Robert Besser
25 Feb 2021, 19:54 GMT+10
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil - Shares of state-owned oil company Petrobras fell 22 percent on Monday, wiping out $13 billion in market value.
In response, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro complained about the company's pricing policies, as he replaced the company's market-friendly CEO, Roberto Castello Branco, with retired army general Joaquim Silva e Luna.
After a series of analyst downgrades, the selloff accelerated as Bolsonaro said the company's fuel policy was only assisting financial markets and select groups in Brazil and should, instead, focus on bringing about lower gasoline and diesel prices for consumers.
Further difficulties were reported as shares in state electric company Eletrobras also fell on Monday, responding to Bolsonaro's statement that it would be the next sector in which the government would "stick its finger".
Worldwide, Credit Suisse, Santander, Scotiabank, Bank of America, Bradesco and XP analysts also downgraded their recommendations to purchase Brasileiro SA, as the Rio de Janeiro-based producer is known.
"A good reputation is hard to earn and easy to lose," BTG bank analyst Thiago Duarte said in a note to clients.
In response to the falling oil stock, Brazil's bonds suffered losses, as the 2043 bond fell 7.6 cents to trade at a seven-month low of 98 cents on the dollar.
Following this, Morgan Stanley removed its "like" recommendation on Brazil's sovereign bonds on Monday.
Meanwhile, retired general Silva e Luna, who lacks oil and gas industry experience, said in an interview that he does not have an opinion on the eventual privatization of the company.
Get a daily dose of Asia Bulletin news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Asia Bulletin.
More InformationPORTLAND, Oregon: The state of Oregon is moving in the opposite direction of much of America, as it seeks to ...
HONG KONG: As part of China's campaign to curtail freedoms in Hong Kong, leaders in the protests against China have ...
VATICAN CITY - Following the one-year lockdown, Pope Francis greeted Catholics in St. Peter's Square for his traditional Sunday noon ...
ATLANTA, Georgia: As Covid-19 cases again increase in states such as Michigan and Minnesota, officials have voiced concern about children ...
OTTAWA, Canada: A Canadian appeals court has upheld a Canada-U.S. agreement to turn back asylum seekers.The ruling overturned a Canadian ...
BURBANK, California: Disneyland is set to reopen on April 30 and tickets are now being sold for the first time ...
NEW YORK, New York - U.S. stocks were sold off Monday, a surprising break in what has been a relentless ...
WASHINGTON D.C.: Federal Reserve research indicates that fewer than 200,000 businesses in the United States may have failed during the ...
DUBLIN, Ireland: Cross-border trade between Ireland and Northern Ireland has greatly increased, in some cases doubling since the start of ...
SYDNEY, NSW, Australia - Stocks in Asia had an interesting start to the week with shares in Japan and Australia ...
MADRID, Spain: The first bullfight in over one year is to be held in Spain on May 3 to raise ...
WASHINGTON D.C.: Construction of new homes in the United States reached 1.74 million in March, which was a 19 percent ...