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Reuters
3 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
Brazil economic growth stays strong, supported by farm output, investments
BRASILIA, May 30 (Reuters) - Brazil's economy posted robust growth in the first quarter despite climbing interest rates as fixed investments, household consumption and strong farm output underpinned activity, pushing inflation to a two-year high. Gross domestic product in Latin America's largest economy rose 1.4% in the January-to-March period from the previous quarter, government statistics agency IBGE said on Friday, in line with the growth forecast in a Reuters poll of economists. GDP expanded 2.9% from a year earlier, below expectations for a 3.2% increase. On the supply side, agriculture stood out with a 12.2% gain from the previous quarter, fueled by a bumper soybean harvest. Services, which make up roughly 70% of Brazil's economy, expanded 0.3% amid a tight labor market, while industrial output slipped 0.1%. On the demand side, investments measured by gross fixed capital formation stood out with a 3.1% rise from the prior quarter. Household consumption also contributed with 1.0% growth, supported by measures from leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to boost disposable income, including a minimum wage hike. Government spending increased by 0.1%. The strong economic performance came despite the central bank's aggressive monetary tightening, which has raised the benchmark Selic interest rate by 425 basis points since September, to a nearly 20-year high of 14.75%. The government expects soaring interest rates to weigh more on economic activity in the second half of the year, projecting GDP growth to slow to 2.4% in 2025 from 3.4% last year.
Reuters
6 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
Italy's Meloni says high energy prices are main economic challenge
ROME, May 27 (Reuters) - Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Tuesday said high energy costs are the most pressing economic issue for her administration. "The main issue we have to face ... are energy costs," Meloni told the annual assembly of business lobby Confindustria in the northern city of Bologna. Meloni said her government was conducting an assessment of the national energy market to determine whether high prices were also the result of speculation.
Washington Post
19-05-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
Portugal's election result falls short of ending political instability. Here's what to know
LISBON — Portugal's third general election in three years has failed to deliver the result that could break the worst spell of political instability for decades in the European Union country of 10.6 million people. Sunday's vote delivered another minority government for the center-right Democratic Alliance, which will be at the mercy of opposition parties. The significant rise in support for the hard-right populist party Chega (Enough) adds more uncertainty.
Asharq Al-Awsat
18-05-2025
- Politics
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Portuguese Head to the Polls in Election Unlikely to Yield Stable Government
Polls opened across Portugal on Sunday as millions of voters started casting their ballots in a third parliamentary election in as many years, though many are bracing for more uncertainty as the vote is unlikely to deliver a stable government. Sunday's ballot was called just one year into the center-right minority government's term after Prime Minister Luis Montenegro failed to win parliament's confidence in March in a vote he himself proposed when the opposition questioned his integrity over the dealings of his family's consultancy firm. Montenegro has denied any wrongdoing and most opinion polls have shown voters dismissing the opposition's criticism. Polling stations are open from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. (0700-1800 GMT), with exit polls expected from 8 p.m. (1900 GMT). The election, also dominated by issues such as housing and immigration, follows a decade of fragile governments, only one of which has had a parliamentary majority but which still collapsed halfway through its term last year. Opinion polls show Montenegro's Democratic Alliance (AD) garnering the most votes and probably a few more seats than in the previous election in March 2024, but again no parliamentary majority. "We can't have elections every year," said 26-year-old bank worker Diogo Lima, adding the AD should be left to govern even if it does not win the election by a significant margin. Outside the polling station where Montenegro will vote in the northern city of Espinho, some voters queued from early in the day, with one, Irene Medeiros, 77, saying the "best candidate must win" but that she was afraid of greater political instability. 'ONLY DOUBT' AD's perennial rival, the center-left Socialist Party (PS), was polling about 26%, behind the AD on more than 32%, in Radio Renascenca's "poll of polls" aggregator. Political scientist Antonio Costa Pinto said the new parliament would likely be similar to the last, and it was impossible to predict how long the government would last, as it depended on factors ranging from the international situation to the AD's ability to reach deals with other parties. "The only doubt is whether the AD will form a new minority government ... or whether it will form a post-electoral coalition with IL, even if this coalition does not guarantee an absolute majority," he said, referring to the pro-business Liberal Initiative (IL) party, standing fourth in the polls. It has some affinities with Montenegro's AD and many analysts see them as natural partners, but IL's polling numbers throughout the campaign have been insufficient for a potential alliance between the two to reach a majority of 116 in the 230-seat parliament, which requires at least 42% of the vote. Voter turnout is usually low in Portugal, and some political analysts have expressed concern it could be even lower this year due to election fatigue. The far-right Chega party, with which Montenegro refuses any deals, has been polling in third place on about 18%, similar to its result last year, though last-minute health problems for its leader Andre Ventura could influence the outcome. After undergoing treatment in hospital twice in the past week due to an esophageal spasm, he made a surprise appearance at his party's final event on Friday.
Washington Post
18-05-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
Portugal holds its 3rd general election in 3 years but the vote might not restore stability
LISBON, Portugal — Voters in Portugal return to the polls Sunday for a third general election in three years, as the country's increasingly fragmented political landscape defies efforts to unite behind policies on pressing national issues such as immigration, housing and the cost of living. Hopes that the ballot might end the worst spell of political instability in decades for the European Union country of 10.6 million people could be dashed, however. Polls suggest the election is poised to deliver yet another minority government, leaving the Portuguese back where they started.
