OPEC trimmed estimates for supplies from outside the group in 2016 as the slump in prices takes its toll on the U.S. shale-oil industry. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries cut 2016 estimates for non-OPEC output by 110,000 barrels a day, its Vienna-based secretariat said Monday in its monthly market report. Still, the group sees... Continue Reading →
Last chance for Brazil’s Rousseff to save mandate
Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff has one last chance to stem a growing political and economic crisis before being forced to step down, one of the country's leading daily newspapers said on Sunday. In an unusual front-page editorial, Folha de S.Paulo said Rousseff needs to take "drastic measures" including additional spending cuts and tax increases to... Continue Reading →
Brazil’s downgrade sparks concerns over forced selling
Pessimism about Brazil deepened this week after Standard & Poor's downgraded both the sovereign and Petrobras to junk status, reigniting fears of forced selling in a country sinking fast into high-yield territory. The other agencies are expected to follow suit soon, further clouding the picture for Brazil, which is undergoing its worst economic crisis in... Continue Reading →
Brazil investigators aim to question Lula in corruption probe
Brazil's Supreme Court said on Friday it had received a request from federal investigators to question former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in a political kickback scheme engulfing the state-run oil company. According to a motion filed with the court, federal police suspect the former president "may have benefited" from a political kickback scheme... Continue Reading →
Brazil likely to lose investment grade by other agencies: Reuters poll
At least one other rating agency is likely to withdraw Brazil's investment grade this year as renewed efforts to cut a budget deficit will probably fail, a Reuters poll showed, potentially deepening the country's economic and political crisis. All but one of 26 economists surveyed by Reuters on Thursday expect Brazil's rating to be cut... Continue Reading →
Brazil Real Volatility at Six-Month High After S&P Downgrades
Brazil’s real volatility climbed to a six-month high as traders weighed whether Standard & Poor’s move to cut the nation’s credit rating to junk will prompt lawmakers to work with the government to shore up the budget. One-week implied volatility on options for the real, reflecting projected shifts in the exchange rate, increased to 26.83 percent... Continue Reading →
Fat Paycheck, Lifetime Tenure: the Sweet Civil Service in Brazil
One reason for goldplated government jobs was a program five decades ago to lure qualified Brazilians from the beaches of Rio de Janeiro to the arid savanna of the new capital, Brasilia. This exacerbated fierce distortions in the economy: Brazilians pay unusually high taxes to finance a bloated state sector that provides poor public services.... Continue Reading →
Oil falls more than 2 percent after Goldman cuts forecasts
Oil prices fell more than 2 percent on Friday after Goldman Sachs cut its crude forecasts, citing global oversupply and concerns over the Chinese economy, and after Saudi Arabia dismissed the idea of an oil producer summit. Joining a long list of banks cutting their price forecasts, Goldman Sachs on Friday reduced its 2015 U.S.... Continue Reading →
Brazil’s Loss Is Levy’s Gain as Cut to Junk Favors Austerity
Brazil’s return to junk may be exactly what Finance MinisterJoaquim Levy needed. Standard and Poor’s dressing down of Latin America’s largest economy on Wednesday could finally convince lethargic policy makers to revive the economy and close the biggest budget deficit in at least two decades. "The downgrade creates a more favorable environment for approving measures because... Continue Reading →
Brazil’s Rouseff, Cabinet Meet as Downgrade Deepens Economic Turmoil
Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff called an emergency cabinet meeting Thursday after a sovereign-debt downgrade sent the real reeling and left the government scrambling to address the nation’s fast-deteriorating economy. Ratings firm Standard & Poor’s cut Brazil’s debt rating to junk-grade BB+ in a surprise move late Wednesday that highlighted mounting political challenges to the government’s... Continue Reading →
Brazil Energy Insight 