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Mercosur and Canada resume free trade agreement negotiations after years of impasse

  What is happening between Mercosur and Canada? After more than a decade of stalled talks, the Mercosur countries (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay) and Canada announced in September 2025 the formal resumption of negotiations for a free trade agreement. The decision was confirmed at a meeting between representatives of the two blocs during the United Nations General Assembly in New York and represents a strategic step toward strengthening economic ties between South and North America. This move is not just symbolic: it could pave the way for one of the largest trade agreements in the South American region in recent years, with direct impacts on the economies of millions of people—from farmers to small business owners. Why does this agreement matter? A free trade agreement between Mercosur and Canada has the potential to eliminate or reduce tariffs on thousands of products, facilitate investment, increase business competitiveness, and generate new job opportunities. For ord...
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Tesla and Elon Musk's fortune shrinks by R$148 billion after clash with Trump

Trump and Elon Musk

 Elon Musk's net worth suffered a significant drop this Thursday (5), with a reduction of US$ 26.6 billion, equivalent to R$ 148.8 billion, according to the most recent survey by Forbes magazine. The fall occurred mainly after shares of Tesla, the electric vehicle manufacturer led by Musk, fell 14% on the financial market.

Despite the billion-dollar loss, Musk remains at the top of the list of the richest people on the planet, still accumulating a fortune estimated at US$ 387.9 billion (around R$ 2.17 trillion). He remains comfortably ahead of the second-placed Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, who has a net worth of US$ 236.3 billion (R$ 1.32 trillion).

 The devaluation movement took place against the backdrop of public tension between Musk and former US President Donald Trump. In strong statements on Thursday, Trump threatened to end subsidies and government contracts signed with companies owned by the South African billionaire. Musk's response was equally explosive.

The exchange of barbs between the two provoked immediate reactions in the market, generating uncertainty among investors. The result was a loss of more than US$ 100 billion (R$ 559 billion) in Tesla's market value in a single day. Since a large part of Musk's fortune is tied to the shares of the companies he controls, the fluctuation is directly reflected in his position in the billionaire ranking.

The friction gained strength after Trump publicly expressed his dissatisfaction with criticisms made by Musk of the budget project currently being debated in the American Congress. During a meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, at the White House, the former president said:


 • “I am very disappointed in Elon. I helped Elon a lot,” said Trump in the Oval Office.


 Shortly after, Musk responded via the X platform (formerly Twitter), denying Trump and reinforcing his role in the past elections:

 • “Without me, Trump would have lost the election, the Democrats would control the House, and the Republicans would be 51-49 in the Senate. This is so ungrateful.”

The tension escalated even further when, in a post on the Truth Social network, Trump toughened his stance, suggesting that he could cancel incentives and contracts with Musk's companies, such as SpaceX:

 • “The easiest way to save billions and billions of dollars in our budget is to end Elon Musk's government subsidies and contracts. I've always been surprised that Biden hasn't done this!”

In a new response, Musk raised his tone and accused Trump of involvement in scandals associated with financier Jeffrey Epstein:

 • “Donald Trump is in the Epstein files. That's the real reason they haven't been made public.”

 The disagreement between the two leading figures in politics and technology has generated concern about the possible consequences for public contracts and the future of the companies involved. Analysts believe that the instability may continue to affect the market as long as the impasse remains evident.

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