01/21/2016 Rio de Janeiro, January 21, 2016 – Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras hereby responds to Official Letter 217/2016-SAE, which requests the following clarifications: Official Letter 217/2016-SAE “Dear Sirs, A news item published on January 21, 2016 by Agência Estado - Broadcast, states, among other matters, that the members of Petrobras’ Board of Directors expect... Continue Reading →
Brazil’s finance minister to unveil stimulus plan Jan 28 -sources
President Dilma Rousseff's government will announce a strategy next week to kick start the Brazilian economy without causing it to overheat or fuel inflation, sources in the administration said on Thursday. The attempt to pull Brazil out of its worst recession in decades will involve opening up state financing for certain industries, infrastructure projects and... Continue Reading →
Schlumberger Cuts Another 10,000 Jobs as Crude Rout Deepens
Schlumberger Ltd. cut another 10,000 jobs to cope with a crude market collapse that’s forced its customers to slash spending for two consecutive years. The world’s largest oilfield service provider reported a loss of $1.02 billion, or 81 cents a share, compared to profit of $302 million, or 23 cents, a year earlier, the Houston-... Continue Reading →
Moody’s Lower Oil Forecast to Accelerate Energy Firm Downgrades
Moody’s Investors Service revised its price forecast for oil this year and started reviewing ratings of oil companies, joining Standard & Poor’s in predicting lower crude prices as S&P began downgrading firms in the sector. Moody’s cut 2016 price estimates for West Texas Intermediate and Brent crude to $33 a barrel and predicted the price... Continue Reading →
Brazil real slips after central bank balks at rate hike
Brazil's real weakened in early trading on Thursday to around 4.16 to the dollar, nearing its lowest levels in more than a decade, after the central bank surprised markets and held rates stable despite inflation running at more than 10 percent a year. The central bank's monetary policy committee, known as the Copom, kept rates... Continue Reading →
Brazil Balks at Rate Rise, Picks Recession Fight Over Prices
In a surprise decision, Brazil balked at raising interest rates as it wagers the nation’s worst recession in decades will be enough to damp double-digit inflation. Just 15 of 57 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg predicted the outcome, which marks the fourth straight meeting that borrowing cost were kept unchanged at 14.25 percent. The remainder of economists expected... Continue Reading →
Keppel Stops Work for Brazil Client, Takes $160 Million Hit
Keppel Corp., the world’s biggest builder of oil rigs, said it stopped work in the fourth quarter on projects for a Brazilian client that is more than a year behind on its bills, and took a S$230 million ($160 million) charge on the delinquent projects. Sete Brasil Participacoes SA, Keppel’s Brazilian client, is set to discuss... Continue Reading →
One Gallon of Milk Is Now Worth About Two Gallons of Oil: Chart
Crude oil is at a 12-year low and that means it’s even cheaper than milk. The price of one gallon of West Texas Intermediate crude is equivalent to about half a gallon of Class III milk, the benchmark traded on the Chicago futures market. That’s the lowest ratio since 2004. WTI dropped to $26.19 a... Continue Reading →
Shell Fourth-Quarter Profit Plunges as Oil’s Slump Deepens
Royal Dutch Shell Plc, which is buying BG Group Plc in the industry’s largest deal in a decade, expects fourth-quarter profit to drop at least 42 percent after the rout in crude prices deepened. Profit adjusted for one-time items and inventory changes probably shrank to $1.6 billion to $1.9 billion, Shell said Wednesday in a preliminary earnings... Continue Reading →
Brazil’s central bank casts doubt on rate hike as outlook worsens
Brazil's central bank on Tuesday signaled that a worsening recession could force it to abandon plans to aggressively raise interest rates to battle inflation, which recently hit a 12-year high. In an unusual statement hours before the start of a two-day monetary policy meeting, central bank chief Alexandre Tombini said policymakers will take into consideration... Continue Reading →
