Executives of Brazil's state-run oil producer Petroleo Brasileiro SA approved a voluntary layoff program to cut about 12,000 jobs and save 33 billion reais ($9.20 billion) by 2020, the company said in a statement on Friday. The program will cost 4.4 billion reais ($1.23 billion) to be implemented, Petrobras said. The layoffs will help Petrobras... Continue Reading →
Brazil’s Odebrecht seeks to sell $3 bln in assets
Odebrecht SA, the engineering firm at the heart of Brazil's biggest ever graft probe, has put 12 billion reais ($3.34 billion) in assets up for sale to raise capital as it grapples with rising debt, Odebrecht Chief Executive Newton de Souza told Folha de S.Paulo in an interview published on Friday. Odebrecht is seeking to... Continue Reading →
Brazil’s Rousseff gets relief from Supreme Court, supporters
Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff smiles during a meeting with artists and intellectuals in defense of democracy at the Planalto Palace in Brasilia, Brazil, March 31, 2016 . REUTERS/ADRIANO MACHADO Brazil's Supreme Court ruled on Thursday to take a corruption investigation into former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva away from a crusading federal judge,... Continue Reading →
Perfect Storm Remix – Global Banks Said to Demand Dollar Guarantees on Brazil Loans
Brazil’s biggest corporations, already reeling from a growing political crisis and the worst recession in a century, face a new threat: International banks have either stopped lending to them entirely or are demanding dollar-denominated collateral, people with direct knowledge of the matter said. Not a single syndicated loan has been made to a Brazilian company this... Continue Reading →
Brazil’s Poor Love Lula. And They May Be His and Rousseff’s Salvation
In 2002, Lula won the presidency by a landslide. He expanded welfare, credit, crop support, and housing programs for subsistence farmers and slum dwellers, as well as universities, health care, and jobs programs for their children, all on a scale never seen before. This safety net, largely maintained by Rousseff, pulled 36 million people out... Continue Reading →
Brazil’s Temer eyes pro-business plan but has scant room for major reforms
Brazil's Vice President Michel Temer (C) leaves the house of senator Renan Calheiros (R) as Senator Eunicio Oliveira looks on after a meeting with senators of the Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB) in Brasilia, Brazil March 28, 2016. REUTERS/ADRIANO MACHADO Vice President Michel Temer is quietly assembling a team of respected economists to revive confidence... Continue Reading →
Humbling of Petrobras hits Brazil’s oilfield services sector
Ripples hit smaller players as oil major slashes investment EM Squared/FT © Reuters by: Richard House The record R$36.9bn ($10.2bn) loss posted by Petrobras for the fourth quarter of 2015 was humbling enough for Brazil’s state oil company, but the impact on local oilfield service providers could be worse still as the tottering giant... Continue Reading →
Brazil Real Extends Best Month in 13 Years as Traders Snub Swaps
Brazil’s real extended its biggest monthly rally since 2003 after the central bank sold one-sixth of the contracts auctioned to protect against a decline, indicating traders are betting the currency will appreciate. The real rose to a seven-month high as the central bank sold 2,900 out of 17,000 foreign-exchange reverse-swap contracts offered on Thursday. Auctioning... Continue Reading →
Petrobras’ Board of Directors approves the Composition of its Executive Board
Rio de Janeiro, March 30, 2016 – Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras announces that its Board of Directors approved today the names of the company’s executive officers and executive managers, based on its new structure. The following names were approved as executive officers: Hugo Repsold Júnior: Human Resources, HSE and Services Department (HR&SD) Ivan de... Continue Reading →
GRAPHIC-Brazil leads first quarter’s rebound in emerging markets
Emerging markets are set to end the first quarter of 2016 with strong gains, something few investors would have bet on in January, after the sector's worst start to a year on record. As this graphic shows (reut.rs/1ZKAaO6), emerging market stocks, currencies and bonds fell in the first few weeks of 2016 as oil... Continue Reading →
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