Brazil’s JBS, the world’s biggest meat company, has a message for U.S. carnivores: We’ve got you covered.
Amid a rash of slaughterhouse shutdowns in the U.S. related to the coronavirus pandemic, the chief financial officer of JBS said his company can scale up exports from Australia and has idle capacity in Brazil for beef shipments to the U.S.
By Fabiana Batista and Tatiana Freitas via San Antonio Express News
Brazil’s private sector will drive the nation’s recovery from the coronavirus pandemic, Economy Minister Paulo Guedes said amid signs he is getting the upper hand in a struggle over the federal budget.
By Marta Viotti Beck via Bloomberg
Lisa Goldman, CPA, TEP, M.Tax | Rebeccah Fontaine, J.D., LL.M of Berdon LLP Beth Tractenberg, J.D. | Zvi Hahn, J.D., LL.M, LL.B. | George McCormick, J.D., LL.M. of Steptoe & Johnson LLP
In our recent advisory—COVID-19 and the Unintended Resident; the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly— we alerted non-U.S. citizens unable to leave the United States due to COVID-19 travel disruptions of the potential tax implications of their unintended stay in the country. The IRS apparently heard the call and recently issued Revenue Procedure 2020-20 that provides guidance and relief for foreign individuals and corporations as it pertains to U.S. tax residency.
Brazil’s National Petroleum Agency, or ANP, issued Monday new rules and procedures for deactivating mature oil and natural gas fields that should result in about $5 billion in investments over the next five years as Latin America’s biggest producer shutters legacy assets amid the dramatic economic downturn caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
No dia 24 de abril (sexta-feira) o governo dos Estados Unidos anunciou a retomada do Paycheck Protection Program, iniciativa que já ajudou mais de 1,66 milhão de pequenos empresários e protegeu mais de 30 milhões de empregos no país. Com a nova rodada de fundos disponibilizada pelo Congresso, muitos outros empregadores e empregadores serão beneficiados pela medida de alívio dos impactos ocasionados pela crise do coronavírus.
Além disso, o Setor de Promoção Comercial (SECOM) do Consulado-Geral do Brasil segue atuando em favor dos investimentos e da promoção do comércio de empresários brasileiros nos Estados Unidos, também com o objetivo de contornar os efeitos econômicos da pandemia.
Para explorar mais a fundo as opções disponíveis para empreendedores em território norte-americano, a Drummond Advisors convida o Ministro Fernando Sena, do Consulado-Geral do Brasil em Nova York, para um bate-papo esclarecedor sobre as ações que vêm sendo tomadas para auxiliar empresários a atravessar as próximas semanas de incerteza.
Convidado Especial: Ministro Fernando Sena – Consulado-Geral do Brasil em Nova York
O webinar é gratuito e contará com os experts do Time Drummond respondendo suas dúvidas sobre essas iniciativas ao vivo.
29 de abril, 2020 – 05:00 PM in Eastern Time (US and Canada)
The Federal Government issued another set of rules to facilitate access to credit and minimize the economic effects of the pandemic COVID-19, informs the “Agency Senate.”
MP
According to the Provisional Measure 958/2020 published in the Official Gazette (DOU) on Monday (27), it was determined that until September 30, 2020, public banks are not required to fulfill certain obligations in time to renew and new loans. Before the MP, for example, without proof that the person voted in the last election, it was paid their fine or that if properly justified, the voter could not borrow to financial institutions. Now, such a requirement is temporarily suspended.
Via DATAGRO
The release of working capital facilities to companies affected by coronavirus pandemic totaled R $ 1.1 billion, today reported on Thursday (23) the National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES), informs the “Agency Brazil” . The amount is equivalent to 22% of R credit line of $ 5 billion announced last month to help micro, small and medium enterprises.
Via DATAGRO
São Paulo – Amid the crisis wrought by the Covid-19 pandemic, which has countries around the world embracing self-isolation among other measures, Brazil stepped up its imports in some sectors this month. Foreign purchases went up for items including sanitary equipment and accessories, livestock, pipes, tubes and hoses, wheat, coal, fertilizers, taps, ethylene polymers and electric generators.
Via Brazil-Arab News Agency
Module-level technologies are driving strong efficiency readings within Brazil’s portfolio of solar projects, data from the country’s industry regulator is finding.
GCL SI expects the market to rebound from any lasting effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, with the market boasting a strong pipeline of projects and appetite for solar PV.
Via PV Tech
April 24 (Renewables Now) – Oil and gas major Royal Dutch Shell Plc (AMS:RDSA) has submitted to Brazil’s power sector regulator Aneel a plan for the development of 130 MW of solar photovoltaic (PV) projects.
By Lucas Morais via Renewables Now
Our member Littler Mendelson PC is offering important tips to help employers navigate the Covid 19 pandemic.
As the federal, state, and local governments are starting to unveil their return-to-work plans, employers are anxious to resume operations and get employees back to the workplace. At Littler, we understand that the “next normal” looks different for every organization, each with its own unique workforce, business goals, and concerns. To address these and other issues stemming from the current pandemic, Littler continues to build on its COVID‑19 offerings through comprehensive resources that can help employers start the return-to-work conversation.
Brazil exported 9.16 million mt of soybeans in the first three weeks of April, up 28% month on month, according to a report by the Brazilian foreign trade department.
The average daily soybeans shipment stood at 763,763 mt in April so far, the report said Monday.
Via Hellenic Shipping News
The “Brazil – Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband – Statistics and Analyses” report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com’s offering.
The Brazilian fixed-line market continues to suffer from consumers substituting services for mobile and VoIP solutions, the latter offerings being treated as value-add and thus not being regulated. As a result, VoIP services are offered by many providers.
Via Yahoo Finance
The closure of the borders to contain the spread of COVID-19 has impacted not only tourism and business travel, but also international trade & supply chain.
Law firm Baker McKenzie recently estimated global trade fell 4 per cent during the first quarter of this year – only the second time it has plunged so deeply since the mid-1980s. The IMF predicts imports and exports in advanced economies will each fall by more than 11 per cent this year, “far worse” than the 2008-09 financial crisis. An idled economy needs far less transportation capacity, and a massive idling of ships, trucks and airplanes is already under way. But modern countries still require fertilizers, grains and food. They still need disinfectants to treat drinking water. The products still wanted and needed by consumers is moving through transportation networks that have become far more unpredictable and unreliable – leading to logistical nightmares and increased costs.
Of all the major modes of transport, air cargo seems to have been most affected. That’s because passenger aircraft carry large volumes in their holds – meaning that the suspension of passenger flights globally has resulted in a significant reduction of airfreight capacity, posing a massive challenge in the timely delivery of all types of cargo, especially refrigerated cargo.
Freight forwarders, which facilitate the movements of goods worldwide, are among the many parties grappling with this logistical whiplash. The constant changes in rates and frequent frequent last-minute cancellations are forcing them to search for alternative ways to ship goods.
Join the Brazilian-Canadian Chamber of Commerce this Friday, April 24th at 1:00 PM for a conversation with Arnon Melo, President at MELLOHAWK Logistics to understand what are the available solutions for companies looking to move reefer cargo between Brazil and Canada.
SAO PAULO, April 20 (Xinhua) — Chinese truck maker Foton is moving to online sales in Brazil, due to an expected rise in demand for light commercial vehicles driven by the boom in online sales and home delivery services.
“Due to the lockdown, online sales have become more important, and that is a trend that is here to stay,” said Luiz Carlos Mendonca de Barros, president of Foton’s board of directors in Brazil, Latin America’s largest economy, in an interview with Xinhua.
Via Xinhua Net
SAO PAULO (Reuters) – Brazilian food retailer GPA (PCAR3.SA) on Wednesday reported gross revenue of 21.6 billion reais ($4.1 billion) in the first quarter for operations including Argentina, Colombia and Uruguay, up 14% year-on-year.
By Gabriella Mello via Reuters
Brazilian LPG sales are soaring as stay-at-home orders boost demand for the popularly used cooking gas.
In 12 Brazilian states, including Sao Paulo, LPG demand increased by more than 30pc and in another seven states demand is up by 10pc-20pc in the first half of April compared to the same period of 2019, according to hydrocarbons regulator ANP.
Via Argus Media
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SAO PAULO (Reuters) – Volkswagen AG (VOWG_p.DE) said on Monday it will keep its factories in Brazil, South America’s top auto producer, shut through the end of the month, but that a decision has not been made on whether it will reopen them in May or later.
The automaker has just reached a tentative deal with its unions that will keep workers net salaries intact, Volkswagen said. Gross salaries will be reduced but Brazil’s government will help make up the difference with subsidies.
By Marcelo Rochabrun via Reuters
BRASILIA (Reuters) – Brazil appears set to embark cautiously on unconventional monetary policy using small interventions to tackle dysfunction in bond markets, as it does with foreign exchange, but the severity of the crisis may ultimately force it to emulate the dramatic steps taken in the United States and Europe.
Congress is debating a bill to grant the central bank emergency powers to carry out “quantitative easing” or QE as part of its crisis-fighting arsenal, allowing it to buy public and private financial assets during national emergencies.
By Jamie McGeever via Yahoo Finance
The Brazilian agribusiness exports to China are and [will] be preserved, says the study “Prospects of China’s economic development post-covid-19 and impacts on the Brazilian economy,” prepared by Inovasia Consulting. “We have not detected by China retreat requests to agricultural product orders from Brazil,” says Felipe Zmoginski, survey coordinator.
The survey was conducted between the months of February and March with interviews collected in China and use of data from Tsinghua University and the National Statistics Office of China. According to Zmoginski, the food chain has been little affected in China, with importers seeking to anticipate any supply problem.
By DATAGRO
SAO PAULO, April 15 (Reuters) – MercadoLibre’s financial services arm, Mercado Pago, is extending a 600 million-real ($114 million) credit line to help Brazilian medium and small businesses face the sharp drop in economic activity caused by the new coronavirus crisis.
“We aim to help sellers in our platform, mainly small businesses,” said Pedro de Paula, head of Brazil credit at MercadoLibre, an operator of online marketplaces.
By Aluisio Alves via Reuters
Published in an extra edition of the 22nd March 2020, Provisional Measure (MP) No. 927/20 regulates the adjustments in the labor laws announced by the government to minimize the impact of the declared public emergency until December 31, 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The rule establishes that, during this period, the agreement between employer and employee will prevail over any other legal act, provided that the agreement is signed in writing, aimed at maintaining employment and obey the limits provided for in the Federal Constitution.
BRASILIA/SAO PAULO (Reuters) – Brazil’s Economy Ministry is talking with banks about providing bailouts to sectors such as airlines, automakers, power companies and large retailers to help them survive the coronavirus crisis, bank executives confirmed on Wednesday in live presentations.
Reuters reported earlier on Wednesday that Brazil’s biggest lenders – such as Banco Bradesco, Itau Unibanco Holding SA (ITUB4.SA), Banco Santander Brasil and Banco do Brasil SA (BBAS3.SA) – have discussed with the country’s central bank and development bank BNDES how and which financial instruments could be used to rescue embattled companies.
By Marcela Ayres and Carolina Mandl via Reuters
The Central Bank of Brazil has kicked off a new phase in the testing process for Pix, the upcoming national instant payments platform, with the simulation of transfers.
The tests of the technology underpinning the settlement infrastructure will see participating institutions testing their settlement flows, so the process where resources are transferred from the payer to the recipient, with fictitious data.
By Angelica Mari via ZD Net
China launched an online fair for 15 days on Tuesday (14) to promote cooperation between Chinese and Latin American companies, reports “Xinhua” agency. The digital display of international trade China-Latin America (Mexico), sponsored by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPCI), attracted around 2000 domestic companies and about 5000 foreign buyers.
The exhibition is closely monitoring the market demand in Latin America and offers the online trading opportunities companies and precise partnership services through big data, said Gao Yan, head of CCPCI.
Via DATAGRO
RIO DE JANEIRO — When 97-year-old Brazilian Gina Dal Colleto was hospitalized on April 1 with coronavirus symptoms, few could have thought she would survive the deadly virus.
On Sunday, however, Dal Colleto was pushed in a wheelchair out of Sao Paulo’s Vila Nova Star hospital to applause from doctors and nurses, becoming the oldest known survivor of COVID-19 in Brazil, the Latin American country worst-hit by the outbreak.
Via NBC News
A pandemia causada pelo coronavírus está acelerando alguns projetos que já tinham sido iniciados recentemente. Como o Delivery Robô, do Grupo de Mobilidade Inteligente da Escola Politécnica da Universidade de São Paulo (USP), que começou a ser projetado em julho de 2019 para realizar serviços de separação e entrega de medicamentos a pacientes e exames laboratoriais e até limpeza e esterilização do Hospital Universitário da USP, o HU. Sua implementação pode resultar em um saldo menor de doentes e óbitos entre os profissionais da saúde.
By Deborah Moreira via SEESP
RIO DE JANEIRO — Netflix announced Tuesday April 14, the creation of a 5 million reals ($1 million) fund to support local below-the-line production employees and free-lancers not able to work due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The aid will be distributed by the Brazilian Institute of Audiovisual Content (ICAB), an arm of leading industry organization Brazil Audiovisual Independent (BRAVI). It will help up to 5,000 workers with one part of the local monthly minimum wage of US$200. It targets personnel involved in production tasks, such as cinematography, sound, art design, makeup, scenography, and logistics.
By Marcelo Cajueiro via Variety
The Plenary of the House of Representatives approved on Monday (13), Union financial assistance to states, Federal District and municipalities to offset the revenue loss of ICMS and ISS this year compared to 2019. The decrease is forecast pandemic caused by COVID-19. The text (Project of Complementary Law 149/19) will be sent to the Senate, reports the “Agency Board”.
The matter was approved by 431 votes to 70, in the form of substitute Pedro Paulo deputy (DEM-RJ), and provides that the money should be used in actions against the coronavirus. The funds will be delivered from May to October and refer to the collection of difference, if any, between the months from April to September of both years. Thus, for example, in September is not observed drop in income, no pass.
Via DATAGRO
Sao Paulo, the state at the epicenter of Brazil’s coronavirus cases, is using geo-referenced data provided by the nation’s main telecom firms to monitor the adherence to quarantine measures.
The government is now able to monitor areas where there’s greater movement and concentration of people so it can step in and reinforce the need for social distancing, state secretary for economic development Patricia Ellen said in a press conference Thursday. Firms providing data include Telefonica SA and Telecom Italia SpA’s Brazilian units, as well as Claro SA and Oi SA. The government doesn’t have access to individualized data to protect people’s privacy, she added.
By Vinicius Andrade via Bloomberg
Homebound the past few weeks, what I miss is pretty straightforward: I want to see friends again, go to galleries, visit my favorite Mexican restaurant. But every so often I find myself lingering on more grandiose possibilities, topmost of which is a trip to Inhotim, a 250-acre sculpture park about an hour and a half’s drive from Belo Horizonte, Brazil.
Full disclosure: I’m partially motivated by regret. As the Bloomberg Pursuits arts writer, I get to travel a lot for my job, and while far-flung art fairs and biennials can be eye-opening, I find that at these events I spend more time with the so-called art world than the art itself. That was one of the reasons I pitched a straightforward piece on Brazil’s art scene—no mention of commerce needed.
By James Tarmy via Bloomberg
In December 2019 the group of collaborating economists released a paper stating that the value of all great whales worldwide is approximately one trillion US dollars.
Via Oceanographic
Brazil is home to 13% of the world’s forested area.
But in recent years the country has seen a huge increase in deforestation due to land use change and agriculture.
While the largest proportions of greenhouse gas emissions in other countries comes from the energy and transport sector, in Brazil deforestation is a huge emitter.
By Barbara Brakarz via Climate Home News
BRASILIA – Brazil’s health minister said on Wednesday that the country’s attempts to purchase thousands of ventilators from China to fight a growing coronavirus epidemic had fallen through and the government is now looking to Brazilian companies to build the devices.
“Practically all our purchases of equipment in China are not being confirmed,” Minister Luiz Henrique Mandetta said at a news conference.
Via Voa News
São Paulo – Egypt has accredited 42 new Brazilian companies to export meat to its market. The plants are 15 beef packers and 27 poultry packers that can now sell to the Arab country after Egypt’s General Organization for Veterinary Services issued the accreditation on March 31.
The agricultural attaché of the Embassy of Brazil to Cairo, Cesar Simas Teles, told ANBA the Arab country has also renewed the accreditation of 95 exporters that were already in the marketing, including 82 bovine slaughterhouses. According to Teles, the negotiation for the new accreditations involved the Secretariat of Trade and Foreign Relations and the Secretariat of Agricultural Defense of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply, as well as Brazil’s Embassy in Egypt and Egyptian health offices.
By Thais Sousa via Brazil-Arab News Agency
A message from Embratur for when everything is back to normal. Come fall in love with Brazil!
The coronavirus should affect all sectors of the economy, but, among all, one has advantage and should come out unscathed from the crisis: agribusiness. The statement is the professor and expert in the field FECAP José Luiz Tejon Megiddo.
According Tejon, the macro sector of agribusiness moves about U $$ 20 trillion in global market including the entire production chain of “before, in and post-gate” of the farms. And, in his evaluation, with high commodity prices and the dollar, they are great prospects for Brazil.
Via DATAGRO
SAO PAULO (Reuters) – Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp (9984.T) reached an agreement to invest 250 million reais ($48 million) in pet products online retailer Petlove, the companies said in a statement on Tuesday.
By Carolina Mandl and Tatiana Bautzer
BRASILIA, April 7 (Reuters) – Retail sales in Brazil surged in February, recording their biggest rise for that month in six years, with consumers’ urge to spend yet to be affected by the looming coronavirus crisis, official figures showed on Tuesday.
Sales volumes excluding cars and building materials jumped 1.2% in February from January, government statistics agency IBGE said, much stronger than the median estimate in a Reuters poll of economists of a 0.3% decline.
By Jamie McGeever via Reuters
Quero supports private education providers through crisis
Private higher education firms are expected to see a 20% revenue drop in the period between June and September this year, according to Quero Educação, a Brazilian startup that provides technology to the sector. The edtech, owner of a marketplace that connects students to private education providers, predicts a greater number of students won’t manage to keep up their financial commitments in education over the period, compared to the same period in 2019.
By Angelica Mari via Forbes
Brazil has launched a blockchain platform that will allow its three main market regulators to share information seamlessly. The platform is known as PIER and was launched jointly by the Securities and Exchanges Commission (CVM), the private insurance superintendent (SUSEP) and the Banco Central do Brasil (BCB).
While announcing the big move, the CVM stated that the use of blockchain technology is a leap in quality for information security in Brazil. PIER will make access of information siloed by the three institutions safer, broader and more direct, an analyst with the CVM, Frederico Shu stated.
By Steve Kaaru via Coin Geek
Residents are still running errands, and motorbikes are still weaving through traffic on the narrow, busy streets. Some shops have closed – but many are very much open, despite a state-wide quarantine. When people here live hand-to-mouth, how do you tell them to shut up shop?
Covid-19 is seen by many in favelas as a rich person’s disease brought in from abroad, but as the virus spreads, they worry that the poor will suffer the most.
By Katy Watson via BBC News
Gathered in session of Congress on Thursday (02), Senators approved with 78 votes in favor and none opposed the bill that regulates the execution of impositive amendments to the budget (PLN 2/2020), informs the “Agency Senate”.
Moreover, the text was changed to allow the federal government has budgetary margin to increase spending to deal with the economic consequences, social and health pandemic COVID-19, a disease caused by a new coronavirus. Before the senators, federal deputies had approved the project in the morning, early in the virtual session of Congress by 441 votes in favor and 1 opposed. The PLN 2/2020 goes to presidential approval.
Via DATAGRO
As Brazilian companies adapt to new ways of working due to the COVID-19 pandemic, staff are managing to do their jobs remotely, but other areas of people management are being impacted as companies don’t know how to handle certain processes away from the office.
A significant number of Brazilian medium and large-sized organizations had to improvise as employers shut offices down to slow the spread of coronavirus. Some 41% of 240 respondents polled by recruitment consultancy Robert Half said employers rushed to put policies together in the last minute to respond to quarantine measures introduced in states across the country between March 18 and 19.
By Angelica Mari via ZD Net
BRASILIA, April 1 (Reuters) – Brazil’s government on Wednesday launched a program that will allow companies hit by the coronavirus crisis to reduce workers’ salaries and hours, or temporarily suspend contracts, in order to preserve as many jobs as possible.
The program could potentially help save up to 12 million jobs, according to Economy Ministry estimates, and will cost the Treasury 51 billion reais ($10 billion).
By Marcela Ayres and Gabriel Ponte via Yahoo Finance
Our fellow Eduarda Zoghbi has created a platform for women empowerment that produces regular content in the form of podcasts.
“We strive to create a platform for dialogue among women from around the world. Our focus is on women change makers, their experiences and stories, and sharing it globally with our podcast.”
The audit of imports of plant products and by-products is already being processed in a single system the federal government: the Single Foreign Trade Portal. The system enables a safer and more responsive control of imports.
It is a concerted effort between the Ministry of Agriculture Livestock and Supply and the Ministry of Economy, with the aim of reducing bureaucracy in Brazilian ports, promoting the facilitation of international trade insurance.
Via DATAGRO
The Senate approved on Monday (30) the payment of an emergency aid for three months in the amount of R $ 600, for the self-employed, informal and without fixed income workers, reports the “Agency Brazil.” Called “coronavoucher”, help comes to repair the losses of income for some slices of society during the period of isolation when job opportunities for these categories are scarce.
The approval was unanimous, with 79 votes in favor and support of the opposition senators and the government. The PSL leader in the Senate, Major Olimpio (SP), was one of several parliamentarians who have spoken. “We are in need of such initiatives in the vein inject money for citizens buy food and survive this calamity. The first time that money will come into the hand of the people will be in this project. It calamity, people are in need. ”
Via DATAGRO
SAO PAULO, March 30 (Reuters) – Brazil’s government is considering an emergency loan package for energy distributors struggling with lower energy use and facing lost revenues because of the coronavirus outbreak, an industry group told Reuters on Monday.
Marcos Madureira, president of Brazilian energy distributors association Abradee, said the package being negotiated by companies and the government could involve loans from state development bank BNDES or a pool of banks, but that the value of the loans and other details was not yet settled
By Luciano Costa via Reuters
