October 2019

23Oct

Brazil Pension Reform Clears Congress, Stocks Hit New Highs

Brazil's Senate on Tuesday approved a sweeping overhaul of the country's pension system to stabilize public finances and restore business confidence, setting up President Jair Bolsonaro to sign his keystone economic proposal into law. Read also Japan. No excuse for inaction on pension reforms The Senate approved the main text of the landmark pension reform by a margin of 60-19 in a late Tuesday session before moving on to consider amendments. Read also Irish pensions need urgent reform, industry specialist...

October 23, 2019
News, Slider, ,
Read more...
04Oct

Why the Future of Brazil’s Economy Rides on Pensions

Latin America’s largest economy, Brazil, is closer than ever to overhauling its costly pension system. That’s been the focus of the first sustained legislative drive by President Jair Bolsonaro, his economic team and allies. Efforts to muster support for a major reform failed under previous administrations. Now, Brazil’s Senate is set to approve changes that could boost the nation’s public finances and open the door to a virtuous cycle of expansion. 1. Why is pension reform so important? Brazil’s pension...

October 4, 2019
News, Slider, , , ,
Read more...
02Oct

Brazil Senate approves pension reform in first-round vote

Brazil’s Senate approved the main text of a pension reform bill in a first-round vote on Tuesday, clearing another key hurdle for the government’s bid to narrow its massive budget gap. The main text passed with a vote of 56 in favor - a comfortable margin above the 49 votes required - with 19 opposed and one abstention. Only 76 of 81 senators were present. The Senate is expected to consider amendments to the bill on Wednesday before it...

October 2, 2019
News, Slider, , ,
Read more...

September 2019

19Sep

Brazil’s Petros Pension Aims to Increase Private Equity Investment in 2020

One of the largest state-run pension funds in Brazil could gradually resume investing in private equity next year, following a period of cutting back its exposure to the asset class and changes in the rules governing the investment vehicles themselves. “It’s a move that will happen in slow motion,” Alexandre Mathias, chief investment officer of the employee pension fund at state-run oil giant Petróleo Brasileiro SA, or Petrobras, said of the plan to resume making fresh investments in the...

September 19, 2019
News, Slider, ,
Read more...
04Sep

Giant Norway pension fund weighs Brazil divestment over Amazon deforestation

KLP, Norway’s largest pension fund, with over US$80 billion in assets, is saying it may divest from transnational commodities traders operating in Brazil such as Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), Bunge and Cargill, if they work with producers who contribute to deforestation. KLP has $50 million in shares and loans with the firms. KLP is also reaching out to other investors to lobby them to use their financial influence to curb Amazon deforestation via supply chains. On August 28, Nordea,...

September 4, 2019
News, Slider, , , , ,
Read more...

August 2019

09Aug

Brazilian Hedge Funds Are Betting Big on Stocks

Brazil’s top hedge fund managers are increasing bets that the stock market will be the best place to profit from the government’s expanding reform agenda. Firms including Verde Asset Management, which has almost 40 billion reais ($10.1 billion) under management, and Bahia Asset Management increased their holdings of local equities after the pension system overhaul cleared its biggest hurdle in the lower house last month. BlueLine Asset Management, which recently launched its first fund, is favoring Brazilian shares over...

August 9, 2019
News, Slider,
Read more...

July 2019

19Jul

Brazil’s Lower House Delays Pension Reform Vote, Irking Investors

Brazil’s lower house has delayed its second vote on pension reform, and the Senate is already dragging out its first of two votes, creating investor woes as the stock market dipped. Things were looking good last week as the Chamber of Deputies approved the overhaul in its first of two voting rounds with expectations that lawmakers would conclude their task before the house broke for its July 18-31 recess. But too many deputies took vacation early, so the lawmakers...

July 19, 2019
News, Slider,
Read more...
11Jul

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro pension reform passes first vote in Congress

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro's ambitious pension reform bill passed an initial vote in Congress Wednesday, a major step for his efforts to boost confidence in the country's lagging economy. In the first of two votes, the lower house of Brazil's Congress approved the reform measure, a boon for Bolsonaro whose signature economic policy has faced stiff resistance from trade unions and a hostile Congress. Social activists and union members protested the proposed measure in Sao Paulo on Wednesday evening....

July 11, 2019
News, Slider,
Read more...
09Jul

Threats Remain to Brazil’s Pension Bill Despite Investor Cheer

While investors cheered the progress of Brazil’s key pension reform bill last week, there’s no certainty that its passage through the rest of the legislative process will prove smooth. A day after the lower house special committee approved the text, President Jair Bolsonaro said there are some errors in the bill that need correcting. Members of his party, the PSL, are grumbling about the lack of special treatment for police. Meanwhile time is fast running out for a vote...

July 9, 2019
News, Slider,
Read more...
05Jul

Pension reform prospects lift Brazil’s real, stocks

Brazil's currency and stocks rose on Thursday after a congressional committee in charge of analyzing the government's pension reform bill approved its main text. The draft bill, which analysts say is critical to improving Brazil's fiscal health and economy, could now be put to a lower house plenary vote before recess on July 18. Brazil's real hit a more than three-month high, while the Bovespa stock index surged 1.7% to...

July 5, 2019
News, Slider,
Read more...