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Latin American stocks were mixed to higher, with Brazilian stocks advancing, as signs of accelerating local inflation failed to dent optimism about the economy and interest rates.
Meanwhile, Mexican shares climbed on bargain hunting following a four-day decline. On the down side, Argentine issues were dragged down by investor caution ahead of earnings releases later this month. Brazil's Bovespa Index gained 382.90 points, or 1.05%. Mexico's benchmark Bolsa Index added 108.09 points, or 0.59%, while Argentina's Merval Index dropped 12.7 points, or 0.74%. Brazilian stocks jumped, as investors shrugged off a report showing consumer price inflation accelerated in January due in part to higher ethanol fuel prices. The Brazilian Census Bureau (IBGE) said the government's official IPCA consumer price index rose 0.59% in January compared with a 0.36% increase in December, exceeding expectations for inflation of 0.55%. Inflation in the twelve months through January accelerated to 5.70% from 5.69% for the full- year 2005. The data was the latest sign of mounting inflation, bolstering expectations that Brazil's central bank will continue to cut Brazil's lofty Selic interest rate at a gradual pace. Strong industrial output data released Tuesday also fueled expectations for a continued gradual approach to rate cuts. In corporate news, mining giant Companhia Vale do Rio Doce (CVRD) said that it sold its stake in ferrosilicon producer Nova Era Silicon to JFE Steel Corporation for US$ 14 million. CVRD said the sale is part of its move to focus on manganese ore and alloys production through wholly owned subsidiaries. Shares of steel maker Gerdau were active again after the company announced upbeat fourth-quarter earnings results. The company also said it was raising its expected capital investment budget in a bid to modernize and expand its steel plants. State-run oil giant Petrobras was in focus after confirming yesterday that it has been in talks with Russian natural gas monopoly Gazprom about a possible cooperation of the two companies. Elsewhere, Mexican shares were in recovery mode today, after four-straight losing sessions. The Mexican Stock Exchange delisted shares of 21 firms that did not meet the exchange's requirements. In economic headlines, the Bank of Mexico reported that the Consumer Price Index rose 0.59% in January, lifting annual inflation to 3.94% from 3.33% at December's end. The most recent result was in line with expectations. Retail giant Walmex announced that its sales for 2005 jumped 13.7% to a record 164.4 billion pesos from 2004. The firm also said that its board approved a two-for-one stock split. Walmex will report earnings later this evening. Meanwhile, wireless provider America Movil gave back some of the gains it attained yesterday when it posted strong quarterly financial results. Today, a major investment bank lifted its earnings and share price estimates due to the firm's "higher operating estimates." Fast food operator Alsea SA announced plans to open 89 outlets in 2006, which would bring its total to 815. Included in this year's opening targets are 24 Domino's Pizza stores and 48 Starbucks coffee shops. Select financial firms released earnings last night. Santander Serfin, the Mexican unit of Spain's Santander Central Hispano SA, said that its fourth- quarter net profit rose 3% year over year to 1.53 billion pesos. For the full- year 2005, the firm's net profit rose 9% to 6.75 billion pesos when compared to 2004, while the bank's loan portfolio advanced 11% from a year ago. Separately, Inbursa said that a swap position contributed to a sharp decline in its fourth-quarter net profit. The firm's net profit landed at 390.3 million pesos, compared to 1.46 billion pesos a year ago. For 2005, Inbursa's net profit declined to 2.91 billion pesos from 5.55 billion pesos in 2004. Argentine issues turned lower today, as investors await earnings releases later this month before buying into the market. In economic reports, Universidad Torcuato Di Tella said that consumer confidence slipped 1.5% in February month-over-month, and inched up 0.4% from a year ago. The consumer confidence index is up about 12% since September of last year. In earnings news, power transporter Transener posted a net profit of 612.1 million pesos for the full year ended December 31, compared to a loss of 121.5 million pesos in 2004. Thomson Financial - www.thomsonfinancial.com
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The small, coastal town of Condé is located just a twenty minute's drive from João Pessoa, the capital of Paraíba. The Northeast of Brazil has historically been a place of encounter and mixing between peoples. For millenia groups of indigenous people fished, farmed, migrated and sometimes fought along this large, fertile area. 
The Brazilian diplo-MÁ-cia (bad diplomacy) carries on its accelerated course towards the non-acknowledgment of human rights, although sometimes it takes pleasure in saying that it does precisely the opposite. The visit of Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, is another example of a diplomatic omission that verges on hypocrisy. 
On July 4, 2006, representatives of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay met in Caracas to sign the protocol for the entrance of Venezuela into the Southern Common Market (Mercosur). After two and a half years, the protocol was approved by the legislative bodies of Argentina and Uruguay, and as of now it may be only days away from being ratified by the continent's economic megalith, Brazil. 
Some sectors of the fight against AIDS have suggested that Thabo Mbeki, the former president of South Africa, committed genocide through his absence from the fight against the illness in his country throughout his two terms. 
One hundred and eleven years after Brazil abolished slavery, the number of workers deprived of their freedom is still huge. They raise cattle, produce charcoal, sugar cane or timber. Some of them, most undocumented Bolivians, work in basements of small apparel factories in São Paulo and other metropolis. 
On November 7, 2009 a few friends and I had an opportunity to take a look inside a Brazilian jail outside the city of Rio de Janeiro. We were able to take some amateur footage of our experience on video (see link below). It's no surprise, of course, that the typical Brazilian jail lacks some of the functionality of those in North America or Europe, but our experience that day was quite shocking. 
Depletion of the Amazon Rainforest is not a new concern facing environmentalists, biologists, ecologists, and a growing number of the Amazonian indigenous peoples. For decades they have feared for the fate of the world's most biologically diverse and species-rich hothouse. 
Geisy Arruda made history this week in Brazil, but for all the wrong reasons. What began as a poorly planned fashion statement has become a worldwide tale. Geisy decided to wear a pink mini-dress to her private college in São Paulo state, and after that, all hell broke loose. 
The push of vigilante groups in Rio de Janeiro's favelas (shantytowns) in the last three years is the most important and alarming information of the just-released study by the Rio de Janeiro University's Violence Research Center (Nupev-Uerj). 
A dispute over drug trafficking territory in Rio de Janeiro has intensified lately, leaving in its wake unprecedented acts of violence, such as the downing of a police helicopter in the northern zone of the city on October 17. Three policemen died and another two were injured. This event has drawn the attention of the international media, who are raising the issue of public security for the 2016 Olympics to be held in Rio.