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Brazil and South Africa top a list of emerging-market borrowers whose credit ratings are threatened by slowing growth and ballooning budget deficits, according to Fitch Ratings. Credit grades across Latin America are also under pressure as the down cycle in commodity prices deepens and stagnation in Brazil’s economy pushes the entire region into contraction, Shelly... Continue Reading →
The real advanced 1.3 percent to 3.795 per dollar at 9:27 a.m. in Sao Paulo as Brazil planned a foreign exchange credit line auction of up to $3 billion for Tuesday. Such auctions are designed to support the real. The central bank last held a similar auction in August. Swap rates on the contract maturing in... Continue Reading →
Mon Sep 7, 2015 Reuters Techint under investigation in Petrobras corruption probe MILAN The Techint Group, which controls listed steel pipe maker Tenaris, is being probed by Milan prosecutors over alleged international corruption regarding contracts awarded by Brazil's Petrobras, the company and sources said on Monday. Techint is being investigated by the prosecutors under a... Continue Reading →
Tue Sep 8, 2015 7:47am EDT Reuters Brazil's 2016 inflation view rises for 5th week, to 5.58 pct BRASILIA, Sept 8 Economists raised their forecasts for Brazil's 2016 inflation rate for a fifth straight week, adding pressure on the central bank after it halted a nine-month-long cycle of interest rates hikes last week, a weekly... Continue Reading →
Brazil's current economic struggles are due in part to prolonged government stimulus that must be cut back, President Dilma Rousseff said on Monday, in a rare public acknowledgment that her policies had contributed to a deep recession. In a video posted online to mark Brazil's Independence Day, Rousseff renewed her commitment to an austerity agenda... Continue Reading →
The North Sea and Nigeria will ship the most crude in more than three years in October, adding to downward pressure on oil prices just as demand wanes from refiners shutting down for seasonal maintenance. Output of North Sea grades will reach the highest since May 2012 next month, according to loading programs compiled by... Continue Reading →
Brazil's Braskem signs naphtha contract with Petrobras Brazilian petrochemical firm Braskem SA said on Friday it signed a naphtha contract with state-run oil firm Petrobras, valid until the end of October. The contract continues the terms of a previous deal, but Braskem said in a statement that it continued to work with Petroleo Brasileiro SA<... Continue Reading →
Angola risks losing investment from foreign oil companies as costly government regulations and low world prices make the country, vying to be Africa’s largest producer, less attractive to operate in, an industry executive said. A series of measures introduced by Angola’s government in recent years has pushed production costs up as much as $500 million... Continue Reading →
Brazil is well prepared to cope with any market volatility resulting from a U.S. interest rate rise, Finance Minister Joaquim Levy said on Monday. Levy told a meeting in Madrid that Brazil's banks were well capitalized and it has large foreign exchange reserves. "That reassures us that even if there starts to be volatility after... Continue Reading →
A top aide to Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva when he was president was charged with corruption, money laundering and racketeering on Friday, making him one of the most senior members of Brazil's ruling Workers' Party targeted by prosecutors in a massive kickback scandal. Jose Dirceu, who was Lula's chief of staff between 2003 and... Continue Reading →
Brazil Energy Insight 