Brazil’s real declined as Goldman Sachs Group Inc. questioned the viability of proposals to cut spending and raise taxes as the government seeks to reassure investors of the country’s creditworthiness. Finance Minister Joaquim Levy proposed a new round of fiscal tightening designed to protect Brazil from further credit-rating downgrades after Standard & Poor’s cut to... Continue Reading →
Brazil announces $17 billion in new taxes, spending cuts
Brazil's government announced spending cuts and tax increases totaling 65 billion reais ($16.9 billion) on Monday as it races to close a budget deficit that led to a downgrade of the country's credit rating last week. The biggest item was the revival of the unpopular CPMF tax on financial transactions that will raise 32 billion... Continue Reading →
Fitch: Brazil’s Tax Hike on Banks May Trim Loan Originations
Mon Sep 14, 2015 11:14am EDT Fitch: Brazil's Tax Hike on Banks May Trim Loan Originations (The following statement was released by the rating agency) NEW YORK, September 14 (Fitch) Brazil's recently announced increase on the social security tax levied on banks could negatively affect the sector's net earnings, says Fitch Ratings. Fitch expects banks... Continue Reading →
UPDATE 1-Petrobras chairman to take leave, to focus on job as Vale CEO
Murilo Ferreira will take a leave of absence as chairman of state-run oil firm Petrobras, turning his full attention to his job as chief executive of Vale SA as the mining giant grapples with a downturn in the sector. Petroleo Brasileiro SA, as the company is formally known, did not give a reason for Ferreira's... Continue Reading →
Brazil Downgrade Leaves Firms With $270 Billion Debt Hangover
Brazilian companies that piled on $270 billion in international debt during the boom years are seeing their funding costs rise after the nation’s credit rating was cut to junk. The spread for five-year credit-default swaps to protect against a government default, one benchmark for setting what Brazilian companies must pay for external funding, has jumped... Continue Reading →
Petrobras – Chairman of the Board of Directors‘ leave of absence
Petrobras - Chairman of the Board of Directors‘ leave of absence 09/14/2015 Rio de Janeiro, September 14, 2015 – Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras informs that the Chairman of its Board of Directors, Mr. Murilo Pinto de Oliveira Ferreira, announced today his leave of absence from the Company´s Board until November, 30th. The above appeared... Continue Reading →
Pimco, Fidelity Stung by Collapse of Petrobras’s 100-Year Bond
When Petroleo Brasileiro SA sold 100-year bonds in June, the move was largely seen as a sign the corruption-tainted oil producer had put the worst of its problems behind it. For investors like Pacific Investment Management Co., Fidelity Management & Research Co. and Capital Group Inc. -- the threebiggest holders of the securities -- that... Continue Reading →
OPEC Trims 2016 Estimates for Rival Supplies as U.S. Oil Suffers
OPEC trimmed estimates for supplies from outside the group in 2016 as the slump in prices takes its toll on the U.S. shale-oil industry. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries cut 2016 estimates for non-OPEC output by 110,000 barrels a day, its Vienna-based secretariat said Monday in its monthly market report. Still, the group sees... Continue Reading →
China, Brazil Among Emerging Markets at Risk of Bank Crisis
Credit growth in China, Brazil and Turkey doesn’t only risk spurring a hangover in bad debt -- it also signals a banking crisis is on the horizon, according to the Bank for International Settlements. A ratio of credit to gross domestic product, a measure of how much private-sector credit has deviated from its long-term trend,... Continue Reading →
Last chance for Brazil’s Rousseff to save mandate
Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff has one last chance to stem a growing political and economic crisis before being forced to step down, one of the country's leading daily newspapers said on Sunday. In an unusual front-page editorial, Folha de S.Paulo said Rousseff needs to take "drastic measures" including additional spending cuts and tax increases to... Continue Reading →
Brazil Energy Insight 