Brazil economy to miss 2012 growth target: sources

Sao Paulo (AFP) - About 1.5 million protesters hit the streets across Brazil on Sunday in a major show of anger against leftist President Dilma Rousseff, who faces crises from a faltering economy to a massive corruption scandal at state oil giant Petrobras.

Sao Paulo (AFP) - Bad news piled up Friday for Brazil's economy, with the real plunging to its lowest level against the dollar in 12 years and analysts warning the home of samba will need years to recover its economic rhythm.

It started off a simple protest in Sao Paulo as a demonstration by students against an increase in bus fares from R$3 to R$3.20, and then quickly morphed into general demonstration of discontent with the nation’s political classes on both sides of the spectrum involving over 200,000 across the country, with those marching on Monday holding placards decrying everything from the enormous sums spent on the World Cup to the treatment by police of protesters last week.

It's always impossible to know what the trigger for a mass reaction will be in advance. In Brazil, hundreds of thousands of people have been in protest over corruption, bad services, and even the cost of hosting the World Cup. The trigger was a mere 10-20 cent hike in transportation fares. Cities have rolled back the price hikes but the protests continue. Hundreds of Thousands Join Brazil Protests

Brasília (AFP) - Brazil's economy exited recession with growth of 0.1 percent in the third quarter, the government said Friday, a tepid result that is nevertheless welcome news for struggling President Dilma Rousseff.

REUTERS/Jussi Nukari/Lehtikuva

Brasília (AFP) - Tens of thousands of protesters across Brazil called on President Dilma Rousseff to step down Sunday, blaming her and the leftist Workers' Party for the corruption and economic troubles besetting Latin America's biggest country.