The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has sued Brazil's Petrobras to recoup stock losses stemming from a corruption scandal at the state-run oil company. According to a complaint filed late Thursday night in federal court in Manhattan, Petrobras' "pervasive bribery and money laundering scheme" caused the Gates Foundation and another plaintiff, WGI Emerging Markets Fund... Continue Reading →
Brazil’s Odebrecht O&G seeks new lease, other options after rig returned
Brazil's Odebrecht O&G seeks new lease, other options after rig returned SAO PAULO, SEPT 24 Brazilian drillship builder Odebrecht Oleo e Gas is seeking another leasing deal or other alternatives, the company said on Thursday, following a decision by state-run oil company Petrobras to return one of its rigs. Marcela Drehmer, the chief financial officer... Continue Reading →
Brazil Real Advances as Volatility Climbs to Highest Since 2011
Brazil’s real headed for a second straight gain, bolstered by policy makers’ signals they could boost support for the currency, after a tumultuous week of trading sent volatility to the highest level in almost four years. The currency added 0.4 percent to 3.9335 per dollar as of 9:47 a.m. in Sao Paulo, leaving it up... Continue Reading →
Brazil Respite Seen Short Lived With Momentum Going Against Real
Note: the Real opened stronger this Friday testing the R$3.90 level for the US dollar. Alexandre Tombini’s pledge to use all the tools he has to tame volatility in Brazil’s real provided a respite Thursday for thebeleaguered currency. Strategists at Citigroup Inc. and Standard Chartered Plc say it won’t be enough to calm markets. The... Continue Reading →
Brazil Impeachment Battle Heats Up Before Rousseff Flies to U.S.
The debate over President Dilma Rousseff’s political survival intensified as lawmakers for the second time this month debated impeachment, clashing over the rules of a process that hasn’t been carried out in Brazil since 1992. Lawmakers disagreed Thursday whether Rousseff can be impeached for misdeeds allegedly carried out in her previous term. Lower house President... Continue Reading →
Gulf Rig Supplier May Be First to Exit Oil-Slump Bankruptcy
Hercules Offshore Inc. may become the first big energy-sector business to exit bankruptcy since the crude slump triggered insolvencies among oil and gas drillers and the companies that serve them. Hercules, the owner of the largest fleet of shallow-water drilling rigs in the Gulf of Mexico, won court approval of its reorganization plan Thursday, less... Continue Reading →
What a day for the Real – USD closes at R$3.99
After a dramatic opening of the US dollar at R$4.23, an all time high, the Brazilian currency rebounded and the US dollar closed at R$3.99. A 5% swing from high to low. It gives you an idea of the tremendous uncertainly the country and economy are suffering. Can you imagine being a multinational CFO and... Continue Reading →
Transocean Cited in Petrobras Carwash Corruption Investigation
Transocean Ltd., the world’s largest offshore rig contractor, is being linked for the first time to the corruption probe of Petroleo Brasileiro SA, the state-owned energy giant at the center of Brazil’s biggest corporate scandal. A former executive at Brazil’s state-run oil company has testified to receiving what he says were payments made by someone claiming to... Continue Reading →
In Brazil’s Market Meltdown, a Wave of Panic — Then Silence
As Brazilian markets went wild this week, trading desks fell silent. Unlike previous scares that rocked Latin America’s biggest economy -- a 50-minute selloff triggered by a blackout, for example, or fear a corruption scandal is getting ever closer to the presidency -- this time around there’s no shouting as clients call demanding updates or... Continue Reading →
Odebrecht Bonds Plunge as Petrobras Cancels Drill Ship Contract
Bonds backed by four Odebrecht drilling rigs plunged to the lowest since they were issued after Brazil’s state oil company canceled a contract to rent one of the ships. Odebrecht Offshore Drill Finance’s $1.5 billion of bonds due 2022, which are backed by cash flows coming from the drill ships, fell 13 percent to 25... Continue Reading →
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