Brazil’s new sports minister has reassured the world that the country is on track to host what is expected to be one of the most entertaining football World Cups in history. After the controversy surrounding the former sports minister Orlando Silva, who quit amidst claims of corruption, his successor Aldo Rebelo is seen as a beacon of light. Mr Rebelo, who is extremely well-respected and liked among the political elite, is known for his no-nonsense approach to corruption. Speaking at the annual Soccerex convention, he said: “It is not only the world of football that is going through tough times because of claims of corruption, problems with racism, intolerance. These facts are undesirable.”These are things that are happening in the whole world.” Addressing concerns about infrastructure developments – particularly airports and stadiums – Mr Rebelo assured delegates at …

One of the major areas of growth in Brazil will be in infrastructure, according to a manager.Will Landers, manager of the BlackRock Latin American Investment Fund, said he was “encouraged” by the South American country’s efforts to take decisive action on rising inflation, reported the Financial Times.This growth in infrastructure is being driven by the efforts to whip the country in shape in time for the 2014 Football World Cup and the Olympic Games in 2016.”Brazil continues to be a compelling investment story for a variety of reasons: its growing middle class, record low levels of unemployment and its ambitious infrastructure programmes including preparations for the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympic Games,” he told the Telegraph.He added that the future growth of countries like Brazil and Mexico, two of the biggest countries in the region, were inextricably tied to domestic economies, hinting at a cautious trading approach with embattled …

Chinese investors from the private sector and government officials are keen on developing closer ties with the western Brazilian state Mato Grosso.In a meeting with the state’s governor, Silval da Cunha Barbosa, Chinese businessmen and delegates of the China Development Bank and China National Machinery expressed a serious interest in investment opportunities, reported Macauhub.”Investment in transport, especially railroads, opens up a great opportunity to explore ore mines in the State, which is a sector that is also of interest to the Chinese businesspeople” said Franciso Vuolo, secretary to Accompany Intermodal Transport Logistics.There is a lot of movement between respective organisations operating in Brazil and China as both countries look to cement further ties with one another.China Construction Bank, for example, is looking to open a bank in Brazil to make trading easier. According to the Financial Times, one of the reasons for such a move is to encourage Brazilians to …

The German chancellor Angela Merkel wants emerging economies like Brazil to curb their carbon emissions.Merkel told her colleagues in the German parliaments that BRIC countries, especially Brazil, India and China had to agree on new measures to cut their CO2 emissions, reported Reuters.She said: “Worldwide CO2 emissions this year were higher than ever. We are in an extremely difficult situation where the Kyoto Protocol expires, we have not got far and an extension of the protocol will unfortunately not happen in Durban.”It is a particularly tricky situation for the South American country as a growing economy is matched by greater development, which in turn increases dependency on fossil fuels.”That means that we are unfortunately becoming a world where the increasingly important economies are not appropriately contributing to a sustainable environment,” Merkel said.However, Brazil is committed to creating a sustainable green economy.Ahead of next year’s United Nations Conference on

Brazil has banned Chevron from drilling in the country until it gets to the bottom of an offshore oil spill earlier this month.The National Petroleum Agency (NPA), the South American country’s oil and gas regulator, wants answers from the US company.Until then, Chevron’s drilling rights have been taken away and its activities suspended.The Brazilian government is deeply unhappy with the way the company has conducted its investigations.In a statement, the NPA said: “We made the decision based on analyses and our technical observations, which showed negligence when the company gathered basic data in preparation for drilling and also during the process of abandoning the area, as well as a lack of attention to the industry’s best practices.”According to the BBC, Brazil has discovered billions of barrels of oil in deep water in recent years.Making this oil accessible could radically transform the fortunes of the country and make it a big …

Thousands of Brazilian homosexuals marched along the famous Copacabana beach promenade this weekend.The gay pride parade called on authorities in the country to ban homophobia in order to increase equality.Earlier this year the Brazilian Supreme Federal Tribunal made a landmark ruling to grant people in “stable, enduring and public” same-sex relationships the same rights as straight married couples.Gay, lesbian, transgender and cross-dressing marchers walked alongside trucks and floats in the parade to celebrate the success of the legislation and call on the nation to do even more to promote equality.Organisers had hoped for some 1.5 million people at the march, but it is thought closer to 700,000 were present at the colourful event.Gay rights activist Claudio Nascimento said the community wanted to “call for peace, not homophobia”, adding that homophobia should be considered on a par with racial or religious intolerance, the Associated Press reported.

Brazil is still a country boasting plentiful opportunities for investors.However, an expert has suggested that those new to investing in anything from commodities to Brazilian real estate should ensure they do their homework first.Luis Fernando Lopez Cobo, president of Mergium Advisors, in a special for the Miami Herald, said that Brazil’s manufacturing industry accounts for a third of the country’s GDP.”Any investor thinking [of] doing business in Brazil needs to have key information regarding: (a) how to enter the market, (b) sources of funding, (c) investment incentives, (d) taxes, (e) labour, and (f) international trade,” he explained.Writing for Streetauthority.com, David Sterman, an investment analyst for nearly two decades, also said that Brazil offers a number of exciting opportunities despite having numerous ups and downs this decade.He cited Brazil as one of his top seven emerging nations in which to invest, closely followed by Turkey and India.

Brazil has so much to offer investors that it has been cited as a favourite by an industry expert.Writing for Streetauthority.com, David Sterman, an investment analyst for nearly two decades, said that Brazil and Turkey provide some of the most exciting opportunities this year.”These countries have seen all kinds of ups and downs through the decades, but they now appear to be on a very stable path. I’ve extolled Brazil and Turkey’s virtues in earlier articles,” he explained.Mr Sterman said that while commodity-focused countries such as Brazil are at risk from the deep recession in the US and Europe, it is still expected to see sustained or even accelerated growth.He named the country as one of his top seven emerging markets to invest in, alongside Turkey, India, Indonesia, Colombia, Vietnam and Thailand.Meanwhile, the announcement of a plan to deal with the Eurozone debt crisis saw the Brazilian real strengthen against …

Last month the Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff spoke at the UN National Assembly about the need for action to prevent the debt crisis in the Eurozone worsening.Now, as a result of increasing hopes of a European Union plan to manage regional debt problems recapitalised the banks, the Brazilian real has strengthened against the US dollar.Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy at the weekend agreed to an investment deal to boost the Greek economy, with more detailed plans set to emerge in the coming weeks.”The announcement has revived hopes for stability in Europe,” said Mario Battistel, foreign exchange manager of Sao Paulo’s Fair brokerage, told the Wall Street Journal.”That, in turn, has led to a reduction in risk-aversion among global investors, with money flowing into stocks and commodities.”In addition to the strengthening real, central bank chief Alexandre Tombini claimed that October will see inflation start to slow in Brazil.

Dilma Rousseff, president of Brazil, has called for interest rates to be lowered in response to global economic difficulties, which could interest investors considering buying Brazilian property.She called for her country to seize the opportunities presented by the global financial crisis by making money in the country cheaper.The president claimed it was “inadmissible” for policymakers to fail to consider the possibility of a global recession or depression and to factor this into their decisions.She told Bloomberg: “As the financial crisis gets worse, this time we’ll take advantage of it. We hope, and we can, initiate a cycle of reductions in the benchmark rate.”President Rousseff warned that Brazil cannot afford to misjudge what is happening and stated that it must create a space where the central bank is able to act to cut interest rates.Earlier this month, Property-Abroad.com director Les Calvert highlighted the importance of economic research for those considering when …