BRASILIA, June 4 (Reuters) – Brazil will scrap a tax on
foreign investments in local debt, a surprise move that could
help stop a sharp depreciation of the country’s currency that
threatens to stoke already high inflation in Latin America’s
largest economy.

In a hastily called press briefing, Finance Minister Guido
Mantega said that a drop in foreign inflows prompted the removal
of the financial transaction tax, known as IOF, on foreign
purchases of government bonds and other fixed-income
investments.

BRASILIA, May 31 (Reuters) – Brazil’s central bank chief has
gone on an unusual media offensive in the wake of Wednesday’s
larger-than-expected interest rate hike, taking to national
television and the pages of the country’s largest newspaper to
justify the decision.

The central bank surprised investors and economists alike
this week by lifting its benchmark lending rate by 50 basis
points to 8.0 percent, confounding predictions for a smaller
increase after data showed that Brazil’s economy fell short of
expectations in the first quarter, growing just 0.6 percent.

BRASILIA, May 29 (Reuters) – Brazil’s central bank raised
its benchmark interest rate on Wednesday to 8 percent from 7.5
percent, stepping up the pace of a tightening cycle to battle
high inflation as Latin America’s largest economy struggles with
slow growth.

The bank’s monetary policy committee, known as Copom, voted
unanimously to hike its Selic rate by 50 basis
points. The decision followed disappointing first quarter growth
that prompted markets to price in a milder 25-basis-point
increase.

BRASILIA, May 29 (Reuters) – Financial markets see the
Brazilian central bank likely hiking interest rates by 25 basis
points to 7.75 percent on Wednesday, changing bets for a steeper
increase after the release of weaker-than-expected economic
growth figures this morning.

A slight majority of analysts and market traders had until
recently bet that the central bank would be more aggressive and
hike its benchmark Selic rate to 8 percent from
7.50 percent to tame inflation.

BRASILIA, May 29 (Reuters) – Brazil is likely to hike
interest rates for the second straight meeting on Wednesday, but
the market remains divided on whether policymakers will maintain
the pace of tightening during a timid recovery or accelerate it
to curb high inflation.

A slight majority of analysts are betting that Brazil’s
central bank will be more aggressive and hike its benchmark
Selic rate to 8 percent from 7.5 percent, according
to a Reuters poll. The rest believe policymakers will opt for a
cautious 25-basis-point increase to 7.75 percent, repeating the
dose from April’s monetary policy meeting.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Brazil should further hike the rate of return on its infrastructure projects if it wants to tap into a limited pool of global capital coveted by regional peers, Mark Ramsey, head of Latin America for Macquarie Capital, said on Friday.

The Australian bank, one of the world’s biggest managers of infrastructure investments, is interested in electricity generation, road, port, airport, railway and real state projects in Latin America’s biggest country.

BRASILIA, May 10 (Reuters) – Brazil campaigned hard to get
the top job at the World Trade Organization this week but behind
closed doors even it acknowledges that the WTO’s main mission -
pushing forward in global trade talks – looks for the moment
like a lost cause.

Instead, President Dilma Rousseff’s government is moving,
albeit cautiously, towards less ambitious bilateral and regional
deals that may have a greater chance of success. Rousseff’s hope
is that more trade could shake Latin America’s most insular
major economy from a surprisingly deep recent slump.

BRASILIA (Reuters) – Roberto Azevedo, picked on Tuesday to head the World Trade Organization, is in every respect the quintessential Brazilian diplomat: a well-spoken, competent and smooth negotiator with a knack for wooing adversaries into his corner.

A career diplomat with two decades of experience dealing with trade disputes, Azevedo will need those qualities more than ever to bridge the gap between developed and developing nations if he wants to reboot stalled global trade negotiations and breathe new life into the Geneva-based WTO.

BRASILIA (Reuters) – The Brazilian government is betting the economy will shift into higher gear in the second half of the year as business confidence improves and stimulus measures take hold, a senior member of the administration told Reuters.

The recovery of Latin America’s largest economy remains uneven with investment slowly rising and industrial output still patchy, fueling expectations of a third straight year of lackluster economic growth.

BRASILIA, May 6 (Reuters) – The Brazilian government,
concerned about systemic risk in the rapid growth of banking
assets, will propose legislation to make shareholders,
bondholders and depositors pay for rescuing troubled banks and
shield taxpayers from the cost of bailouts.

Central Bank President Alexandre Tombini told a banking
seminar on Monday that the legislation aims to mitigate “moral
hazard” by forcing banks to assume full responsibility for their
losses in what is known as a “bail-in.” It was applied in Cyprus
to stop a run on the banks and Canada is also considering rules
to deal with potential bank failures.