Brazil

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.