Money from a public investment fund financed by payroll deductions was irregularly used to capitalize Brazil's BNDES development bank, according to leaked plea deal testimony from a wide-reaching corruption probe published in O Globo. According to the report published on Saturday, FI-FGTS, the investment arm of Brazil's public severance fund, allegedly transferred 17 billion reais... Continue Reading →
In Brazil, Another Shipyard Goes Bust as Work Returns to Asia
If there’s one industry where all of Brazil’s political and economic upheavals come together, it’s shipbuilding. A Rio de Janeiro shipyard, where suspended president Dilma Rousseff once promised to employ an army of welders, electricians and engineers to make offshore oil platforms, is all but shut. Every other day, 50 workers on average hand in... Continue Reading →
Brazil Has Its Own Iron Lady, and She Won’t Be Giving You a Loan
The new leader of Brazil’s development bank is bolstering confidence in the government’s efforts to revive the economy by pledging to shrink the lender’s size. BNDES, as the bank is known, is curtailing subsidized credit for Brazil’s biggest companies to focus on financing private-public partnerships and smaller businesses that would otherwise have trouble getting loans.... Continue Reading →
Brazil’s foreign minister warns against overappreciation of real
Brazilian Foreign Minister Jose Serra warned against the excessive appreciation of the country's currency as it could hurt exporters, revealing concerns in the interim government that a stronger real could further sink an economy mired in recession. In an interview late on Thursday, which also included written answers to questions from Reuters, Serra said the... Continue Reading →
Brazil’s Temer ally is new lower house speaker, eyes reforms
Congressman Rodrigo Maia is greeted by congressmen during a session to elect the new president of the chamber of deputies in the National Congress in Brasilia, Brazil July 13, 2016. REUTERS/UESLEI MARCELINO Brazil's lower house of Congress elected an ally of interim President Michel Temer as its new speaker late on Wednesday, marking a... Continue Reading →
Brazil Real Volatility Near 12-Month Low as Bank Retires Swaps
The cost of buying options to protect against swings in Brazil’s real is close to its lowest level in a year as the central bank unwinds its swaps program, which had helped investors hedge their exposure to a weakening currency. Three-month implied volatility was little changed Wednesday at 17.51 percent after falling to the lowest level since... Continue Reading →
Bulk of Global Oil Projects Seen Working Below $60 on Cost Cuts
Most of the oil projects planned over the next decade are economically viable with prices below $60 a barrel as explorers succeed in squeezing costs, consultant Wood Mackenzie Ltd. said. Oil explorers will be able to add 9 million barrels a day to global supply by 2025 with Brent crude under $60, mostly U.S. shale... Continue Reading →
Workers Party deals drove rise and fall of OAS, Brazil builders
An aerial view shows the Arena das Dunas stadium, which will host matches for the 2014 soccer World Cup, in Natal, Brazil, January 22, 2014. REUTERS/SERGIO MORAES/FILE PHOTO On Christmas Day 2014, in an empty São Paulo office building, four senior executives at engineering firm Grupo OAS SA set in motion a corporate bankruptcy... Continue Reading →
Brazil Analysts Forecast Stronger Real
Brazil economists forecast a stronger currency in 2016 and 2017 for the second straight week as the government seeks to shore up fiscal accounts and rebuild confidence. The country’s real will reach 3.55 per U.S. dollar at the end of 2017, compared to the previous week’s forecast of 3.70 and 3.81 a month ago, according... Continue Reading →
Brazil’s Petrobras oil, gas production up 2 pct in June
Jul 11, 2016 Reuters Brazilian state-run oil company Petrobras said on Monday it produced 2.9 million barrels equivalent of oil and natural gas per day in June, an increase of 2 percent compared with May. Petroleo Brasileiro SA, as the company is formally known, said oil production reached a daily average of 2.3 million barrels... Continue Reading →
