An investor in state-controlled Centrais Elétricas Brasileiras SA has filed a lawsuit that accuses Brazil's largest power holding company and three of its executives of involvement in a graft scandal that artificially inflated stock prices, according to a court document. The plaintiff, the City of Providence, Rhode Island, is seeking class action status for the... Continue Reading →
Despite protests, slog more likely than radical change in Brazil
Despite protests by hundreds of thousands of Brazilians against President Dilma Rousseff and ongoing calls for her impeachment, little suggests radical change in Brazil anytime soon. With the country hobbled by legislative gridlock, a lack of viable alternatives to the established political parties and an economic reversal so complete that its currency is trading at... Continue Reading →
Brazil’s currency nears fair value after dramatic decline
The Brazilian real is trading at or near fair value after losing one quarter of its worth since Jan. 1, economists said, suggesting a possible respite for one of the year's most battered currencies. Emerging market currencies in general have been sliding, and unexpected domestic and international events could still cause the real to overshoot... Continue Reading →
Protests Keep Heat on Rousseff as Longest Slump Since 1931 Looms
Nationwide street protests Sunday against the government kept the pressure on embattled Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff as the country heads to its longest recession since 1931. More than half a million people took to the streets to denounce corruption and economic mismanagement amid calls for Rousseff’s impeachment or resignation. While the rally drew fewer people... Continue Reading →
Brazil austerity plan is ‘stupid,’ prominent senator tells paper
The Brazilian government's attempts to reduce the country's rapidly expanding debt by raising taxes and to stem a decline in the currency by using futures contracts are "stupid" and will only do the opposite, opposition Senator José Serra told Valor Econômico newspaper in an interview published on Monday. Serra, the runner-up in the 2002 and... Continue Reading →
Petrobras – Inclusion of Tax Debits in REFIS
Petrobras - Inclusion of Tax Debits in REFIS 08/14/2015 Rio de Janeiro, August 14, 2015 – Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras hereby announces that it has decided to include tax debits in the Special Installment Program – REFIS, instituted by Law 12996/2014 and regulated by Joint Ordinance PGFN/RFB 1064/15 and Regulatory Instruction RFB 1576/15, published... Continue Reading →
Rousseff Can’t Shake Crisis as Half-Million Brazilians Rally
Nationwide street protests Sunday against Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff kept the pressure on the government without dealing her administration a fatal blow. More than half a million people, many wearing the yellow jersey of the national soccer team, took to the streets to denounce corruption and economic mismanagement amid calls for Rousseff’s impeachment or resignation.... Continue Reading →
Brazilians Take to the Streets
Brazilians took to the streets Sunday in anti-government protests as President Dilma Rousseff tries to rebuild her coalition and outlast a political crisis. Tens of thousands of demonstrators came out by mid-afternoon in the country’s largest cities to denounce corruption and economic mismanagement, in many cases demanding impeachment or Rousseff’s resignation. Waves of people marched... Continue Reading →
UPDATE 2-Petrobras to take $576 mln Q3 charge for back taxes
State-run oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA said it will take a 2 billion reais ($576 million) charge against third-quarter earnings to pay a disputed tax bill with Brazil's federal government, its second unexpected tax charge in a month. The charge is related to 6 billion reais of disputed tax assessments over eight years between 1999... Continue Reading →
New plea deals as Brazil’s Petrobras corruption probe advances
More defendants are negotiating and signing plea bargain deals in a massive bribery case focused on Brazil's state-run oil firm Petrobras as federal prosecutors prepare charges against higher-profile suspects, including politicians. Petrobras' former head of corporate services Renato Duque and Fernando Soares, a lobbyist who helped firms win drillship contracts with Petrobras and is accused... Continue Reading →
Brazil Energy Insight 