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When Standard & Poor’s said on Tuesday it was considering downgrading Brazil’s credit rating by one notch to junk, markets seemed to shrug off the news. After initially touching a 12-year low, Brazil’s currency, the real, finished virtually flat at R$3.36 against the dollar while the Ibovespa benchmark stock index resumed a rally from earlier in the day,... Continue Reading →
Brazilian federal police are investigating potential irregularities in a military program that aims to build a nuclear-powered submarine in partnership with France by 2023, newspaper Folha de S. Paulo reported on Wednesday. Folha said police searched for documents that could prove their suspicions of fraud in the program. The search was part of a wider... Continue Reading →
(Reuters) - Brazil's central bank was poised to maintain its aggressive pace of interest rate hikes on Wednesday after a steep cut in fiscal savings targets weakened the real currency and stirred doubts about the government's commitment to help contain price increases. Forty-two out of 55 analysts surveyed by Reuters last week expect the central... Continue Reading →
Brazil will probably lose its investment-grade status from more than one rating agency by end-2016, according to most market participants polled by Reuters after S&P revised the country's outlook to negative on Tuesday. Twenty-three of the 28 respondents believe Standard & Poor's will downgrade Brazil's credit rating to junk status by the end of next... Continue Reading →
The real’s swings between losses and gains was the highest among major currencies as concern Brazil faces a downgrade to junk offset speculation that the central bank will increase borrowing costs by another half-percentage point. The increase in volatility this month added to the risk for investors wanting to take advantage of the highest interest... Continue Reading →
The world’s three biggest shipbuilders posted a combined 4.8 trillion won ($4.1 billion) in operating losses in the second quarter, paying the price for a failed foray into deep-sea oil rigs. Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. and Samsung Heavy Industries Co. -- South Korea’s Big Three shipbuilders -- all reported... Continue Reading →
Of the three biggest ratings companies, S&P has taken the toughest stance on Brazil. Moody’s Investors Service and Fitch Ratings have the country rated a notch higher, providing a bigger buffer from the junk-grade threshold. A downgrade by S&P would undo the progress made under former President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva, who led the... Continue Reading →
BP Plc reported a $5.8 billion net loss last quarter, not including inventory holding losses, citing low oil prices and charges from the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill. How does that stack up for the London-based energy giant? Read More
Standard & Poor’s said it may cut Brazil’s credit rating to junk, citing the country’s political and economic challenges amid an ongoing corruption probe. The ratings company said in a statement Tuesday it revised the outlook on Brazil’s rating to negative from stable. The country’s rating from S&P is already at BBB-, the lowest investment... Continue Reading →
Brazil’s failure to meet the government’s fiscal goal, a contracting economy and President Dilma Rousseff’s sinking popularity are making forecasters of the nation’s currency the most pessimistic in a month. The drop in the real took it to a level weaker than the year-end median outlook of analysts surveyed by Bloomberg after Finance Minister Joaquim... Continue Reading →
Brazil Energy Insight 