POLITICS

The de facto government of Honduras denied entry on Sunday to an Organization of American States delegation and threatened to close Brazil’s embassy, where ousted President Manuel Zelaya has taken refuge (Reuters).

Brazil’s president demanded on Wednesday a greater role in global affairs for big developing nations, while asking rich countries to do more to spur free trade and fight climate change (Reuters).

- Brazilian President Lula da Silva said he’ll visit President Amadinejad in Tehran next year after the Iranian leader comes to Brazil, adding he can’t judge Iran’s elections or nuclear ambitions (Bloomberg).

ECONOMY

Brazilian economists expect higher interest rates and faster economic growth next year, according to a central bank survey of about 100 economists (Bloomberg).

OLYMPICS

A sporting duel between U.S. President Obama and his Brazilian counterpart Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva heated up on Friday over who — if either of them — gets to host the 2016 Summer Olympics (Reuters).

BUSINESS

Eike Batista, a Brazilian industrial magnate, said on Monday he may consider buying a stake in Vale, the world’s largest iron ore exporter, if given the chance (Reuters).

Brazil state development bank BNDES may support consolidation in the country’s steel industry as the government looks to create “global champions,” the bank’s president Luciano Coutinho told Valor Economico newspaper (Reuters).

Brazil’s plan to reform its mining code and potentially raise the royalties paid by mining companies must ensure the mineral-rich country can compete with up and coming resource providers increasingly vying for investment, miners said (Reuters).

FINANCE

Aberdeen Asset Management Plc, Scotland’s largest money manager, is opening an office in Brazil after increasing its Latin American holdings by a third with the purchase of Credit Suisse Group AG’s funds unit this year (Bloomberg).

OIL

Petrobras, Brazil’s state-controlled oil producer, expects areas off the coast of Bahia state may hold so-called pre-salt oil reserves, Chief Executive Officer Jose Sergio Gabrielli said (Bloomberg).

Panama will share tax information with at least 10 countries to prevent sanctions over banking secrecy laws, Finance Vice-Minister Frank De Lima said.

Read the full story at Bloomberg

When Jacob Zuma came to power in May, there were doubters aplenty. So far he has handsomely confounded his critics.

Read the full story at The Economist

Ever since Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers appeared in the 1933 film Flying Down to Rio, the world has been fascinated with Rio de Janeiro. Popular perception of the city is infused with images of starry-eyed youngsters dancing into the dusk, backed by imposing mountains and dark sea.

Read the whole story at Forbes

INVESTMENT

Brazilian companies are prepared to step up international takeovers as the domestic economy recovers from a recession and the local currency gains, according to Rothschild, the country’s top mergers and acquisitions adviser (Bloomberg).

Votorantim Cimentos Ltda., which controls 40 percent of Brazil’s cement market, is seeking international acquisitions (Bloomberg).

Brazilian billionaire Eike Batista, whose EBX conglomerate controls oil, energy, mining and transportation assets in the country, plans to invest $10.3 billion through 2012 as he bets on a rebound in global growth, Valor Economico newspaper reported (Reuter).

American billionaire Sam Zell’s Equity International real estate investment fund plans to expand its investments in Brazil to commercial property, farms, industrial warehouses and infrastructure and logistics in coming years, Valor Economico said (Reuters).

Hyundai,  South Korea’s largest automaker, will begin construction of a factory in Brazil next year after suspending the plan due to the global recession (Bloomberg).

Morgan Stanley, the top adviser on takeovers in Brazil, doubled the investment-banking staff in Latin America’s biggest economy and plans to add more as local capital markets develop, an executive said (Bloomberg).

AGRICULTURE

Brazil’s biosecurity regulator, CTNBio, approved two new varieties of genetically modified corn, both of which have been engineered to resist pests and glyphosate-based herbicide (Reuters).

OIL

The Brazilian government’s proposal to develop vast oil reserves faces several obstacles in Congress but is on track for a first vote by November, key congressional leaders said (Reuters).

Brazil’s plan to capitalize state-run oil company Petrobras with 5 billion barrels of crude reserves in exchange for new shares may yield $15 billion to $25 billion in oil rights for the company, analysts said (Reuters).

Brazil’S oil giant Petrobras will boast crude reserves of 30 billion to 35 billion barrels within three years, thanks to huge finds in deep water off the nation’s coast, the company’s CEO said (Reuters).

ELECTIONS

Brazil’s Senate approved a bill late on Tuesday that could change the rules for general elections in October 2010 (Reuters).

MEAT

Brazil’s JBS, the world’sbiggest beef producer, agreed to buy a controllingstake in bankrupt U.S. poultry producer Pilgrim’s Pride and JBS’ Brazilian beef rival Bertin (Reuters).

ECONOMY

Brazil’s government is considering new measures to nurture the country’s economic recovery, focusing on cutting the high costs of doing business, Finance Minister Guido Mantega said (Reuters).

AMAZON

Brazilian President Lula will propose a ban on new sugar-cane planting in 82 percent of the country, including the Amazon, as part of efforts to preserve forests and avoid restrictions from ethanol- importing countries (Bloomberg).

In her apartment in a tough Rio de Janeiro suburb, Geni Monteiro Coimbra pauses as she ponders a teasing dilemma — the tutti-frutti or the strawberry lipstick?

Read the full story at Reuters

POLITICS

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has called on the country’s iron ore miner Vale, the world’s largest, to favor local industry in the purchase of large items such as ships to create more jobs in the South American country (Reuters).

Brazil’s Environment Minister Carlos Minc said that U.S. targets for greenhouse gas emissions are unacceptably weak and that Brazil will place new restrictions on its huge farm sector to cut deforestation (Reuters).

OIL

Brazil’s state-run Petrobras this month will launch a bid round on 28 oil rigs to be built in Brazil and used for massive offshore subsalt fields, the company said (Reuters).

BANKING

Brazil’s stringent banking sector rules, once seen as burdensome, are suddenly being viewed as admirable as the Group of 20 nations look to fortify financial institutions against future crises (Reuters).

Bank of Nova Scotia, Canada’s third-largest bank, would like to expand in Brazil and Colombia to increase its Latin American banking platform (Bloomberg).

TELECOMS

French media giant Vivendi’s unexpected foray into Brazil’s telecommunications market could spark a bidding war for its takeover target, GVT, as rivals jostle for control of its broadband assets and license to operate nationwide (Reuters).

INVESTMENT

The richest man in the world by 1927, Henry Ford wanted to do more than make cars. He bought two and a half million acres in the Brazilian Amazon to create a utopian American community. A new book tells the story of the rise and fall of Fordlandia (Bloomberg).

ECONOMY

Brazil’s gross domestic product grew more than analysts forecast in the second quarter, pulling the economy out of its first recession since 2003 thanks to rising domestic demand (Bloomberg).

Standard Bank, Africa’s top bank by assets, has signed a $1-billion loan facility with four major Chinese banks in Macau. Standard Bank named the four banks as the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (Macau), the Bank of China, the China Development Bank and the China CITIC Bank.

Read the story in the Mail & Guardian

Spain’s biggest bank offers shares in its Brazilian business.

Read the report in The Economist

OIL

Brazil has no interest in joining the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) because it does not aspire to become a crude oil exporter, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said (Reuters).

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva rejected demands by congressional leaders to take his proposed legislation for more government control of oil production off a fast track, the ruling party chief in the Senate said (Reuters).

The pace of bidding rounds in Brazil’s offshore subsalt fields will depend heavily on local industry’s capacity to provide goods and services required by local content rules, state-run Petrobras said (Reuters).

BUSINESS

Pfizer, the world’s largest drug company, may pay up to 1 billion reais ($525 million) to buy Brazilian generic drugmaker Neo Quimica, stepping up smaller acquisitions in fast-growing emerging markets, newspaper O Estado de S. Paulo said (Reuters).

RIO 2016

The four bid cities competing to host the 2016 summer Olympics are locked in a tight race with no clear frontrunner emerging from the International Olympic Committee’s evaluation report released (Reuters).

Brazil’s resilience to the global financial crisis has boosted Rio de Janeiro’s bid to host the 2016 Olympics, the city’s mayor said (Reuters).

AMAZON

The annual rate of destruction of Brazil’s Amazon rain forest has fallen 46 percent to its lowest level in over two decades due partly to increased police patrols, Environment Minister Carlos Minc said (Reuters).

POLITICS

Brazil’s 2010 budget outline foresees a 12 percent increase in primary spending, the budget and planning ministry said, a day after the government presented its proposal to Congress (Reuters).

SECURITY

French President Sarkozy, on a two-day visit to Brazil, is lobbying the South American nation to become the first foreign buyer of Dassault Aviation SA’s Rafale fighter jet (Bloomberg).

ECONOMY

Brazil’s economy is making a “sound” recovery from the global financial slump as domestic demand for goods rises and access to credit returns, central bank President Meirelles said (Bloomberg).

The government has unveiled plans to give the state the lion’s share of the money from vast new oil discoveries. Will this wealth be invested or squandered?

Read the opinion of The Economist