Aug 15 There is not much the Brazilian government can do to halt an appreciation in its real currency that is set to continue, given high liquidity abroad and less political uncertainty at home, a senior member of the economic team told Reuters. The government will rely on reducing its traditional currency swaps position to... Continue Reading →
Brazil’s Nascent Recovery Can’t Conceal Challenges Still to Come
Brazil’s economy is pulling out of its tailspin, and now traders are watching to see how quickly acting President Michel Temer can get the country flying again. Investors, who pushed the nation’s stocks, bonds and currency to world-beating gains this year on anticipation a new government would restore growth, are seeing some signs their optimism... Continue Reading →
Maersk Gains as Company Meets Tough Market With Cost Cuts
A.P. Moeller Maersk A/S shares gained as Denmark’s biggest company met punishing market conditions with cost cuts in order to create a leaner business. The company’s B-shares rose as much as 6.9 percent after the market opened on Friday, and traded 5 percent higher at 9,520 kroner as of 9:34 a.m. in Copenhagen. Maersk reported... Continue Reading →
Brazil state development bank BNDES posts loss in first half
Reuters Aug 12 Brazil's state development bank BNDES, the nation's biggest source of long-term corporate funding, posted a net loss of 2.174 billion reais ($689 million) in the first six months of the year, reversing profit of 3.515 billion reais a year earlier. In a statement, the Rio de Janeiro-based lender said the build-up of... Continue Reading →
Brazil Economy Grows in June as Confidence Supports Rebound
Brazil’s economy expanded at its fastest pace in one-and-a-half years in June, as improving business and consumer confidence drives an incipient recovery in industrial production and retail sales. The central bank’s seasonally adjusted economic-activity index, a proxy for gross domestic product, rose 0.23 percent in June from the previous month, after falling a revised 0.45... Continue Reading →
IEA: Crude Production to Fall Behind Demand
Paris-based International Energy Agency says, ‘Our balances show essentially no oversupply during the second half of the year’ August 11, 2016. By Summer Said/WSJ The world’s production of crude oil is falling behind demand, the International Energy Agency said Thursday. From July through September, global production of crude oil will lag behind demand by almost... Continue Reading →
Fitch: Widespread Tax Inquiries Add to Brazil Bank Woes
(The following statement was released by the rating agency) LONDON, August 11 (Fitch) Investigations into allegations that Brazilian banks may have been involved in longstanding bribery of tax officials and members of the Tax Appeals Board to either waive or reduce tax payments could add to the pressures on the Brazilian banking sector, says Fitch... Continue Reading →
Investors Have $100 Billion to Spend on Oil Assets No One Else Wants
The long wait may finally be over. Since the great crash of oil in mid-2014, more than $100 billion has been raised by buyout firms and distressed-debt funds eager to scoop up energy assets on the cheap. But as the months rolled by, few opportunities cropped up as cash-starved drillers limped along with the help... Continue Reading →
Odebrecht Hires Top Brazil Lawyer Munhoz for Restructuring
Odebrecht SA, the once-powerful Brazilian construction firm with 110 billion reais ($35.2 billion) in debt, hired Eduardo Munhoz, founding partner at E.Munhoz Advogados, to help with the “company restructuring process.” Munhoz was hired by the holding company about six months ago and has been working with Odebrecht Agroindustrial on its successful 13 billion-real debt restructuring... Continue Reading →
Brazil’s Messy Impeachment Drama Almost Over. Markets Can’t Wait
Even after Brazil outperformed almost all other major markets this year, analysts and fund managers say there’s still room for further gains if suspended President Dilma Rousseff is impeached in coming weeks. Rousseff’s permanent ouster would clear the way for acting President Michel Temer to get on with the fiscal reforms investors have been pushing... Continue Reading →
