and rescue efforts continued. The number of casualties rose from 46 reported a day earlier, the Sao Paulo state government said in a statement. The city of Sao Sebastiao, located some 200 km (124.3 miles) from Sao Paulo, bore the brunt of the human toll, with 47 of the reported deaths. The floods in coastal Sao Paulo state were the latest in a series of such disasters to recently strike Brazil, where shoddy construction, often on hillsides, can have tragic consequences during the country's rainy season.

SAO SEBASTIAO, Brazil, Feb 20 (Reuters) - The death toll from devastating rainfall in southeastern Brazil rose to 40 on Monday, official figures showed, as President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva visited the region and said homes should no longer be built in areas at risk of landslides and major floods. Lula flew over the coastal town of Sao Sebastiao alongside Cabinet ministers and pledged to help rebuild the town of some 91,000 people by constructing new houses in safer places. "Sometimes nature takes us by surprise, but sometimes we also tempt nature," Lula said in a speech after meeting with Sao Paulo Governor Tarcisio de Freitas and Sao Sebastiao Mayor Felipe Augusto to coordinate their response to the disaster. "I express my solidarity with the people of Sao Sebastiao and I hope this never happens again." [1/4] Landslides are seen after severe rainfall in Sao Sebastiao, Brazil, February 20, 2023.

☆ Embraer's electric aircraft maker Eve 'on track' to start service in 2026
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Gabriel Araujo | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SAO PAULO, Feb 17 (Reuters) - Electric aircraft maker Eve Holding Inc (EVEX.N) is "on track" to meet its goal of starting commercial operations in 2026, an executive said on Friday, and getting its aircraft certificated is the most immediate target. Eve is confident about the "robust project," which is backed by Embraer's expertise, said Mauad, reiterating the goal of starting operations in 2026. BNDES later announced it would grant Eve an additional 490 million reais ($94.47 million). Mauad acknowledged a consolidation process could happen in the sector, but noted Eve was still particularly focused on working through its partnerships. ($1 = 5.1871 reais)Reporting by Gabriel Araujo; Editing by Anthony Esposito and Susan FentonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ BTG Pactual joins Brazilian lenders hit by post-Americanas provisions
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( Gabriel Araujo | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SAO PAULO, Feb 13 (Reuters) - Banco BTG Pactual SA (BPAC3.SA) on Monday became the latest Brazilian lender to be affected by bad credit provisions due to what it called a "specific, widely publicized event," likely referring to the bankruptcy of Americanas SA (AMER3.SA). BTG reported a quarterly net profit of 1.64 billion reais ($314.5 million), slightly down from 1.74 billion a year earlier and below the market consensus of 2.27 billion, according to analysts polled by Refinitiv. BTG's "good cost discipline" in the quarter helped reduce the impact of the provisions, JPMorgan said. "Despite all the challenges, we expect higher returns in 2023, with greater operating leverage and possibly even higher capital and liquidity levels," BTG Chief Executive Officer Roberto Sallouti said. ($1 = 5.2151 reais)Reporting by Gabriel Araujo; Editing by David Holmes, Kirsten Donovan and Paul SimaoOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Bolsonaro mulls return to Brazil in coming weeks
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MEXICO CITY, Feb 11 (Reuters) - Former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro said on Saturday he plans to return to Brazil "in the coming weeks," after having spent more than a month in the United States. "There is no place like home ... We know Brazil is a fantastic country," Bolsonaro told a gathering of Brazilians in Boca Raton, a video posted online by broadcaster CNN showed. I intend to return to Brazil in the coming weeks." A swift return to Brazil could pose risks for Bolsonaro, who is accused of instigating a violent election denial movement in his home country. Still, a U.S. official with knowledge of the situation told Reuters this week that officials believe Bolsonaro will return to Brazil after the carnival festival, which ends on Feb 22.

☆ Deforestation in Brazil's Amazon falls in first month under Lula
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Ueslei MarcelinoSAO PAULO, Feb 10 (Reuters) - Deforestation in Brazil's Amazon rainforest fell in January from a year earlier, satellite data showed on Friday, in the first monthly figures under President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. In mid-January, Brazilian environmental agents launched their first anti-logging raids under Lula, who has pledged to end surging destruction under his predecessor Jair Bolsonaro. The fresh figures come after Reuters reported exclusively on Thursday that the United States was considering its first contribution to a multilateral fund aimed at fighting Amazon deforestation, with a possible announcement during President Joe Biden's meeting with Lula at the White House on Friday. The Brazilian-administered Amazon Fund, supported mainly by Norway and Germany, was reactivated by Environment Minister Marina Silva the day she took office last month, after being frozen since 2019 under Bolsonaro. The Brazilian government is also fighting wildcat mining on Yanomami land in the Amazon, its largest indigenous reservation, amid a humanitarian crisis blamed on illegal gold miners.

☆ Brazil police conduct new raids as part of probe into Brasilia riots
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SAO PAULO, Feb 7 (Reuters) - Brazil's federal police on Tuesday carried out fresh raids as part of an investigation into the Jan. 8 insurrection, when supporters of former far-right President Jair Bolsonaro stormed government buildings in Brasilia. Police said in a statement they were serving three temporary detention warrants, one preventive arrest warrant and six search and seizure warrants in the federal district, where Brasilia is located, under Supreme Court orders. The new raids represent the fifth phase of an operation launched last month aimed at identifying people who participated in, funded or fostered the riots, in which a mob invaded and ransacked the Congress, presidential palace and Supreme Court. They were protesting against Bolsonaro's defeat by President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in an October election and calling for a military coup to oust Lula and restore the far-right leader. Reporting by Gabriel Araujo; Editing by Steven Grattan, Robert BirselOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Lula says 'no explanation' for Brazil's current interest rate levels
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

RIO DE JANEIRO, Feb 6 (Reuters) - Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Monday there was "no explanation" for the country's high interest rates, with the benchmark rate at a six-year high, adding that development bank BNDES could help bring down lending costs. Lula, who last week criticised the central bank's formal autonomy and suggested a review of its status, said Brazil's problem was a "culture of high rates" rather than the newfound independence of the central bank. Lula called on business leaders to speak out against current interest rate levels, while dubbing the monetary policy committee's explanation for keeping rates at the current 13.75%, in place since August, "shameful". "There is no justification for the interest rate levels. The committee, known as Copom, said last week it was considering holding interest rates high for longer than markets expect due to fiscal risks under Lula.

☆ Brazilian justice confirms senator told him about election conspiracy meeting with Bolsonaro
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LISBON/SAO PAULO, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Brazil's Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes confirmed on Friday that Senator Marcos do Val told him about an election conspiracy meeting he allegedly attended with former President Jair Bolsonaro and former lawmaker Daniel Silveira last year. Moraes said during an event held in Lisbon that Do Val approached him to talk about the meeting. The justice said he then asked the senator to testify formalizing the allegations, but Do Val declined to do so. Do Val told reporters on Thursday that Bolsonaro, narrowly defeated by President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in an October vote, "sat in silence" while Silveira laid out the plot against Moraes at the meeting. Silveira was arrested by police on Thursday on a warrant issued by Moraes, who accused him of disobeying court rulings.

☆ Brazil senator says he attended election conspiracy meeting with Bolsonaro
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Ricardo Brito | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

BRASILIA, Feb 2 (Reuters) - A Brazilian senator said on Thursday that a close ally of former President Jair Bolsonaro tried to persuade the senator to join a conspiracy to overturn the far-right leader's electoral loss last year. Senator Marcos do Val told a news conference that he had been invited to a meeting on Dec. 9 with then-President Bolsonaro by his associate, former lawmaker Daniel Silveira. At the meeting, Silveira asked the senator to try to get the head of the electoral court to make compromising comments in a taped conversation that could lead to the judge's arrest, Val said. The senator told reporters that Bolsonaro "sat in silence" while Silveira laid out the plot against Justice Alexandre de Moraes, a Supreme Court judge running Brazil's top electoral authority (TSE). Silveira told the former president that Val, a Bolsonaro supporter, could be trusted and asked Bolsonaro to present "the idea that would save Brazil" to him, according to the Veja report.

☆ Santander Brasil's Q4 net profit slumps as loan-loss provisions bite
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SAO PAULO, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Banco Santander Brasil SA (SANB3.SA) on Thursday posted a slump in fourth-quarter net profit as loan-loss provisions rose against a backdrop of higher interest rates and deteriorating credit conditions. The bank's quarterly net profit reached 1.69 billion reais ($334.3 million), down 56% from the previous year, as provisions for bad credit nearly doubled amid higher interest rates. He said net interest income came under pressure from changes in the product mix and higher interest rates, a trend set to persist throughout this year. Santander Brasil's loan-loss provisions reached 7.36 billion reais, pressured by bad credit in loans to individuals, the bank said. In the full year of 2022, its net profit dropped 21.1% from the previous year to 12.9 billion reais, while full-year provisions rose 72.7% and net interest income fell 6.8%.

☆ Brazil's Americanas requests financing of at least $197 mln -filing
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Jan 31 (Reuters) - Brazilian retailer Americanas SA (AMER3.SA) has requested debtor-in-possession financing of at least 1 billion reais ($197.12 million) as part of its bankruptcy process, according to a securities filing Tuesday. The financing aims to help the company maintain the "normal course of its business and reinforce its liquidity," the firm said. Americanas, backed by the billionaire trio that founded investment firm 3G Capital, entered bankruptcy protection this month after disclosing "inconsistencies" in its accounting, leading top investors such as BlackRock (BLK.N) and Capital Group to scale back their positions in the firm. It added it has been in talks with reference shareholders - Brazilian billionaires Jorge Paulo Lemann, Marcel Telles and Carlos Alberto Sicupira, the founders of 3G Capital - about the possibility of them subscribing up to the totality of the financing minimum amount. ($1 = 5.0731 reais)Reporting by Carolina Pulice and Gabriel Araujo; Editing by Isabel Woodford and Stephen CoatesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Brazil volleyball star faces Olympic complaint after post threatening Lula
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SAO PAULO, Jan 31 (Reuters) - The Brazilian Olympic Committee said it had filed a complaint against volleyball player Wallace de Souza after the former Olympic champion wrote a post on social media that appeared to back violence against President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. An Instagram follower of the athlete asked him on the social media platform if he would "shoot Lula in the face with a 12 (caliber gun)." He later deleted the post and uploaded a video apologizing, saying he would never suggest violence or hatred towards anyone and calling the post a mistake. Wallace was part of Brazil's gold medal-winning volleyball team in the 2016 Summer Olympics, and a silver medalist in 2012. Earlier in January, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters vandalized the Supreme Court, Congress and presidential palace, seeking to provoke chaos and a military coup that would oust Lula and restore Bolsonaro to power.

☆ Germany pledges funds to help Brazil defend Amazon rainforest
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BRASILIA, Jan 30 (Reuters) - Germany on Monday pledged 200 million euros ($217 million) to help Brazil defend the Amazon rainforest, a global ecosystem devastated during years of rule under former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro. The sum includes a donation of 35 million euros ($38 million) to the Amazon Fund to strengthen a billion-dollar initiative funded by Norway and Germany to protect the South American rainforest and fight deforestation. The Amazon Fund was re-activated by Brazil's Environment Minister Marina Silva the day she took office vowing to halt deforestation in the world's largest tropical rainforest. As president Bolsonaro said Brazilians had the right to develop natural resources in the Amazon. The German assistance includes socio-environmental projects to support Brazilian states in the Amazon rainforest and low-interest loans to farmers for the reforestation of their land, a statement issued by Brazil said.

☆ Brazilian ex-senator takes over as Petrobras CEO; shares fall
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Marta Nogueira | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Prates was unanimously approved by the board, on which he will also hold a seat, Petrobras said in a securities filing. He has said the Lula government would not take an aggressively interventionist approach to Petrobras. Petrobras made bumper payouts in recent quarters, but Prates has said the company cannot "just keep tapping sub-salt oil and paying dividends". Prates, who was a senator for the past four years, is the first politician in several years to hold a high-ranking office at Petrobras. Earlier in the day, the Brazilian Senate's official gazette published the resignation of Prates as a lawmaker.

☆ Bankrupt Brazilian retailer Americanas owes about $8 bln, court finds
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Gabriel Araujo | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SAO PAULO, Jan 25 (Reuters) - Brazilian retailer Americanas SA (AMER3.SA) owes a variety of creditors around $8 billion, a Rio de Janeiro court said on Wednesday, providing the most detailed picture yet of the banks and other groups exposed to the company's bankruptcy. The list provided on Wednesday includes roughly 41.2 billion reais ($8.1 billion) in debt, according to the court, which initially did not disclose the names of the creditors. Brazilian banks BTG Pactual (BPAC3.SA), Bradesco (BBDC4.SA) and Santander Brasil (SANB3.SA) - which analysts previously said were among the most exposed - were also listed, with debts of more than 3.5 billion reais each. Earlier this week, Capital International Investors also announced it had reduced its position in Americanas to 4.07% from 7.04%. Shares in Americanas were up 20% to 0.96 real on Wednesday, but still down roughly 90% year-to-date.

☆ Brazil's Lula proposes Mercosur trade deal with China after EU accord
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Jan 25 (Reuters) - Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Wednesday that he favored an agreement between Mercosur and China in a plan to modernize and open the South American trade bloc to other regions. On a visit to Uruguay to dissuade its government from reaching a deal on its own with China, which would undermine the Mercosur customs union, Lula said the long-awaited Mercosur accord with the European Union must be completed urgently. "We want to sit down as Mercosur and discuss with our Chinese friends the Mercosur-China agreement," Lula said, adding that China is Brazil's biggest trading partner. Talks for the EU-Mercosur trade agreement were completed in 2019, but environmental concerns stalled the deal before it was approved by the legislatures of the EU member states. Uruguay's President Lacalle Pou said that his country needed to open up its economy to the world and it could discuss parallel trade arrangements outside of Mercosur.

☆ Brazilian retailer Americanas reports 7,720 creditors, $8 bln in debt
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Gabriel Araujo | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SAO PAULO, Jan 25 (Reuters) - Brazilian retailer Americanas SA (AMER3.SA) reported 7,720 creditors and debt totaling nearly $8 billion within its restructuring process, a Rio de Janeiro court said on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE) topped the list of creditors initially revealed by Americanas, but the German lender later said it had no lending relationship or credit exposure to the Brazilian company. The list provided on Wednesday included roughly 41.2 billion reais ($8.1 billion) in debt, according to the court, which initially did not disclose the names of the creditors. Later, however, Americanas revealed the full list in a securities filing, ranging from small debts with individuals and cities to multibillion-reais debts with banks. Deutsche Bank appeared with a $1 billion debt, but said in an emailed statement that it had no direct exposure to the Brazilian firm.

Annual headline inflation in the first half of the month reached 7.94%, beating both the 7.77% recorded in the month of December and economists' forecasts of 7.86%, though still below the two-decade high of 8.70% registered in August and September. That means annual inflation remains far above the Bank of Mexico's target rate of 3%, plus or minus one percentage point. It is unlikely that the bank will make any cuts to the interest rate in the next six months, Bank of Mexico board member Jonathan Heath said in an interview last week. In the first half of January, according to statistics agency INEGI, consumer prices rose 0.46% compared to the previous two-week period, while the core index rose 0.44%, both also exceeding market estimates. Mexico's Latin American peer Brazil, where monetary tightening is on pause, also released mid-month inflation data on Tuesday, with prices slightly beating market forecasts.

☆ Brazil, Argentina to encourage trade, says Haddad; plays down common currency
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Lisandra Paraguassu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

His remarks came after Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Argentine leader Alberto Fernandez published a joint article saying their aim for greater economic integration included studies of a common South American currency. Haddad, who floated such a possibility in an article last year, said removing trade barriers between the two largest economies in South America could involve using a single currency for commerce, given a lack of U.S. dollars in Argentina. "Trade is really bad and the problem is precisely the foreign currency, right? Haddad noted Argentina was an important buyer of Brazilian industrial goods and that "several possibilities" were being floated to circumvent its currency problems, though no decision had been made. The Financial Times had previously reported, citing Argentina's Economy Minister Sergio Massa, that the neighboring nations would announce this week they were starting preparatory work on a common currency.

☆ Brazil police raid governor's house over capital riots
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The raid targeted Rocha's house and workplaces, police said. Rocha was not on site during the raid, which was followed by lawyers from his defense team. This raid it is unnecessary and fruitless," his lawyer Cleber Lopes said, adding that the governor had no connection to the violence. The operation drew criticism from lawyers, as Rocha was head of the Brazilian Bar Association before he became governor. It included 24 warrants covering five states and the capital Brasilia, it said in a statement.

☆ Brazil's Americanas mulls filing for bankruptcy, shares tank as markets see move as imminent
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Gabriel Araujo | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Americanas said its current cash position stands at 800 million reais ($154.25 million). "The bankruptcy protection is unavoidable and might be one of the largest ever in Brazil, as complex as Oi's one." Oi SA (OIBR4.SA), a telecom firm, filed in June 2016 for Brazil's then-biggest ever bankruptcy protection and only exited it in December 2022. Last week, chief executive Sergio Rial resigned less than two weeks after taking the job citing the discovery of "accounting inconsistencies" totaling 20 billion reais. "Filing for bankruptcy protection is imminent and necessary," said Fernando Ferrer, an analyst at Empiricus Research, noting there could be a "cascade effect" of banks requesting to withhold money from the firm.

☆ Billionaire-backed Americanas files for bankruptcy protection, shares tank
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Gabriel Araujo | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

SAO PAULO, Jan 19 (Reuters) - Brazilian retailer Americanas SA (AMER3.SA) on Thursday filed for bankruptcy protection, days after uncovering nearly $4 billion in accounting inconsistencies and amid a legal feud with creditors. In the filing, Americanas asks to exclude fintech Ame from the bankruptcy protection, as it is regulated by the central bank, and for authorization to increase its capital. Chief Executive Sergio Rial resigned last week, less than two weeks after taking the job, citing the discovery of "accounting inconsistencies" totaling 20 billion reais. Andre Luzbel, head of variable income at SVN Investimentos, said the bankruptcy protection was unavoidable, noting it would be one of the largest ever in Brazil, "as complex as Oi's one." Oi SA (OIBR4.SA), a telecom firm, filed in June 2016 for Brazil's then-biggest ever bankruptcy protection and only exited it in December 2022.

☆ Brazil's Lula says intelligence services failed ahead of Brasilia riots
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Ricardo Brito | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

BRASILIA, Jan 18 (Reuters) - Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Wednesday his intelligence services had failed on Jan. 8, when Brasilia buildings were stormed by supporters of far-right former President Jair Bolsonaro. "We made an elementary mistake: my intelligence did not exist (that day)," Lula told TV channel GloboNews in an interview. "We have Army intelligence, Air Force intelligence, ABIN (Brazil's Intelligence Agency); none of them warned me." The Brazilian insurrection resembled the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by supporters of former President Donald Trump. The Brazilian president said he was also set to meet German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Brazil later this month, as Reuters first reported last month.

Americanas on Tuesday disclosed that it did not pay interest due on Monday of more than 2 billion reais ($392 million) in local bonds. It made the disclosure in a filing responding to a question by securities regulator CVM, saying that it was allowed not to pay under the injunction. Fitch said that if Americanas formally announces a debt restructuring plan, its ratings will be downgraded to RD or D reflecting a default. Fitch said the retailer, backed by the billionaire founders of 3G Capital, has an unsustainable capital structure with the addition of an estimated 20 billion reais in previously undisclosed liabilities. The company last year paid 516.6 million reais in dividends related to the results in 2021, according to securities filings.

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