C-Level Call, a weekly video call about economics and politics promoted by Bounddiscusses this Thursday (4) the government of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s (PT) aid to Corres, the release of the third quarter GDP (Gross Domestic Product) and the base interest rate forecast, Selec.
The program, at 5 p.m., will be presented by Ediana Tomaselli and Natalia Garcia. It will be broadcast on YouTube. You can register and submit questions by clicking this link.
Journalists will also cover the economic proposals awaiting a vote in the final period of the year in the National Congress.
Post office help
The National Treasury denied granting a sovereign guarantee for the R$20 billion loan that Correos intended to obtain from banks, prompting the state-owned postal service company to suspend the deal.
According to interlocutors, the body linked to the Ministry of Finance warned the company, on Tuesday (2), that it would not agree to grant approval for an operation with a benefit higher than the maximum cost allowed by the Treasury Guarantees Committee.
The operation was approved by the board of directors of the state-owned company on Saturday (29).
A day earlier, on Friday (28), Correios announced that it had accumulated losses of R$6.1 billion in the year to September. The loss is three times what it was in the same period in 2024, when the result was negative at R$2.14 billion.
GDP for the third quarter
The Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) releases this Thursday (4) the GDP for the third quarter of 2025.
There was a slowdown in the economy in the previous quarter, when the index rose 0.4% compared to the first quarter, without the same support from agriculture and with interest rates rising to contain inflation. In the first three months of the year, Brazilian GDP grew by 1.3%.
For 2025, economists maintained their forecast of 2.16%, according to Focus published on Monday (first).
interest rate
The central bank’s monetary policy committee is scheduled to meet on December 9-10 to decide, for the last time in 2025, the level of the base interest rate.
In November, the League decided to keep the interest rate at 15% annually for the third meeting in a row, despite pressure from the Lula government for cuts.
The Bank of Columbia’s board took a conservative tone, with several sections matching the language used in September, and remained uncertain about whether to initiate future rate cuts.
Economic projects
Congress will enter the final phase of work in 2025 with relevant proposals in the economic field on the agenda.
The Senate Committee on Economic Affairs (CAE) on Tuesday (2) approved the bill that increases taxes on betting houses and financial technology.
As for the so-called bets, the rate of revenue will rise from 12% to 15% in 2026 and then to 18% in 2028. For technology-based companies operating in different market sectors, from financial institutions to payment institutions, the percentage of social contribution to net profit rises from 9% to 12% in 2026 and to 15% in 2028.
The proposal was presented by Senator Renan Calheiros (MDB-AL) and reported with a positive opinion by Eduardo Braga (MDB-AM). The text goes into the room.
Among the issues pending in Congress is the LDO (Budget Guidelines Act) Act of 2026, which directs the budget. The text must be voted on in a joint session between members of the Senate and Representatives on Wednesday (3).
There is also a risk that the MP (temporary measure) put in place in response to the tariffs imposed by the United States could lose its validity. The text needs to be approved by December 11 to remain in effect.
The parliament was published by Lula’s government in August and offers a credit worth 30 billion reais to exporters affected by the tariffs, as well as deferral of federal taxes, payment of more tax breaks and reformulation of export guarantees to facilitate the search for new markets.