Brought to you by Quest Offshore & Southern Cone Consultants
Brazil’s President Dilma Rousseff said her Finance MinisterJoaquim Levy is not isolated and worn out, even after several of his recent proposals aimed at avoiding a sovereign credit rating downgrade were blocked. Brazil’s Congress has redoubled its opposition to Levy’s austerity proposals as Latin America’s biggest economy heads to its first two-year recession since 1931.... Continue Reading →
Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies are at odds with Iran and other OPEC members over whether the organization should include oil-price forecasts in its long-term strategy report, according to three of the group’s delegates. The Gulf kingdom, which has led the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries in a battle against rival producers, is seeking... Continue Reading →
Brazil’s real slid for a fourth straight day and fell to a new 12-yearlow as a bigger-than-forecast drop in industrial production added to concern the nation is facing its longest economic contraction since the 1930s. The real declined 0.3 percent to 3.7111 per dollar Wednesday as of 10:08 a.m. in Sao Paulo, the weakest level... Continue Reading →
Much of Brazil’s plan to cut as many as 10 ministries by the end of the month is little more than re-branding, without saving the government much money, according to a cabinet member participating in the discussions. There are currently 38 officials in Brazil with the status of minister, including the heads of nine secretariats and... Continue Reading →
Brazil’s real fell to a fresh 12-year low and led losses among major currencies as a projected deficit in 2016 added to speculation that the nation will slip to a junk credit rating. The real depreciated 1.8 percent to 3.6875 per dollar at 3:36 p.m. in Sao Paulo, the weakest level on a closing basis... Continue Reading →
Brazil is enduring one of its most acute crises since the return of democracy in the 1980s. Amid a sharp economic downturn, the combination of growing popular discontent and a massive corruption scandal involving state-controlled oil giant Petrobras and major construction companies has prevented President Dilma Rousseff’s administration from being able to govern effectively. The... Continue Reading →
Chalk up another casualty of Brazil’s economic crisis: the world’s busiest helicopter market. Flights are down by a third in Sao Paulo, where rooftop helipads dot business and residential districts. For the first time in three decades, Brazil’s fleet is poised for an annual decline. And flight schools are full of trainees who may never... Continue Reading →
The jailed chief executive of Brazil's largest engineering group said on Tuesday he had no intention of signing a plea deal and criticized suspects who are collaborating with a massive corruption investigation. "To snitch, you have to have something to snitch," Marcelo Odebrecht, CEO of Odebrecht SA, told lawmakers running a congressional probe who traveled... Continue Reading →
Brazil’s government cut its estimate for budget savings for the second time this year, forecasting a deficit for 2016 as Congress steps up its opposition to tax increases and spending reductions. The government foresees a deficit next year excluding interest payments of 30.5 billion reais ($8.4 billion), or about 0.5 percent of gross domestic product,... Continue Reading →
Oil prices turned higher Monday on speculation that oil-producing nations might be willing to agree to output cuts to shrink the global glut of crude oil. An oversupply of crude oil has sent oil prices plunging to six-year lows in recent months, and many market watchers don’t expect prices to recover until late 2016 or... Continue Reading →
Brazil Energy Insight 