Grupo BTG Pactual, the Brazil investment bank whose billionaire founder Andre Esteves was arrested in November in a corruption scandal, said a four-month review found no evidence to support the allegations. A special committee of directors and outside counsel “found no basis to conclude that the allegations of misconduct and corruption against Esteves, BTG Pactual... Continue Reading →
Clarification of News Item: Oil Prices – Transfer of Rights Assignment
Rio de Janeiro, April 7, 2016 – Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras hereby responds to Official Letter 1082/2016-SAE, which requests the following clarifications: Official Letter 1082/2016-SAE “Dear Sirs, A news item published in the April 6, 2016 edition of the newspaper Valor Econômico states that Petrobras needs oil prices to be higher than US$90 per... Continue Reading →
Swiss Regulator Probes Panama Alongside 1MDB, Petrobras
Switzerland’s financial regulator will investigate “suspicious” bank connections that have surfaced in leaked Panama documents and is stepping up probes into a troubled Malaysian development fund and Petroleo Brasileiro SA. “The leaked database from Panama is just the latest proof of how money flows like water through multiple jurisdictions, sometimes for legitimate purposes, sometimes not,”... Continue Reading →
Halliburton’s Executive Pay Shows Forecasting Oil Price Is Hard
It seems not even the board of Halliburton Co. thought the price of oil would remain depressed this long. The company’s five top executives missed out on at least $12.2 million in cash bonuses last year after Halliburton posted cash value added -- a metric it uses to determine bonus payouts -- that was off... Continue Reading →
Brazil’s Andrade Gutierrez executives say kickbacks funded 2014 Rousseff campaign
Executives from Brazil's second-largest engineering company, Andrade Gutierrez, have testified that President Dilma Rousseff's 2014 reelection campaign was partly funded with kickbacks from large infrastructure projects, a newspaper reported on Thursday. The testimony, part of a plea bargain deal with 11 executives, would be the strongest link yet between the widening "Operation Car Wash" probe... Continue Reading →
Brazil congressional report favors impeaching President Rousseff
President Dilma Rousseff addresses a news conference after visiting the new Embraer KC 390 military transport aircraft in Brasilia, Brazil April 5, 2016. REUTERS/ADRIANO MACHADO Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff moved closer to impeachment when a key member of a Congressional committee said on Wednesday there were grounds for the Senate to put her on trial... Continue Reading →
Oil prices jump 5 percent after surprise U.S. crude stockpile draw
A worker grabs a nozzle at a petrol station in Tehran, Iran January 25, 2016. REUTERS/RAHEB HOMAVANDI/TIMA Oil prices rose 5 percent on Wednesday, their biggest advance in three weeks, after the U.S. government reported a surprise draw in domestic crude stockpiles versus market expectations for a new record high. Minutes from the Federal Reserve's... Continue Reading →
Clarification on News: Conditions of the Loan with the China Development Bank (CDB)
Rio de Janeiro, April 04, 2016 – Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras hereby responds to Official Letter 140/2016/CVM/SEP/GEA-1 requesting clarifications, as transcribed below: Official Letter 140/2016/CVM/SEP/GEA-1 “Dear Executive Officer, We present clarifications about the news item published today on the O Estado de São Paulo newspaper, Seção Economia (Economy Section), under the title: “China conditions... Continue Reading →
Keppel, Sembcorp Rallies Seen Ending as Oil-Rig Orders Drop
The world’s two biggest builders of oil rigs saw their stocks rise the most in more than two years last month as crude rebounded. Investors looking for more gains shouldn’t get their hopes up just yet, Baring Asset Management and Henderson Global Investors say. Keppel Corp. surged 13 percent and Sembcorp Marine Ltd. rose 7.8 percent... Continue Reading →
Halliburton’s Dying Bid Shows Antitrust Cops Pounding Mega-Deals
The corporate deal-making boom last year was one for the record books. The harder part: Winning the blessing of emboldened antitrust officials in the Obama administration’s last year. U.S. enforcers have turned increasingly aggressive in their mission to protect competition between companies -- the latest example being the Justice Department’s expected move to block Halliburton Co.’s... Continue Reading →
Brazil Energy Insight 