Brazil's Lula announces Fernando Haddad as finance minister

Brazil's leftist President-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Friday that former Sao Paulo Mayor Fernando Haddad will be his finance minister, ending days of speculation about one of his key ministerial appointments.

Lula is set to take office on Jan. 1 from incumbent Jair Bolsonaro, who he defeated in an October election. Lula also announced that career diplomat Mauro Vieira will be Brazil's foreign minister, former Congressman Jose Mucio will become defense minister, the governor of Bahia Rui Costa will be his chief of staff and the former governor of Maranhao state Flavio Dino will be justice minister.

Investors have anxiously awaited Lula's choice to run the economy, unsettled by his announcement of a multi-billion proposal to increase social spending from next year before any definition of who his economic team will be.