Stories for October 3rd 2013

Thursday, October 3rd 2013 - 23:12 UTC
Argentine oil company finds way to invest in Vaca Muerta and elude legal action from Repsol

One day after the Argentine government extended the deadline to legalize undeclared cash, energy company Bridas International gave new life to the BAADE energy bonds, the most relegated portion of the whitewash scheme, by saying it would snap up 500 million dollars of the paper.
Thursday, October 3rd 2013 - 22:02 UTC
Minister Swire visit confirms close UK links with Sao Paulo university and research centers

Foreign and Commonwealth Office Minister for Latin America, Hugo Swire is in Sao Paulo the last leg of this latest South American tour that had him in Asuncion, Paraguay and the Brazilian cities of Porto Alegre and Brasília in the beginning of the week.
Thursday, October 3rd 2013 - 21:58 UTC
UK tells Spain: ‘no sovereignty negotiations with which Gibraltar is not content’

Britain has enshrined, in a written statement to the United Nations, its commitment that it will not enter into a process of sovereignty negotiations with which Gibraltar is not content. And it has also reaffirmed its sovereignty over Gibraltar and its territorial waters, according to the Gibraltar Chronicle.
Thursday, October 3rd 2013 - 21:46 UTC
Brazil industry production unexpectedly stalls in August

Brazilian industry production unexpectedly stalled in August, as factories reduced the output of consumer goods. Industrial output was unchanged in August after tumbling a revised 2.4% in July, the national statistics agency said in Rio de Janeiro.
Thursday, October 3rd 2013 - 21:42 UTC
Uruguay and Singapore sign open skies agreement including hub and regional flights

Singapore has signed a new Open Skies Agreement with Uruguay. The agreement allows designated airlines to fly between both countries and it is more liberal than conventional ones, said the Singapore Ministry of Transport in a statement on Wednesday.
Thursday, October 3rd 2013 - 21:24 UTC
Brazil offers Paraguay Mercosur chair, but apparently Argentina is not convinced

Brazil offered Paraguay the rotating chair of Mercosur as of next December, as part of an overall understanding to have the landlocked country return to the block, while accepting the incorporation of Venezuela as a full member of the group. Paraguay rejects Venezuela’s membership alleging it was done against the will of its Senate and in breach of national and international law and of the Mercosur charter.
Thursday, October 3rd 2013 - 19:36 UTC
Falklands’ ‘FOGL and Desire Combination’ prepare to drill five wells next year

Falkland Oil & Gas is to buy a smaller Falklands-based firm to create a “combination” company with licences to search for oil both to the north and south of the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic. FOGL said on Thursday it had agreed to buy Desire Petroleum offering 0.6 FOGL “consideration” shares for each Desire share, in a deal valuing Desire at 61 million pounds (99 million dollars).
Thursday, October 3rd 2013 - 19:29 UTC
Collapse of a 35bn dollars empire; Brazil’s Eike Batista defaulted on 45 million interest payment

Two days ago, former Brazilian billionaire Eike Batista crossed a line. He started to default on a 45 million dollars interest payments on his oil and gas company, OGX's, bonds. The default will be official on October 30th, according to Bloomberg. That leaves bondholders, like PIMCO, the largest bond fund in the world helmed by legendary investor Bill Gross, taking a massive hit. And what's worse is that there could be more to come, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Thursday, October 3rd 2013 - 19:23 UTC
Brazil, a giant but with “a lot of fat and much in the way of muscle”

Brazil, Latin America's largest economy is in dire need of structural reforms and reduced government bloat to fuel sustainable growth, analysts say. And this will not happen overnight and will take massive political will. A giant but it carries “a lot of fat and not much in the way of muscle”.
Thursday, October 3rd 2013 - 19:17 UTC
Moody’s lowers Brazil’s credit rating to stable from positive: rising debt and weak growth

Brazil’s currency Real declined from its highest level in two weeks after Moody’s Investors Service cited rising debt and weak growth in lowering its outlook on the country’s credit rating to stable from positive.