Brazil’s Acting President Michel Temer is in damage-control mode as his administration faces its first political crisis with a corruption scandal that helped bring down his predecessor encroaching on his inner circle. Top Temer ally and newly-appointed Budget Minister Romero Juca went before journalists on Monday to deny allegations made earlier in the day that... Continue Reading →
Brazil Real Drops Most in Emerging Markets on Political Concern
Brazil’s real led a selloff in emerging-market currencies after local media reported that the newly appointed planning minister was working to end a graft probe that has implicated some of the country’s top politicians, calling into question acting President Michel Temer’s pledges to root out corruption. The real dropped for the first time in three... Continue Reading →
Meanwhile, back at the House of Cards – Brazil minister rules out resigning on report he sought to halt graft probe
Newly appointed Brazilian Planning Minister Romero Juca on Monday said he would not resign over a newspaper account saying he sought to stall a wide-ranging corruption probe centered on state-controlled oil company Petrobras, a newspaper reported. The Folha de S. Paulo daily published purported excerpts of taped conversations between Juca and Sergio Machado, the former... Continue Reading →
Investors labour under delusion Brazil is a quick fix
Brazil’s structural problems will take steam out of rally in assets Markets Insight © AFP by: Alberto Gallo/FT Brazilians love telenovelas, soap operas that air every evening in prime time. President Dilma Rousseff’s recent impeachment offered all the typical twists and turns. The show involved months of political infighting and media attention, with former president and... Continue Reading →
Brazil warned of budget ‘time bomb’/FT
Former central bank governor Fraga says spending measures could worsen precarious fiscal situation © Reuters by: Joe Leahy in São Paulo/FT Brazil’s new government urgently needs to defuse fiscal “time bombs” that are set to blow up the country’s already strained budget, according to Arminio Fraga, the former central bank governor and founding partner of Gávea Investimentos, one... Continue Reading →
Exclusive: Brazil organizes investor meetings for state asset sales
The Brazilian government plans to host a round of investor meetings to market a broad plan of asset sales, a key initiative to help raise cash and reduce a record budget deficit, a senior official and people familiar with the matter told Reuters. According to Wellington Moreira Franco, the head of a government agency to... Continue Reading →
Petrobras Is Still Underpriced
Despite a corruption probe and Brazil’s governance crisis, the oil giant has room to run, aided by factors including firmer oil prices and possible lower interest rates. By DIMITRA DEFOTIS/Barron's May 21, 2016 A Petrobras station in Rio de Janeiro Photo: Bloomberg News Emerging Markets The U.S.-traded shares of Brazil’s state-controlled oil company Petróleo Brasileiro... Continue Reading →
Brazil police widen Odebrecht probe with Angola contracts
May 20 Brazil's federal police on Friday said they widened a probe of construction conglomerate Odebrecht SA to investigate possible money laundering and influence peddling in contracts awarded for projects in Angola. At least one relative to former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was targeted by the operation that included four search and seizure... Continue Reading →
Brazil’s Financial Chief Says Economy Worse Off Than He Imagined
Brazil’s Finance Minister Henrique Meirelles said the economy is in worse shape than he anticipated when joining the government one week ago. "In the numbers I see a worse situation than I expected," he said in an interview in Brasilia, referring in large part to the federal budget. Yet the current administration led by Michel... Continue Reading →
Brazil Stock Exchange Chairman Takes Petrobras CEO Job
Petroleo Brasileiro SA will be led by veteran business executive Pedro Parente, as the state-controlled oil producer struggles to reduce debt and navigate the fallout from the country’s biggest corruption scandal. Parente, who is currently the chairman of BM&FBovespa SA, the operator of Latin America’s biggest securities exchange, accepted an offer from Acting President Michel Temer... Continue Reading →
Brazil Energy Insight 