VENTURE CAPITAL POST

Standard & Poor has trimmed Brazil's loan rating into "junk territory' following the nation's failure to reduce its fiscal risks and the political hurdles facing the economy of Brazil. The government is hopeful to reform its fiscal strategy amid political challenges and economic slowdown.

The Brazil's central bank will be under pressure to raise interest rate in 2016 amid gripped into the deepening recession. The borrowing cost is expected to rise by 0.25 percent next year. Brazil is suffering from rising inflation and easing productivity.

The labor market in Brazil, one of the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) nations, is fast worsening owing to intensifying recession in the domestic economy. The unemployment rate rose to 7.6 percent from the record low of 4.3 percent at the end of 2014. Many industrial estates in Brazil are running down signaling next big crisis for the economy.

The commodities-fuelled boom has transformed many millions of Brazilian poor people into 'the new middle class' and the ongoing recession is again eroding their spending and earning capacity. Middle-class people in Brazil find it difficult to sustain their living standards amid intensifying economy recession and soaring inflation rate. Many owners of small shops, coffee stalls and other small vendors see their dwindling earnings by more than half during the past three years. As a result, many middle-class people are slashing their spending levels, which result in a cascading impact on other segments.

The trust that manages the $41 Billion Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation filed a lawsuit last Thursday that alleged the widespread corruption at the oil company and which was largely ignored by the auditor. This resulted to the charitable organization's loss of tens of millions of dollars.

Brazil is to detach its internet connection with U.S., Telebras CEO Jorge Bittar said. A submarine cable with over 30 tbps will be installed from Lisbon to Fortaleza. This would boost Internet speed with Europe in 2017.

The widening budget deficit has become a cause of concern for the Brazil. To speed up the economic recovery, the country needs a tax hike to ease the burden, the country's Chief of Staff Aloizio Mercadante said.

British engineering crown jewel Rolls-Royce is dragged into the giant Brazilian scandal, as it has been accused of giving kickbacks to officials involved in the state-owned oil giant Petrobras.

Whether Brazilians like it or not they are again headed for their worst economic crisis. The government reported Friday that the country's gross domestic product (GDP) had plunged 1.9% in Q2 alone and once again putting the nation into a technical recession.

Brazilian telecom group Oi SA (OIBR3.SA) is reconsidering the sale of its African assets as relations improve with an estranged partner, Chief Executive Bayard Gontijo said on Monday.

Executives at Brazil's Petrobras on Thursday sought to move on from a giant corruption scandal that has plagued the state-run oil company, outlining a back-to-basics recovery plan that left some investors hoping the worst was over.

The Obama administration has again invited Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff for a state visit to Washington, a diplomatic breakthrough that both sides hope will lead over time to greater trade between the two biggest economies in the Americas.

President Dilma Rousseff appealed to Brazilians on Sunday to back fiscal austerity policies, while saying that the belt-tightening will last as long as needed and positive results will only start showing at the end of this year.

Brazilian hospitals and health clinics are drawing strong interest from global buyout firms after the government recently decided to allow foreign ownership of those facilities, although the suitors may find only a few promising targets.

Petróleo Brasileiro SA (PETR4.SA) has hired JPMorgan Chase & Co to handle $3 billion in planned asset sales this year, as fallout from a corruption scandal has shut access to financing for Brazil's state-controlled oil producer, two sources with direct knowledge of the situation said on Wednesday.