Brazil’s political crisis will deteriorate, making it even harder for President Dilma Rousseff to govern the country, said lower house President Eduardo Cunha. “The strain of the political crisis coupled with the economic crisis is eroding the government’s popularity,” Cunha told reporters in Brasilia Thursday. “I see the governability crisis worsening.” Read More
Petrobras – Clarification of Press Article: Privatization of Gas Pipelines
Petrobras - Clarification of Press Article: Privatization of Gas Pipelines 07/15/2015 Rio de Janeiro, July 15, 2015 – Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras hereby responds to Official Letter 245/2015/CVM/SEP/GEA-1, as transcribed below: OFFICIAL LETTER 245/2015/CVM/SEP/GEA-1 “We refer to the article published today in the Market section of Folha de São Paulo entitled Petrobras estuda privatizar... Continue Reading →
Brazil justice minister says Petrobras investigation must follow law
Brazil's Justice Minister José Eduardo Cardozo pledged on Wednesday to punish any investigators found to have broken the law by using unauthorized bugs or leaking documents to the press while probing corruption at state-run oil firm Petrobras. The landmark probe that has jailed powerful engineering executives and implicated dozens of politicians is coming under scrutiny... Continue Reading →
Brazil’s sovereign wealth fund to sell stake of state bank to meet fiscal plan
Brazil’s sovereign wealth fund has started reducing its stake in Banco do Brasil SA as the government prepares to possibly tap the fund to help meet its fiscal target, said a person with direct knowledge of the matter. Shares dropped the most on the Ibovespa index. The sovereign fund sold 1 million shares of Banco... Continue Reading →
Itau Unibanco SA forecasting Brazil’s economy will contract for a second consecutive year
Itau Unibanco SA is now forecasting Brazil’s economy will contract for a second consecutive year as unemployment continues to rise and the government struggles to contain above-target inflation. Brazil’s largest bank reduced its forecast for next year’s gross domestic product to a 0.2 percent contraction from 0.3 percent growth. It also predicts this year’s recession... Continue Reading →
Morgan Stanley: Latin American currencies will extend their slump
While the bank said Wednesday that Brazil’s real and the Colombian peso are the most vulnerable, Morgan Stanley is becoming increasingly concerned about the Mexican and Chilean pesos, which it previously expected to outperform. So far this year Latin American currencies have lost 10 percent, a Bloomberg index shows. Read More
Moody’s Visit Puts Brazil on Edge
A visit to Brazil by officials from Moody’s Investors Service raised the specter of a credit-rating cut for Latin America’s largest economy, sending stocks and the currency lower. Brazil is rated two levels above high-yield junk with a negative outlook by both Fitch Ratings and Moody’s. Standard & Poor’s cut the country’s rating to the... Continue Reading →
Exxon, Chevron, Total Not Bidding in Mexico Oil Auction
Exxon Mobil Corp., Chevron Corp. and Total SA weren’t among the nine bidders that presented offers in final stage of Mexico’s first oil auction Wednesday, the National Hydrocarbons Commission announced in Mexico City. There were no bidders for the first block auctioned.
Petrobras to Sell Control of Pipeline Assets – TAG
Market sources report that Petrobras is negotiating the sale of its gas pipeline transportation assets, Trasportadora Associada de Gás - TAG. The company is offering two models - sale of 49% minority stake and operate or sale of 80% majority stake and let buyer operate. market sources say that the 80% sale has interested parties while... Continue Reading →
Canada’s Brookfield Asset Management will extend the loan to OAS
A Brazilian court approved a debtor-in-possession loan to engineering firm OAS SA, the company said, after it earlier this year filed for bankruptcy protection in the wake of a corruption investigation that shut its access to refinancing. In a statement published late on Tuesday, OAS said judge Daniel Carnio Costa freed up the so-called DIP... Continue Reading →