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Brazilian and Latin American stocks in general gained ground, as investors bought discounted shares following Tuesday's (March 28) sell-off on worries the U.S. monetary tightening cycle may last longer than expected.
Brazil's Bovespa Index jumped 809.36 points, or 2.21%. Mexico's benchmark Bolsa Index climbed 202.36 points, or 1.07%, while Argentina's Merval Index added 7.61 points, or 0.42%. Brazilian stocks posted robust gains, as investors went in search of bargains following the sell-off on a finance ministry shakeup and indications from the U.S. Federal Reserve that more interest-rate hikes are on tap. The Fed hiked rates by 25 basis points and said lingering risks to inflation may necessitate further tightening, disappointing some investors who had hoped the Fed would signal an end to its hiking cycle. Higher U.S. interest rates tend to divert investment flows away from emerging markets like Brazil. Meanwhile, reassuring comments from newly appointed Finance Minister Guido Mantega helped to ease concerns that he might abandon the fiscal austerity policies of his predecessor, Antonio Palocci. In comments made earlier this week, Mantega indicated that local interest rates would continue to come down from their sky-high levels and that the pace of reductions might even accelerate. Helping to ease concerns that recent corruption allegations would ensnare President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, an investigation into an alleged bribery network among members of Brazil's Congress found today that Lula was not responsible for the illicit actions of subordinates and political allies in the scheme. "Responsibility cannot lie with the president simply for occupying the top of the power structure of the executive branch, which would mean holding him responsible independently of his awareness of the activity or not," the investigative committee report said. The report also recommended the indictment of 18 members of congress linked to the scandal. In corporate news, steel maker CSN said the company is not for sale and is seeking acquisitions. The statement followed market speculation earlier this week that Mittal Steel and Arcelor were trying to buy CSN. Telecom giant Telemar completed today the sale of non-convertible debentures worth 2.16 billion reais, the largest debenture sale ever in Brazil for a non- financial company. A major investment bank raised its 2006 and 2007 earnings estimate for U.S.- listed shares of Brazil's state-run oil firm Petrobras, citing modestly higher oil prices in 2006, and somewhat stronger foreign exchange assumptions. Separately, Petrobras said yesterday that its executive board has approved the location for a new petrochemicals refinery that will require an initial investment of US$3.5 billion. Elsewhere, Mexican shares advanced after retreating the past two days amid expectations of further U.S. interest-rate increases. Media shares were active after a Senate committee yesterday voted narrowly in favor of a new radio and television law that is expected to benefit Televisa and TV Azteca, as broadcast signals are switched to digital from analog. A vote by the full Senate is expected tomorrow. Also, copper miner Grupo Mexico was in focus, as a strike at the company's La Caridad mine entered its sixth day today. Argentine issues edged higher, helped by strength in shares of Banco Macro Bansud, following the recent debut of its American Depositary Receipts in New York. Steel shares also managed solid gains. In economic news, Argentine supermarket sales rose 0.3% in February from January and were up 6.7% on the year, while shopping center sales dipped 0.6% on the month and rose 17.4% on the year. 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.