The BRICS Report

US Elections have resulted in uncertainty: Brazil Central Bank Brazil's Central Bank (BC) President Ilan Goldfajn said Monday (Nov. 21) that the outcome of the US presidential election, won by magnate Donald Trump, brought an element of uncertainty to markets, but reiterated that the institution has kept a close watch on the development of international markets and worked to prevent the effects of "external shocks" from threatening macroeconomic stability.   The Trump victory adds pressure to pass crucial reforms in Brazil and soon! Donald Trump's U.S. election victory and the ensuing market volatility should encourage Brazilian policymakers to push ahead with ambitious economic reforms that help cushion the country from global turmoil, business executives and bankers said on Tuesday.   IMF outlook suggests Brazil is clawing its way out of recession slowly While there are signs that the recession is nearing its end, Brazil’s economic prospects hinge on the new government’s ability to implement ambitious structural reforms to restore fiscal sustainability, the IMF said in its annual review on the state of the Brazilian economy. According to the report, Latin America’s largest economy has suffered its deepest recession in decades.   Brazil to Increase Culture Ministry Budget by 40 Percent The Brazilian Ministry of Culture will have a 40% budgetary increase in 2017 – hardline government is appeasing some of the protesters. President of Brazil, Michel Temer, announced this week that his administration would be increasing the Ministry of Culture’s budget by more than forty percent. The ministry was the focus of one of the first ‘conflicts’ between Temer and the Brazilian population when the then interim leader announced it was nesting the ministry into the Ministry of Education.

China threatens to retaliate against Trump China’s state-run newspaper, the Global Times, has taken issue with Trump pledge to rein in China with respect to trade in an effort to revive the Unites States’ manufacturing business. In an editorial, the paper openly criticized the President-elect, stating that his currency manipulation accusations could mean that “China's reputation will be affected, and the trade atmosphere between China and the US will become more tense.” Retail sales of cars, sport utility and multipurpose vehicles increased 20 percent to 2.22 million units last month, according to the China Passenger Car Association. Deliveries rose 15 percent to 18.7 million units in the first 10 months. Tencent has also gotten into on the action, having helped finance movies like “Warcraft” and “Kong: Skull Island." Now the company is getting ready to spend a good amount of money over the next two to continue to invest in those projects, according to a report from Bloomberg on Tuesday. In the next two years, Tencent will spend at least 2 billion yuan ($295 million) investing in Hollywood and Chinese films. That includes 1 billion yuan in 2016, and more than that in 2017.

The sickening air pollution that led the Indian capital to shut schools and construction sites this week has prompted similar measures in nearby cities. Officials in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh said Monday that they expect the acrid smog to blanket the state within days.   Top-ranked India will look to settle old scores by unleashing their spinners on a fragile-looking England when the first Test of a five-match series begins in Rajkot tomorrow. England were the last team to win a Test series on Indian soil when they came from behind to triumph 2-1 in 2012, but India are currently enjoying an impressive run.   Theresa May has dashed Indian hopes for a more liberal visa system for its nationals wanting to work in the UK by arguing that the current offer is generous enough. Speaking on the way to her first bilateral meeting in Delhi, the prime minister argued that Britain was already able to attract the “brightest and best” from outside the EU.

Russian parliament members have labelled a recent call to exclude Russia from the UN Human Rights Council mere speculation, adding that the move reminds them of the biased approach to terrorists in Russia’s North Caucasus territories. Over 80 NGOs call for Russia to be dropped from UN rights council over Syria.   Over half of Russians think that the outcome of the upcoming US presidential election is important for their country, and many expect US-Russian relations to worsen further if Democratic Party candidate Hillary Clinton is victorious in November. According to the latest survey conducted by state-run public opinion centre VTSIOM, 57 percent of Russian citizens think that the results of the looming US presidential elections will be important for their country, while 38 percent don’t think they will have any impact on relations between the two nations, either way.   The world's largest professional network LinkedIn could soon be blocked in Russia. The company has failed to comply with a law that obliges companies to keep data on Russian users in the country. Apart from not moving servers to Russia, LinkedIn collects and sends information about people who are not users of the network without their consent, according to the Russian internet watchdog Roskomnadzor. According to the spokesman, Moscow’s Tagansky District Court has ruled in favor of the watchdog, but LinkedIn has appealed to a higher court. LinkedIn is the world's largest business and employment oriented social network. As of 2015, it had 400 million users with 5 million people registered in Russia.  

Violent protest in Rio de Janeiro emerging, again Riot police cracked down and fired tear gas on thousands of protesters in central Rio de Janeiro Monday night as marches flooded the streets to reject unelected President Michel Temer’s proposed 20-year freeze on public spending that critics argue will spell disaster in the cash-strapped country.   18 Prisoners were killed in Riots last week At least 18 inmates died in clashes in two separate penitentiaries in Brazil's Amazon region and more than three dozen escaped after a third prison riot caused a large fire in a complex outside Sao Paulo, officials said Monday. Authorities were investigating a possible connection between the first two uprisings in the jungle states of Rondonia and Roraima, police said.   Eduardo Cunha has been arrested The central figure behind the impeachment of former Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff has been arrested on corruption charges. The office of Judge Sergio Moro and police officials said on Wednesday that former Congressman Eduardo Cunha, accused of pocketing millions of dollars in bribes from contractors with the oil company Petrobras, has been arrested.

China remains bullish on BRICS China's president has said the long-term prospects of the Brics countries - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa - are still positive despite a precarious global economy. President Xi Jinping said the Brics countries were among those currently enduring slower economic growth. But he stressed that the potential and strength of the group was "unchanged".   China seeks to overtake the US in the space race At a cost of more than $150 billion, the International Space Station (ISS) is the most expensive object ever built. The Chinese are expected to complete their own space station, potentially leaving the Asian power with the sole operating lab in the heavens. And given that Congress banned NASA from working bilaterally with anyone from the Chinese space program, it’s unclear if American astronauts will be welcome.   Chinese to increase luxury spending to US$120bn this year Chinese luxury spending is expected to reach 120.4 billion U.S. dollars in 2016, up 3 percent year on year, according to a report on Friday. The growth rate is down from last year's 10 percent as a sluggish economy dampens consumption of luxury goods, according to the report released by Fortune Character, a luxury consumption research agency.

Hundreds are being questioned by Indian police in connection with a massive fraud ring that may have duped Americans out of tens of millions of dollars over the course of a single year. Reports surfaced earlier this week that police in India had raided a series of call centres and arrested at least 70 people on charges of extortion, impersonation and information technology crimes, according to The Associated Press. Employees at the call centre are believed to have sent out thousands of calls and messages each day, posing as U.S. tax collectors and threatening to involve American authorities if they weren't promptly paid.   11 Heads of State from BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) and Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) countries will attend the meeting. The BRICS summit will start on October 15 and will end the next day, following which there will be a retreat, in which BIMSTEC countries will take part, according to officials.   On Sept. 29 the Indian Army conducted a military strike against terrorist targets in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. The strike was a retaliation for a series of recent terrorist attacks against Indian military installations by Pakistan-based terrorist groups, reminding the world of this rivalry, which dates back to the creation of the two countries in 1947. India and Pakistan have engaged in direct military conflict four times in the past 70 years, and there are some fears that the current dispute may escalate to that point once again. This new period of heightened tensions highlights the failure of recent efforts by the two nations' leaders to ease tensions, and underscores their different domestic and diplomatic trajectories.

Russia’s parliamentary election was marred by over 3,600 violations the country’s top independent monitor Golos reported after a decisive win for the government. Ruling party United Russia won a record number of seats, in an expected victory by unexpected margins. Its new electoral chief hailed the vote as the cleanest in Russia’s history and, despite monitors noting violations were fewer than in previous occasions, the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) stressed the vote was still hampered by challenges to “fundamental freedoms and political rights” and “numerous procedural irregularities” during counting.   Moscow court found popular Russian blogger Anton Nosik guilty of posting online extremist materials and fined him 500,000 rubles (some $8,000) on Oct. 3. According to investigators, Nosik published a blog post titled "To wipe Syria off the map" on Oct. 1, 2015 with the purpose of inciting ethnic hatred. "The court found Nosik guilty of violating Part 2 of Article 282 of the Russian Criminal Code (inciting hatred or enmity, as well as humiliation of human dignity)," the judge said.   Russian President Vladimir Putin has appointed the head of the association for the protection of family, Anna Kuznetsova, as his plenipotentiary for children’s rights, replacing lawyer Pavel Astakhov. Before the appointment, Kuznetsova, 34, worked as the head of the Pokrov fund for the support of family, motherhood and childhood in Penza Region, central Russia. She also headed the Penza regional branch of the Mothers of Russia movement and the regional branch of the United Public Front movement. The newly appointed ombudsman has also held places in the women’s council with the regional governor and the regional public chamber.  

Brazil’s Ex-President Lula to be tried for corruption. President Temer says he is spending political capital to truly reform Brazil. Brazil run of Mega events finally comes to an end after nearly 1200 days of build ups and events…

Terror attack on an Indian army base in Kashmir on Sunday has heightened tensions between India and Pakistan. Delhi battling an outbreak of mosquito borne diseases called Chikungunya and dengue. India’s Information Technology hub Bangalore recently witnessed violent protests due to a dispute over sharing of water.

China’s diplomatic snub to Obama at the G20 China’s leaders have been accused of delivering a calculated diplomatic snub to Barack Obama after the US president was not provided with a staircase to leave his plane during his chaotic arrival in Hangzhou before the start of the G20. Chinese authorities have rolled out the red carpet for leaders including India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, the South Korean president, Park Geun-hye, Brazil’s president, Michel Temer, and the British prime minister, Theresa May, who touched down on Sunday morning.      British teen makes a fortune choosing baby names in China! Expecting a little bundle of joy but having trouble choosing a name? Gandalph, Cinderella, Harry Potter: all great names for your little tyke, right? Ok, maybe not. Don't worry though, Beau Jessup is here to help. The British 16-year-old has made around $64,000 helping Chinese parents navigate through the name game.     KFC flavour nail polish in Hong Kong In a marketing campaign produced by creative agency Ogilvy & Mather to create fun and excitement for the KFC brand in Hong Kong, they’ve created the KFC Finger Lickin’ Good Nail Polish that comes in two flavours/shades: Original Recipe and Hot & Spicy. Yes, it’s edible and supposedly tastes exactly like chicken. They are packed in designer bottles and boxes. The agency teamed up with food technologists at McCormick – the spice company that provides KFC with its famous secret recipe of herbs and spices – to release a limited edition line of these edible nail polishes.  

The last State Duma elections, in December 2011, sparked a series of large protests in Moscow that still evoke a sense of trepidation among the Russian leadership. Elections represent the potentially most vulnerable period of any authoritarian regime. The initial reaction to the 2011 protests was to expand the public dialog to include many of the protest leaders (though never Alexei Navalny) and to make concessions on democratization— returning gubernatorial elections, for example. Prestigious Metropolitan School 57, which has a large Jewish representation in student body, is shaken by allegations, which have led to the resignation of the director and three other teachers. Sergey Mendelevich, the longtime director of Metropolitan School 57, resigned Saturday despite calls for him to remain at the head of the institution by parents — including several dozen people who staged an impromptu support rally for him at the school. In a release from the regulator notes that on 5 September 2016 started the final stage of the selection symbols of the new banknotes.  The Russian Central Bank has named the ten finalists for the symbol that will appear on new banknotes in denominations of 200 and 2,000 rubles. You can vote for Your-Russia. Russia, as well as coming 1 of October on the open Day the Bank of Russia to any territorial establishment and leave your vote for your favourite character by completing this form.

Olympic champion Ryan Lochte has been charged for falsely claiming that he and his three team-mates had been robbed at gun point during the Rio Olympics. It was later revealed that Lochte had made up the story. Brazil, South America’s largest economy, is finally poised to realise its long-anticipated potential as a global player, economists say, as the country rides its biggest economic expansion in three decades. Growth is being felt in nearly all parts of the economy, creating a new class of super rich. A juror for the International Tribunal for Democracy in Brazil wrote a scathing editorial this week denouncing what she calls the illegal government of interim President Michel Temer formed in an attempt by leading members of the opposition Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB) to avoid enhanced enforcement of the country’s corruption laws.

Beijing Auto to invest in Coega The Coega Development Corporation has signed a R11bn investment deal with the Beijing Automobile International Corporation for a completely knocked down automotive manufacturing plant in the Coega Industrial Development Zone (IDZ). Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies said in a media statement the investment was "significant" and deepened SA’s economic relationship with China. In a golf training club in the city's Tianhe district, a five-day training course for children is recruiting students during the summer vacation. A coach surnamed Deng told a Xinhua reporter that the course teaches basic knowledge and movements, as well as the etiquette of golf, "aiming to cultivate the physical and mental endurance of children." According to a staff member of the agency, it offers classes that develop "CEO characteristics" in children aged 3 to 12 years old. The cost is staggeringly high at 50,000 yuan ($7,500) a year for one or two sessions weekly.  

A month before parliamentary elections, President Vladimir Putin has replaced his long-time ally Sergei Ivanov as Kremlin chief of staff, appointing a low-profile former diplomat in his place on Friday. Putin named Anton Vaino, 44, to the important post which involves drafting laws for the president to submit to parliament, monitoring their enforcement and conducting analysis of domestic and foreign affairs for the president. Two-time Olympic pole vault champion Yelena Isinbayeva says she will never accept or forgive the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) decision to uphold her ban from the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. Current world record holder Isinbayeva says that first place at the Games will forever be in question because of her exclusion. Heavy rain in Moscow has caused a river to burst its banks and flooded streets, trapping people in cars and buses. Russian state news organizations said about 200 people had to be evacuated from stalled vehicles on Monday. No injuries were reported. The weather service said that by early evening 92 millimeters (3.7 inches) of rain had fallen in Moscow, which is well over the monthly average for August.  

Defense Minister Raul Jungmann on Sunday officially kicked off the security operations for the Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The Brazilian Army, Navy and Air Force will make more than 22,000 men available to take care of defense and security of athletes, local residents, and tourists in Rio during the two events. Former Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has filed a petition with the UN human rights committee outlining alleged abuses of power in the corruption case he is embroiled in. Chinese consumers are eating more beef than the country can produce, and that’s led to a sales bonanza for exporters in Brazil. About a year after recovering from a mad-cow scare, Brazil has supplanted Australia as the biggest seller of beef to China, where a production deficit is widening and imports are heading for a record.

An international tribunal in The Hague overwhelmingly backed the Philippines in a case on the disputed waters of the South China Sea, ruling that rocky outcrops claimed by China cannot be used as the basis of territorial claims. North Korea’s fifth underground nuclear test, when it happens sometime later this year, will occasion dread and set off the usual flutter of apprehension in the West. China has said it will help developing nations implement the UN's 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Indian cricket is set to change dramatically, after the judiciary ordered far-reaching changes in the functioning of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). Customers in India’s southern state of Kerala will have to dig deeper into their pockets each time they want to order a juicy burger, a cheese-laced pizza or other fast food such as doughnuts and tacos. The National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Monday directed the Regional Transport Office (RTO) in Delhi to de-register with immediate effect all diesel vehicles which are more than 10 years old.

A sweeping new Russian antiterrorism bill has raised fears among the country’s telecoms and internet companies that they will face significant costs to implement its data storage provisions. Hundreds of Russian and Ukrainian women have been sharing stories of sexual harassment, violence and rape on social media, after a post by a Ukrainian journalist went viral earlier this week. Russian reviewers have responded with both praise and barely concealed amusement to the BBC’s adaptation of War and Peace, with reviewers describing it as a “medium-budget soap opera” and a “classic with cleavage”.

The Olympic and Paralympic Village consists of 31 apartment buildings, some as high as 17 storeys. In total, there are 3 604 apartments, which will be home to more than 17 000 athletes and team officials during the Rio 2016 Olympic Games and 6 000 during the Paralympic Games.   The microcephaly epidemic in Brazil has been speculated to be caused by the Zika virus. However, a study published on June 15 in the New England Journal of Medicine claims Zika may not be the real cause of microcephaly after all so further research is still needed to verify this.   It appears that UberCOPTER thinks they can offer solution. In partnership with European plane maker Airbus, Uber is running a month-long trial in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Uber users can use the app to hail a helicopter and pay $17-80 for a ride between airports, to their hotel or to conference centers. The service is operating from five helipads and four hotels, Fabio Sabba, Uber's communications director in Brazil, told the Canadian Press.