Listed offshore driller Seadrill, once the crown jewel in the business empire of shipping tycoon John Fredriksen, said the oil industry may be turning a corner as it posted second-quarter earnings above forecasts on Thursday. At the height of the oil price boom, the company was the world's largest offshore driller by market capitalisation, but... Continue Reading →
Sinopec Profit Slips as Oil Crash Drags Down Refining Gains
China Petroleum & Chemical Corp., the world’s biggest oil refiner, posted a 22 percent decline in profit for the first half of the year as oil’s collapse overpowered the boost from cheaper crude used to make fuels and chemicals. Net income dropped to 19.9 billion yuan ($3 billion), the Beijing-based company known as Sinopec said... Continue Reading →
Brazil’s Impeachment Euphoria Is Blinding Bond Traders to Risks
The finances of Brazilian companies are deteriorating quickly, yet their bonds are handing investors some of the most impressive returns in emerging markets. The incongruity underscores how the euphoria unleashed by the push to impeach President Dilma Rousseff has masked the faltering creditworthiness of the nation’s businesses. S&P Global Ratings now has a negative outlook... Continue Reading →
Brazil’s Dilma Rousseff takes stand in impeachment trial
Suspended President Dilma Rousseff will make a last stand in Brazil's Senate on Monday in an impeachment trial that is widely expected to remove her from office and end more than a decade of leftist rule by her Workers Party. Rousseff, who is being impeached on charges of breaking budget laws, has denied wrongdoing and... Continue Reading →
Petrobras voluntary layoff program accepted by 6,100 employees
Reuters Aug 25 A voluntary layoff program at state-run oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA has been accepted by 6,100 employees, a source with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters. The number may rise by month-end, the deadline for the plan proposed by the oil giant known as Petrobras. Around 12,000 employees, or 21 percent... Continue Reading →
Brazil’s Lula Charged With Corruption Amid Trial of His Protege
Brazilian police charged former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva with corruption and money laundering as his successor faces an impeachment trial expected to oust her permanently next week. A spokesman for the federal police in Brasilia confirmed the charges on Friday, which local media reported are in relation to a beach-side apartment in Sao... Continue Reading →
Brazil’s Camargo Correa chairman Hallack quits
Aug 26 Vítor Sarquis Hallack has stepped down as chairman of Brazil's Camargo Correa SA as the Brazilian engineering company involved in the country's worst corruption scandal moves to transform itself into an investment holding firm, O Estado de S. Paulo newspaper reported on Friday. According to Estado, Camargo Correa, which was founded in 1939... Continue Reading →
Oil Industry Shifts From Survival to Growth
Multibillion-dollar oil and gas deals are back on the table. More than $11 billion of transactions were announced globally in July as crude’s recovery fueled hopes of a steadier market, Wood Mackenzie Ltd. said. That’s the highest monthly total this year and brings the amount since May to $32 billion, triple that of the previous three... Continue Reading →
Brazil state banks to fund infrastructure projects
Aug 25 State-controlled Brazilian lenders BNDES and Caixa Econômica Federal SA plan to extend funding to private investors who win licenses for port, energy and other infrastructure projects, including stakes in offshore oil finds, newspaper O Estado de S. Paulo reported on Thursday. The planned auctions, which could be Brazil's most ambitious privatization drive in... Continue Reading →
Brazil Starts Impeachment Trial That May Hold Key to Recovery
Brazil’s Senate opens an historic impeachment trial on Thursday that is expected to result in President Dilma Rousseff’s permanent ouster and give her successor Michel Temer some of the legitimacy he needs to revive economic growth. The trial is scheduled to finish with a vote Tuesday or Wednesday next week on charges that Rousseff illegally financed... Continue Reading →
