Country’s best-known political figure fights to preserve his legacy and rally his party amid a welter of corruption allegations Mr. da Silva spoke earlier this month at a conference in Berlin. PHOTO: MARKUS HEINE/NURPHOTO/ZUMA PRESS By REED JOHNSON and ROGERIO JELMAYER/WSJ Updated Dec. 29, 2015 5:29 p.m. ET SÃO PAULO—Brazilians are hearing Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva do something he rarely... Continue Reading →
Scandal-hit Petrobras faces new challenge
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/9daaa982-a9a0-11e5-843e-626928909745.html#ixzz3vpx8YoiQ December 30, 2015 2:18 pm Scandal-hit Petrobras faces new challenge Joe Leahy in São Paulo/FT Brazil’s largest oil group must grapple with large debts and lawsuits but can count on state backing At a Christmas breakfast with journalists, Aldemir Bendine, the chief executive of Petrobras, said Brazil’s state-controlled oil company was aiming to become “smaller”... Continue Reading →
Brazil’s fall/The Economist Cover 1/2016
Disaster looms for Latin America’s biggest economy Jan 2nd 2016 | From the print edition AT THE start of 2016 Brazil should be in an exuberant mood. Rio de Janeiro is to host South America’s first Olympic games in August, giving Brazilians a chance to embark on what they do best: throwing a really spectacular party. Instead,... Continue Reading →
Brazil’s Rio state implements new tax on oil and gas production
Brazil's Rio de Janeiro state, facing a budget shortfall caused in part by plunging oil prices, imposed new taxes on petroleum and natural gas on Thursday, a move critics say will slash investment in an already battered industry. Brazil's economy is suffering its worst recession in decades, while a corruption scandal at Petrobras, as the... Continue Reading →
Brazil Real Plunges as Minimum-Wage Hike Worsens Fiscal Outlook
Brazil’s real posted its biggest decline in four months, extending its fifth annual drop, as oil prices tumbled and an increase in the minimum wage fueled concern that the country’s fiscal situation will worsen. The currency fell 3.7 percent to 4.0104 per dollar as of 2:03 p.m. in Sao Paulo. The real is the worst... Continue Reading →
World’s Worst Carry Trade Found in Brazil as 2016 Outlook Dims
Investors who bet on Brazil’s local bonds this year were saddled with the biggest losses among major economies. The outlook for 2016 isn’t much better. Borrowing dollars at the end of 2014 and buying reais, a practice known as the carry trade, left investors with losses of 22 percent as Brazil’s currency posted the second-biggest... Continue Reading →
Brazilian Government Settles $18.2 Billion Owed to State Banks
Brazil’s government has settled overdue payments to state-run banks stemming mostly from budget maneuvers this year and last, which are the basis for impeachment proceedings against President Dilma Rousseff. The Treasury this year paid 72.4 billion reais ($18.2 billion) it owed state banks such as Banco do Brasil, it said in a statement on Wednesday.... Continue Reading →
Pemex Growth Dreams Turn to Asset Sales, Job Cuts as Debt Mounts
Petroleos Mexicanos’s plans last year included joint ventures and higher oil production. For 2016, that’s turned into job cuts and asset sales as it tries to weather the worst downturn in a generation. In Jan. 2014, Chief Executive Officer Emilio Lozoya was optimistic about 2015. He expected the company’s first joint ventures would reverse nine... Continue Reading →
Real Fluctuates After Rally as Brazil Pledges to Pay Back Banks
The real was little changed at 3.8606 per dollar as of 10:24 a.m. in Sao Paulo on Tuesday, after earlier gaining as much as 0.2 percent. The currency strengthened the most in eight weeks on Monday amid speculation of inflows linked to an auction of hydropower plants. Monday’s rally trimmed the real’s decline this year... Continue Reading →
Petrobras meets asset sales goal for year after Gaspetro divestment
Dec 28, 2015 Reuters Dec 28 Brazil's state-controlled Petróleo Brasileiro SA met a $700 million goal for asset sales this year following the divestment of a minority stake in a gas distribution unit to Mitsui & Co Ltd. In a securities filing, the company known as Petrobras said that Mitsui paid on Monday 1.93 billion... Continue Reading →