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Brazil's largest party is standing by deeply unpopular President Dilma Rousseff for now despite the defection of one of its own leaders, but that could change if an expected recession stirs up social unrest, party leaders say. Rousseff is struggling to save her presidency amid the worst economic downturn in 25 years and a political... Continue Reading →
Bond investors in Brazil just can’t catch a break. After being burned by a bribery scandal at the country’s state-owned oil company, they were buffeted again last week when federal prosecutors probing Brazil’s national development bank said the lender lost out an estimated $2 billion by setting interest rates too low for risky borrowers. The... Continue Reading →
The slide of crude into a bear market sank Petroleo Brasileiro SA, sending the Ibovespa to the longest rout since February 2013. Petrobras, the oil producer at the center of Brazil’s largest corruption scandal, extended a seven-day plunge to 17 percent. Crude traded in New York fell more than 20 percent from its June high... Continue Reading →
Prosecutors and federal police in Brazil unearthed the country's largest-ever corruption scandal by tying a ring of black-market money changers to a price-fixing and political kickback scheme at state-run oil firm Petrobras. Executives from two dozen engineering firms are accused of inflating the value of service contracts and funneling the excess funds into their own... Continue Reading →
There are times in Brazil’s young democracy -- its constitution dates from 1988 -- when the country seems to be making things up as it goes along. This is one of them. Read More
SAO PAULO, July 24 Brazil's currency, the real, plunged to its weakest level in 12 years on Friday as investors continued to digest the government's recent announcement that it would slash its fiscal savings goals. Currencies daily % YTD % Brazil real 3.3500 -1.63 -20.87 Mexico peso 16.225 -0.10 -9.13 Chile peso 660.9 -0.74 -8.25... Continue Reading →
Brazilian prosecutors will present formal charges Friday against the chief executive of Latin America's largest engineering firm and other senior executives detained last month in a landmark investigation meant to show the country's elite are not above the law. Marcelo Odebrecht, the third-generation chief executive of the family-run Brazilian conglomerate, could face charges of corruption... Continue Reading →
The Brazilian real’s 4.5 percent tumble this week, the most among major currencies worldwide, has forecasters reviewing estimates after the government said it won’t meet fiscal targets. The real touched a 12-year low Friday, falling faster and farther than economists had predicted, after Finance Minister Joaquim Levy asked lawmakers to cut a key budget goal.... Continue Reading →
Brazil traders see Finance Minister Joaquim Levy’s admission that the government won’t meet its fiscal goals as a bad omen. The real touched a 12-year low, while the Ibovespa led declines among major equity benchmarks after the government asked lawmakers to approve a reduction in its target for the budget surplus before interest payments. The move sparked... Continue Reading →
Oil relapsed into a bear market in New York as resilient U.S. output, rising OPEC supply and threats to Chinese demand keep a global glut in place. West Texas Intermediate futures dropped 1.5 percent Thursday to close at $48.45 a barrel. The grade has lost 21 percent in the past six weeks, meeting the common... Continue Reading →
