Bolsonaro’s epic pensions victory may be his last 23 Oct 2019 Brazil’s president has secured a budget-saving $195 bln overhaul of the country’s retirement program. It’s a success that eluded plenty of his predecessors. But the far-right leader’s low approval ratings and endless controversies may make tax and spending reforms a tougher slog.
Guest view: Finance can put out rainforest fires 17 Sep 2019 The burning Amazon has sparked international concern, tension between Brazil and Europe, but no solutions. One remedy, argue execs at the Coalition for Rainforest Nations, is for big firms to pay landowners to keep the forests and use the investment to offset their own pollution.
Telco M&A gets rare regulatory boost in Brazil 16 Sep 2019 The country may treat operators including Oi, which is in bankruptcy protection, with a lighter touch. That gives local units of Telefonica and Telecom Italia reason to pounce. Official support for M&A is a welcome relief from the constraints facing their European parents.
UBS Brazil JV would avoid repeat of disaster movie 9 Sep 2019 The Swiss lender may pool investment-banking resources with Banco do Brasil, a decade after selling BTG Pactual in a crisis-induced hurry. Contributing cross-border skills while the local bank takes balance-sheet risk should boost UBS's profile – and minimise political dangers.
Growing money on trees beats fossil-fuel returns 30 Aug 2019 Reforestation improves the management of water, soil and crops as well as storing carbon. It can also yield investment returns higher than Exxon and most of the other top 100 emitters of greenhouse gases manage. Especially with the Amazon rainforest ablaze, it merits top billing.
Climate-denying magnate stoked potent opposition 23 Aug 2019 Billionaire David Koch’s funding for anti-global warming causes helped delay a response to a mounting crisis. He died as record fires beset the Amazon. But governments, companies and investors have already consigned his belief that free markets cure all ills to the scrap heap.
Brazil’s Natura is Avon’s logical final house call 23 May 2019 An equity value around $2 billion is an ignominious end for the famous cosmetics brand. But the Sao Paulo-based buyer, which also owns Body Shop and Aesop, is probably the right one, strategically and geographically. Synergies worth more than 3 times the premium attest to that.
Engie gets the gas but without the gearing 8 Apr 2019 The French utility’s $8.6 billion deal to buy Petrobras’ Brazilian gas pipelines enables expansion in one of its core areas. Doing so with Canada’s CDPQ limits the extent it needs to push up its debt. That should help keep its new three-year strategy on the road.
Santander’s Latam double-down comes at a cost 3 Apr 2019 The bank run by Ana Botin wants to raise its return on equity to as much as 15 percent. That looks hard with the UK mired in Brexit, and Europe slowing. Allocating more capital to fast-growing countries like Brazil makes sense, but risks making the business more volatile.
Honeymoon ends early for Brazil’s Bolsonaro 22 Mar 2019 The far-right president is finding governing harder than firing off incendiary tweets. A Washington meetup with fellow populist Donald Trump was low on substance, key pension reform is struggling and his popularity has plummeted. Even his predecessor’s graft arrest may not help.
Vale can keep pages from departing CEO’s playbook 4 Mar 2019 Fábio Schvartsman has stepped down weeks after a fatal dam collapse. Waiting for prosecutors to push the issue is bad form. Safety and governance will have to become bigger priorities for the $65 bln Brazilian miner, but many strategic and operational ideas are worth preserving.
3G’s special sauce runs out of financial flavor 25 Feb 2019 The Brazilian investment firm’s private equity-style penchant for buying companies, larding on debt and slashing costs can work to a point. But without good strategy, management and a plan for an exit, it can cause problems like those now besetting Kraft Heinz.
Guest view: Investors can shore up mining risks 6 Feb 2019 A $1.3 trln shareholder group wants better standards after Vale’s dam disaster killed at least 100 people. It’s a start. But real change means pushing firms on everything from profitability to climate change, argue Ceres’ Monika Freyman and Upmanu Lall of Columbia University.
Vale’s Brazil dam damage will hurt its peers too 29 Jan 2019 A second disaster in three years has already cost the mining giant $19 bln in market value. Fines and a management overhaul will likely follow. Fresh scrutiny from stakeholders will hit an industry already grappling with high costs, slow projects and risk-averse shareholders.
Vale disaster threatens Brazil’s deregulation push 28 Jan 2019 A lethal dam collapse wiped $18 billion off the mining company’s value. It may also derail President Jair Bolsonaro’s plans to bolster business by rolling back environmental and other regulations. Angry Brazilians and skittish lawmakers may want to go in the opposite direction.
Viewsroom: Global elite-lite takes Davos downer 24 Jan 2019 Pessimism reigns supreme at the annual gathering in the Swiss Alps thanks to trade wars, the U.S. government shutdown and rising populism. Several major leaders stayed away entirely. The event remains a networker’s dream, but self-awareness and problem-solving are sorely lacking.
Brazil’s Bolsonaro clears low Davos bar 22 Jan 2019 In his first overseas appearance since taking office, the president made a brief and vague sales pitch for a “new Brazil”. Business optimism about the country is running high, and modest changes can help deliver early wins. The longer term presents a more demanding challenge.
Brazil’s new president starts with the easy part 3 Jan 2019 Ex-army captain Jair Bolsonaro has fired a salvo of temporary decrees, favoring farmers over indigenous people and crimping NGOs. He may do the same to ease gun controls and start vital pension reform. But conquering Congress, which is needed for lasting change, will prove harder.
Brazil will get energy mostly right; Mexico won’t 28 Dec 2018 New regimes of opposing ideologies in Latam’s two biggest economies will wrestle with balancing 1970s-style nationalism against the need to open up to foreign and private capital to exploit their oil and gas resources. Brazil’s far-right president-elect has the better prospects.
Weed, China, guns and money lead most-read stories 27 Dec 2018 We promised 2018 would bring “Froth and Frustration,” and that’s just what readers got. Other topics that piqued your interest: Rising populism in Italy, Brazil and France; Broadcom’s doomed bid for Qualcomm and the sale of Refinitiv by Breakingviews’ parent. Plus, fake meat.