A key member of Brazil's Congressional budget committee has recommended the approval of the 2014 accounts of President Dilma Rousseff's government, which could undermine her opponents' case for impeaching her. Senator Acir Gurgacz, who is charged with reporting to the committee on a ruling by Brazil's Federal Audit Court that the Rousseff administration broke the... Continue Reading →
Brazil cenbank see steep 2016 inflation jump, signals hike
Dec 23, 2015 The central bank headquarters building is seen in Brasilia, Brazil, December 9, 2015. REUTERS/UESLEI MARCELINO Brazil's central bank raised its inflation forecast for next year to near the ceiling of the official target, signaling it could resume interest rate hikes to tame a surge in price expectations. In its quarterly report released... Continue Reading →
Shell Cuts 2016 Spending by $2 Billion as It Prepares for BG
Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Europe’s largest oil company, further reduced spending plans for this year and 2016 as it prepares to take over BG Group Plc amid slumping prices for crude. The combined company plans to spend $33 billion next year, lower than Shell’s previous guidance of $35 billion, the company said Tuesday in a... Continue Reading →
Brazil Real Rises as Emerging Market Euphoria Offsets Politics
The real rose as a rally in emerging-market currencies outweighed concern that newly appointed Finance Minister Nelson Barbosa won’t push to rein in Brazil’s swelling budget deficit. The real rose 0.8 percent to 3.9780 per dollar at 9:55 a.m in Sao Paulo after weakening past 4 per dollar on Monday. A gauge of emerging markets currencies... Continue Reading →
In Petrobras’s Shadow, One Company Races to Contain Graft Probe
In the shadow of Brazil’s once-mighty oil giant, another state-run behemoth is trying to get ahead of the nation’s biggest-ever corruption scandal to avoid the fallout that has already crippled more than a dozen companies. A team of lawyers and specialists hired by Centrais Eletricas Brasileiras SA, known as Eletrobras, started reviewing Latin America’s biggest... Continue Reading →
Brazil Stocks, Real Fall as Barbosa Fails to Assure Investors
The real weakened past 4 per dollar and the Ibovespa dropped on speculation newly appointed Finance Minister Nelson Barbosa won’t be a strong enough advocate for reining in Brazil’s growing budget deficit. The benchmark equity gauge and the currency reversed gains after Barbosa ended a conference call with investors without providing a specific roadmap for... Continue Reading →
Shell-BG Deal Not Yet in the Bag Amid Fears of Further Oil Slump
Royal Dutch Shell Plc is on the brink of pulling off its biggest acquisition. Yet the widening discount of target BG Group Plc to the offer price shows that a further steep drop in oil prices could still put the deal in doubt. BG traded 12.5 percent below Shell’s bid price on Dec. 18, the... Continue Reading →
Brazil Real Volatility Increases as Political Turmoil Worsens
Volatility in Brazil’s real increased after President Dilma Rousseff named a new finance minister that some investors say won’t be as strong an advocate for efforts to shore up the country’s fiscal accounts. One-month implied volatility in the real climbed to 23 percent, the highest among 16 major currencies tracked by Bloomberg. The real swung... Continue Reading →
Brazil president’s survival odds improve, but ally demands growth
Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff's key ally in Congress is certain it can head off an impeachment threat, but in return the party demands a radical change of policy course to pull the economy out of its deepest downturn in 25 years. Senator Eunicio Oliveira, Senate leader of the fractious Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB), told... Continue Reading →
Brazil’s New Finance Minister Faces a Big Test After Friday’s Rout
Nelson Barbosa could, of course, turn out to be the man who fixes Brazil’s finances, tames soaring inflation and revives the sinking economy, but investors sure aren’t betting on it. As word spread across Sao Paulo trading floors Friday that Barbosa would be the country’s next finance minister, replacing the beleaguered Joaquim Levy, markets plunged.... Continue Reading →
Brazil Energy Insight 