Petrobras - Gaspetro’s spin-off 10/23/2015 Rio de Janeiro, October 23, 2015 – Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras announces that its Board of Directors, in a meeting held today, has approved the partial spin-off of Petrobrás Gás S.A. (Gaspetro). The spin-off aims to segregate the assets and liabilities related to the natural gas distribution business from... Continue Reading →
UPDATE 3-Petrobras fetches $490 mln with gas unit stake to Mitsui
State-controlled Petróleo Brasileiro SA's board approved selling a minority stake in a natural gas distribution unit to Japan's Mitsui & Co Ltd for 1.9 billion reais ($490 million) in a key step toward disposing of non-essential assets to repay debt. Petrobras, as the oil producer is commonly known, had been engaged in negotiations with Mitsui... Continue Reading →
Brazil to monitor its multinational firms for corruption abroad
Brazil has started to watch its multinational companies for corrupt practices they might commit in other countries in the wake of a massive bribery scandal at home, the nation's top anti-corruption official told Reuters. Six years after encouraging homegrown conglomerates to expand beyond Brazil with cheap credit and eased regulatory rules, the government is now... Continue Reading →
Brazilian panel approves report clearing Petrobras of wrongdoing/Travesty
A final report approved by a Brazilian congressional panel investigating corruption at state-run oil company Petrobras has blamed suppliers and rogue employees for the graft, rather than politicians or the company. The committee's final report did not criticize any politicians, including those closely associated with Petrobras, such as President Dilma Rousseff, who was chairwoman of... Continue Reading →
Petrobras Update October 2015 – PBR presentation
Attached the Petrobras Update October 2015 presentation. BTG-Pactual-Conference-Oct2015_5
The Overlooked Forces Driving Brazil’s Inflation to 10 Percent
Brazil’s policy makers have blamed the fastest inflation in roughly 12 years on a weaker currency and higher government-administered prices such as electricity. Economists don't think it's so simple.Price increases that exceed the 4.5 percent target are widespread. Six of the nine product groups tracked by the national statistics agency still have annual inflation running... Continue Reading →
Billions in Cheap Loans Show Why Brazil’s Losing Inflation Fight
Brazil’s state development bank is making the nation’s fight against inflation even more difficult. BNDES -- whose $170 billion-plus loan portfolio is bigger than the World Bank’s -- has raised its key lending rate by two percentage points this year to 7 percent. The central bank’s benchmark Selic rate is at a nine-year high of... Continue Reading →
UPDATE 1-Singapore’s Keppel says may face Brazil corruption probe
Singapore oil rig builder Keppel Corporation Ltd said it may face an investigation into deals with Brazilian state-run oil company Petrobras and rig builder Sete Brasil. A Brazilian parliamentary commission of inquiry backed further investigations into 10 companies it identified as involved in transactions with Petrobras and Sete, including the Singaporean company's Keppel FELS Brasil... Continue Reading →
Brazil Poised to Post Widest-Ever Primary Budget Deficit
Brazil Poised to Post Widest-Ever Primary Budget Deficit Carla Simões, Mario Sergio Lima/Reuters October 22, 2015 — Primary gap to total at least 50 billion reais in 2015 Brazil will miss its fiscal target this year and post the widest year-end budget deficit before interest payments on record, according to the government’s chief of staff,... Continue Reading →
The threat of fiscal dominance in Brazil
Brazil’s inflation is approaching 10 percent and yet the central bank has opted not to raise interest rates in a meeting on Wednesday. Not only that, it pushed back its target to 2017. For many, the bank is staying put and tolerating a little more inflation because of the recession, the worst in decades. But... Continue Reading →
Brazil Energy Insight 