Petrobras
says probe may implicate pension fund; cuts off contractors - (www.reuters.com) Brazil's state-run oil company Petrobras on
Monday said a growing corruption scandal may implicate its employee pension
fund and has led to a freeze on payments to 23 contractors allegedly involved
in the scheme. Petros, the 66 billion real ($24 billion) employee-pension fund
of Petroleo Brasileiro SA, as Petrobras is formally known, was singled out by
an internal investigation, Petrobras said in a statement. The law firms that
are conducting the internal investigation "have found possible links to
the facts that have been investigated" regarding the pension fund,
according to the statement. It did not give details of any possible links. The
investigation was launched after Brazilian prosecutors alleged that Petrobras
executives conspired with construction companies to inflate the cost of
contracts and then kick back proceeds to executives, politicians and political
parties as bribes and campaign contributions.
AirAsia
CEO Dumped Shares Days Before Flight Disappeared - (www.infowars.com)
AirAsia CEO Tony Fernandes dumped 944,800
shares in Tune Insurance Holdings Bhd, the organization that provides travel
insurance for AirAsia passengers, just days before the disappearance of Flight
QZ8501. On December 26, the Malaysian Insider reported that Fernandes, the founder of
Tune Group Sdn Bhd which owns AirAsia, had sold a total of 944,800 shares in
Tune Insurance Holdings Bhd, with 850,000 shares being dumped on December 22,
and the other 94,800 being sold the day after. According to its official website,
Tune Insurance Holdings Bhd is “an insurance product manager” for AirAsia in
which “insurance products are sold to (AirAsia) customers as part of their
online booking process.” The share prices of AirAsia and Tune Insurance
Holdings both fell on the first day of trading after the disappearance of
Flight QZ8501, with the former shedding 12.9 percent at one point. Tune
Insurance Holdings lost 0.6%. Fernandes decision to dump the shares less than a
week before AirAsia Flight QZ8501 disappeared over the Java Sea prompted some
to speculate that he may have had prior knowledge of the incident. “Did
Fernandes know his company stock was about to take a hit? The timing is
suspicious,” asks Heavy.com,
adding, “If so, it indicates knowledge of an impending attack on AirAsia.”
Alaska Governor Warns State's Fiscal Situation
"Critical" As Oil Price Drops - (www.zerohedge.com) Narrative, we have a problem. What
is billed day after day as 'unequivocally good' is entirely not good for Alaska
(oh and Texas and Pennsylvania and...) as with oil prices dropping, AP reports Alaska Gov. Bill Walker has
halted new spending on six high-profile projects, pending further review. With oil taxes and royalties expected to represent nearly 90% of
Alaska's unrestricted general fund revenue this year, officials warned, "the
state's fiscal situation demands a critical look." As AP reports,
Alaska Gov.
Bill Walker issued an order Friday putting the new spending on hold. He cited
the state's $3.5 billion budget deficit, which has increased as oil prices have
dropped sharply. With oil prices now around a five-year low, officials in
Alaska and about a half-dozen other states already have begun paring back
projections for a continued gusher of revenues. Spending cuts have started in
some places, and more could be necessary if oil prices stay at lower levels. How
well the oil-rich states survive the downturn may hinge on how much they saved
during the good times, and how much they depend on oil revenues. Some states,
such as Texas, have diversified their economies since oil prices crashed in the
mid-1980s. Others, such as Alaska, remain heavily dependent on oil and will
have to tap into sizeable savings to get by.
The
Cartel: How BP Got Insider Tips Through a Secret Chat Room - (www.bloomberg.com) Halfway
down a muddy, secluded road on marshland in suburban Essex sits Wharf Pool,
a lake stocked with some of the biggest freshwater fish you will ever see. A
white sign with red lettering reads: “Private Syndicate: Strictly Members
Only.” A metal gate, a barbed-wire fence and two CCTV cameras bar the way.
Anglers hoping to spend time on the lake’s carefully tended banks must join a
waiting list. Those who make it to the top pay a membership fee that buys them
the chance to catch a carp that weighs more than a Jack Russell. There are
hundreds of them swimming beneath the surface. It’s close to shooting fish in a
barrel. An hour away by train, in London’s financial district, the lake’s
owners ply their trade. Wharf Pool was purchased for about 250,000 pounds
($388,000) in 2012 by Richard Usher, the former JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) trader at the center of a global
investigation into corruption in the foreign-exchange market, and Andrew White,
a currency trader at oil company BP Plc. (BP/)
Emerging-Market Distressed Debt Loss Is Worst
Since 2008 - (www.bloomberg.com) Emerging-market
distressed debt losses are the worst this month since the global financial
crisis. Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s Distressed Emerging
Markets
Corporate Plus Index fell 13.4 percent through Dec. 26, set for its worst
performance since October 2008, as a tumble in the price of oil sparked a
currency crisis in Russia. That brought this year’s decline to 19.7
percent, the most in six years. High-yield distressed securities in the U.S.
lost 8 percent, the indexes show. Emerging markets accounted for 14 of the 56
global defaults this year in Standard & Poor’s coverage.
AirAsia
CEO Sold 944800 Shares In Tune Insurance Before Flight Vanished - (www.undergroundworldnews.com)
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