USAID Help to Rebuild Town
By Mira Olson, Contributing Reporter
RIO DE JANEIRO – Through their partnership with the US diplomatic mission USAID (United States Agency for International Development), American companies in Brazil are leading a fund-raising initiative to rebuild and revive the devastated town of São Luiz do Paraitinga, 182 kilometers from the city of São Paulo.
This public-private alliance known [...]
IMF Warns of Brazilian Asset Bubble
By Jaylan Boyle, Senior Contributing Reporter
RIO DE JANEIRO – Chief of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Dominique Strauss Khan has handed down a warning to Brazil, among others nations, that there is a very real risk of an ‘asset bubble’ developing in the emerging economies of the world.
An asset bubble (sometimes referred to as a [...]
Big Gains For Brazilian Brands
By Jaylan Boyle, Senior Contributing Reporter
RIO DE JANEIRO – Further evidence that the Brazilian economy is continuing on an upward trajectory was provided recently with the release by independent consultants Brand Finance of its list of “The 500 Most Valuable Brand Names in the World.” In 2009 there were only six Brazilian brands appearing on [...]
Biofuel Merger Forms Industry Giant
By Christine Wipfli, Contributing Reporter
RIO DE JANEIRO – After five months of negotiations, the deal has finally been made to create one of Brazil’s largest Biofuel companies after Brazilian ethanol firm ETH Bioenergy announced at a teleconference that it will acquire its debt-burdened rival Brenco.
The two companies have been looking to consolidate in order [...]
Devon Energy Sells Off Brazil Assets
By Mark Beresford, Senior Contributing Reporter
RIO DE JANEIRO – The largest U.S.-based independent natural gas and oil producer Devon Energy could disclose this week more details about progress in the much anticipated sale of its Brazilian assets, when it holds its year-end 2009 conference call on Wednesday February 17th.
Oklahoma City-based Devon Energy put its international [...]
Recycling Carnival
By Marcela Canavarro, Contributing Reporter
RIO DE JANEIRO – The idea that Carnival is a democratic event where everybody can celebrate also resonates within the business arena. This is especially true within the aluminum recycling chain that generated R$1.6 billion (US$ 857 millions) in Brazil in 2008, according to a report released by ABAL (Brazilian Association [...]
Olympian Opportunities For Expo Firm
By Doug Gray, Senior Contributing Reporter
RIO DE JANEIRO – Set up in 2005 by Dutch entrepreneurs Sebas Van den Ende and Lucille Holtel as a consultancy firm, Real Alliance has grown in five short years to become responsible for some of the largest trade shows of their kind in Latin America, and with huge construction [...]
Mixing Business and Pleasure, YPHH
By Mark Beresford, Contributing Reporter
RIO DE JANEIRO – For many people new to town in the last two years, the Young Professionals Happy Hours (YPHH) have been the perfect occasion for opening doors to new social relationships and business opportunities.
The first event of 2010 – a Feijoada party on Saturday afternoon at the Sheraton [...]
NGO in Vidigal Promotes Citizenship
By Mira Olson, Contributing Reporter
RIO DE JANEIRO – Quenia de Alleluia grew up in a favela, but the 28-year-old coordinator and English instructor at the Wise Up language school in Largo do Machado has traveled the world. She completed her Masters degree in clinical psychology at Northwest University in Seattle, WA and has plans [...]
NGO Uses Fashion to Heal Families
By Mira Olson, Contributing Reporter
RIO DE JANEIRO – The embroidered handbags and handcrafted necklaces showcased during Fashion Rio 2010 this January were not only famous collections or made exclusively for fashion and profit. Among the designers were also mothers from Rio’s most impoverished neighborhoods, and their work aims to help reconstruct families—primarily their own.
This [...]
