Chevron Corp received a boost to its efforts to restart oil output in Brazil after a court overturned a ban on its operating in the country and the company agreed on a plan to improve safety procedures after an oil spill last year.

Brazil's economy posted extremely disappointing growth in the third quarter, piling pressure on President Dilma Rousseff to make deeper structural reforms and adding to fears that big emerging markets are getting dragged into the stagnant morass of the global economy.

JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) sees a strong government presence in Brazil as a source for new business leads, a senior banker said on Thursday, highlighting the growing clout of the nation's public sector as an investment-banking client.

Lewis Hamilton will say an emotional farewell to McLaren in Brazil next weekend as a winner, even if Formula One's season-ending race is all about someone else taking the title.

A massive blackout left as many as 53 million Brazilians in the dark late Thursday and early Friday, the latest in a string of energy shortages that have raised questions about whether Brazil's infrastructure is keeping pace with economic growth.

German automaker BMW (BMWG.DE) plans to invest 800 million reais ($395 million) to build a new assembly plant in Brazil, sources with direct knowledge of the project told Reuters on Friday.

British Prime Minister David Cameron had oil and sports on his mind when he visited Brazil this week seeking business opportunities in the South American nation that overtook Britain last year to become the world's No. 6 economy.

Google Inc's most senior executive inBrazil was questioned by police and released on Wednesday after the company failed to take down YouTube videos attacking a mayoral candidate in violation of local electoral law.

Vale (VALE5.SA), the world's second-largest mining company, is likely to make its $19.5 billion Serra Sul iron ore mine project in Brazil a priority over a similar development in the West African nation of Guinea, a source with knowledge of the firm's strategy said.

Latin America's two largest economies should be expanding rather than curbing trade flows, Mexico's President-elect Enrique Pena Nieto said on Thursday in veiled criticism of a Brazilian restriction on Mexican car imports.

Brazil's petroleum regulator ANP appealed an injunction on Monday banning Transocean Ltd (RIG.N) and Chevron Corp (CVX.N) from operating in Brazil on the grounds the ban would harm oil exploration in the country, ANP chief Magda Chambriard said.

Brazil's bank workers will take to the streets next week to demand higher pay, the latest in a spree of labor disputes afflicting Latin America's largest economy.

To many in this coastal metropolis, Rio de Janeiro has never had it so good.

Brazil's government is exploring ways to ease immigration rules in order to attract up to 10 times more foreign professionals and help spur economic growth, a senior official told Reuters.

An injunction banning No. 2 U.S. oil company Chevron Corp and its drilling contractor Transocean Ltd from operating in Brazil was upheld by a panel of three Brazilian federal judges on Tuesday while charges over a November oil spill are being considered.

Brazil appears to have the best long-term prospects among rising economic powers, thanks to its stable policy framework, ample natural resources and good relationship with its neighbors, former U.S. President Bill Clinton said on Tuesday in a ringing endorsement of an economy that has struggled lately.

Norway's environment minister on Friday urged Brazil and Indonesia to avoid backtracking on policies to protect tropical forests, saying up to $2 billion in aid promised by Oslo hinged on proof of slower rates of forest clearance.

Brazil's government is exploring ways to ease immigration rules in order to attract up to 10 times more foreign professionals and help spur economic growth, a senior official told Reuters.

The ministry overseeing Brazil's new $66 billion infrastructure plan was also ground zero for a spectacular corruption scandal last year in which officials allegedly demanded 5 percent kickbacks on highway construction projects and then pushed carts down the hallways to hand out the cash.

Chevron (CVX.N), the No. 2 U.S. oil company, has appealed against an injunction banning it and its drilling contractor Transocean Ltd (RIG.N) from operating in Brazil while civil and criminal charges over an oil spill last November are judged.

Brazil's government on Wednesday unveiled measures to lure up to $133 billion reais in private investment for road and rail projects, part of a new state-led effort to improve the country's aging and overburdened infrastructure.