Brazilian meatpacker JBS begins trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Friday, capping a stunning comeback by brothers Joesley and Wesley Batista less than a decade after they were jailed in a record-breaking corruption scandal and forced into the backseat of their global food empire.

Brazil beef barons’ Wall Street listing caps a return from exile
Meat packer JBS began trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Friday

EU deal and Trump tariff threats bolster Mercosur trade talks
Brazil expects the South American trade bloc Mercosur to speed up more free trade negotiations after clinching a deal with the European Union, as the threat of U.S. tariffs when Donald Trump takes office as president forces countries to diversify their options for exports, diplomats say.

EU and South America strike trade deal set to hit pushback in Europe
The European Union and South America's Mercosur bloc struck an agreement on a long-delayed free trade deal on Friday which now faces a tortuous battle for approval in Europe, where there is stiff opposition from France. After negotiations spanning over 20 years, and five years on from an initial deal, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and her Mercosur counterparts announced an agreement had been reached in the Uruguayan capital Montevideo.

Brazil blocks JBS deal, seeks asset freeze
Brasilia | Reuters — A Brazilian judge has blocked JBS SA’s planned sale of a South American unit while the attorney general’s office urged the company’s assets be frozen, in signs of fallout from a corruption probe involving the controlling shareholders of the world’s No. 1 meatpacker. Federal Judge Ricardo Leite blocked JBS’s US$300 million sale […] Read more

Brazil police probe loans to JBS
Brasilia | Reuters — Brazil federal police are investigating suspected fraud in loans by state development bank BNDES to JBS SA, a police source said on Friday, sending shares of the world’s largest meat processor lower after a series of scandals. Separately, police said earlier on Friday they would detain 37 people for questioning and […] Read more