President Dilma Rousseff’s approval rating fell in an MDA poll as the majority of respondents said Brazil’s economic contraction is their biggest concern. Read More
Keeps getting worse – Rousseff Approval Rating Falls in Brazil Poll
Sete Brasil Ex President Admits Taking Bribes
Sete Brasil's ex president, João Carlos Ferraz, admited that in a moment of weakness in 2013 he accepted bribes of U$1.9 million from the shipyards constructing Sete's rigs. The company's board have taken legal action and are asking for R$22 million in restitution. The company's board assures that this incident will not affect the on... Continue Reading →
Fitch Affirms YPF S.A.’s IDRs at ‘CCC’
// Fitch Affirms YPF S.A.'s IDRs at 'CCC' July 20, 2015 03:04 PM Eastern Daylight Time NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Fitch Ratings has affirmed the foreign and local currency Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs) of YPF S.A. (YPF) at 'CCC' and 'B-', respectively. Fitch affirms the company's long-term international bond ratings at 'CCC' and assigns an 'RR4' recovery... Continue Reading →
Brazil Real Rises as Central Banker Sees Higher Interest Rates
Brazil’s real climbed for the first time in four days as a central bank official said policy makers should keep raising interest rates, making the nation’s assets more attractive to global investors. The currency led regional gains as Tony Volpon, the bank’s risk-management director, said 2016 inflation expectations need to drop to the official target... Continue Reading →
Dilma’s Tightrope Ordeal
If Brazil’s President Dilma Rousseff thought it was tough imposing austerity measures in the first half of the year, she may be in for some unpleasant surprises in the second. She has lost support from Senate Chief Renan Calheiros and his lower-house counterpart, Eduardo Cunha, amid growing discontent with a recession and a corruption probe... Continue Reading →
Exclusive: Peru sending prosecutors to Brazil as corruption probe goes regional
Peruvian prosecutors plan to visit Brazil this month to gather evidence of bribery on a transcontinental highway project, Peru's attorney general said in an interview, adding to regional fallout from the biggest corruption scandal in Brazil's history. The mission laid out by Peruvian Attorney General Pablo Sánchez is the most public sign yet of international... Continue Reading →
Key Latin American stock indexes and currencies at 1720 GMT
Key Latin American stock indexes and currencies at 1720 GMT: Stock indexes Latest Daily YTD pct pct change change MSCI Emerging Markets 934.47 -0.77 -1.53 MSCI LatAm 2,426.18 -0.92 -10.23 Brazil Bovespa 51,819.92 -1 3.62 Mexico IPC 45,593.09 0.59 5.67 Chile IPSA 3918.15 0.46 1.74 Chile IGPA 19,035.25 0.41 0.87 Argentina MerVal 12,183.85 -1.56 42.02... Continue Reading →
Shrinking Shallow-Water Drilling in the U.S. GOM
Energy producers are abandoning the search for oil and natural gas close to shore in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico as drilling budgets shrink and exploration migrates to land-based shale fields. The number of permits for new wells in seas less than 500 feet (152 meters) deep plunged 74 percent to nine during the first... Continue Reading →
First Brazilian Executives Sentenced as Petrobras Probe Advances
Two former executives of Camargo Correa SA received sentences exceeding 15 years from a judge handing down the first punishments to builders in Brazil’s biggest-ever corruption scandal. Judge Sergio Moro sentenced ex-President Dalton Avancini along with Eduardo Leite, the conglomerate’s former vice president, to 15 years and 10 months for corruption, money laundering and organized... Continue Reading →
Oil Prices Hurt Currencies
Crude oil’s worst run in four months is hurting more than just commodity traders. Currencies from the Norwegian krone to Brazil’s real are tumbling as investors revise economic growth expectations for petroleum-exporting nations. Mexico’s peso slumped to its weakest since a 1993 revaluation, while the Canadian dollar fell to a six-year low. Read More
Brazil Energy Insight 