RIO DE JANEIRO Oct 18 (Reuters) - Britain’s BG Group may sell shares in its Brazilian subsidiary but is not
planning to sell stakes in its offshore blocks in Brazil, the
head of state-run oil giant Petrobras said in an interview
published on Tuesday.Brazilian media reported this month that BG might sell, or
“farm out,” part of its holdings in offshore blocks in Brazil
that include stakes in discoveries such as the giant Lula and
Cernambi fields.Petrobras Chief Executive Jose Sergio Gabrielli
said BG may raise capital in an operation similar to one
proposed by Portuguese oil company Galp , which, like
BG, is a partner with Petrobras in offshore fields.”They are not leaving Brazil, and they are not selling part
of what they own in our blocks,” Gabrielli said in an interview
with the O Estado de S. Paulo newspaper.”On the contrary, they are raising funds so that they can
stay in Brazil,” he said, adding that the operation would also
be similar to Spanish oil company Repsol’s 2010 sale
of part of its Brazil unit to China’s Sinopec Group .A BG spokeswoman said the company had no comment.Galp said in March it plans to raise 2 billion euros,
currently equal to $2.7 billion, by selling shares in its
Brazilian unit to finance ambitious growth plans.That followed Repsol’s $7 billion sale of 40 percent of its
Brazil unit in October of 2010.BG has a 25 percent stake in the BM-S-11 block, which holds
the Lula and Cernambi fields, as well as a 30 percent stake in
the BM-S-9 block which holds the Carioca discovery.The blocks are located in the deep-water region known as
the subsalt, an area the size of New York state that holds at
least 50 billion barrels of oil.
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Petrobras
says
BG
eyes
Brazil
share
offerreport
4 notes
EZCORP had ended an agreement with Cash Converters
International Ltd to acquire a controlling stake in the
Perth-based peer following an Australian government move to cap
small credit contract fees.The acquired stores operate the Cash Converters’ buy/sell
model rather than the pawn model used in EZCORP’s other U.S.
stores.The acquired franchise rights include the exclusive right to
develop Cash Converters stores in Virginia, North Florida and
Eastern Pennsylvania, the company said in a statement.The acquisition, which was completed on Oct. 12, also
includes a right to acquire the Cash Converters franchise rights
in the District of Columbia and 17 other states in the East,
South, Midwest and Southwest.EZCORP shares, which closed at $27.65 on Nasdaq on Monday,
were up 3 percent after market.
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UPDATE
1EZCORP
buys
Cash
Converters
US
stores
franchise
rights
31 notes
Most of the banks that have failed so far this year have
had less than $1 billion in assets.The pace of closures has slowed this year and FDIC
officials project the final 2011 tally will be less than the
2010 total of 157.In the latest round of closures, authorities closed:— First State Bank, Cranford, New Jersey, which had two
branches, about $204.4 million in assets and $201.2 million in
deposits as of June 30.All deposit accounts have been transferred to Northfield
Bank, of Staten Island, New York.— Piedmont Community Bank, Gray, Georgia, which had two
branches, about $201.7 million in assets and $181.4 million in
deposits.State Bank and Trust Co, Macon, Georgia, agreed to assume
all of he deposits of Piedmont Community Bank.— Country Bank, of Aledo, Illinois, which had two
branches, $190.6 million in assets and $167.5 million in
deposits.Blackhawk Bank & Trust, of Milan, Illinois, agreed to
assume all the deposits and $113.3 million of the failed bank’s
assets.— Blue Ridge Savings Bank Inc, Asheville, North Carolina,
which had 10 branches, about $161 million in assets and $158.7
million in deposits.Bank of North Carolina, Thomasville, North Carolina, is
assuming all of the deposits of the failed bank.The branches of the failed banks will re-open as branches
of their successors, the FDIC said.The fund used by the FDIC to cover the cost of failures is
recovering from the hit it took during the 2007-2009 financial
crisis.On Monday, the agency provided an update that showed the
fund was in positive territory, $3.9 billion, at the end of the
second quarter following seven quarters that ended with a
negative balance.
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Regulators
close
four
small
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banks
75 notes
He said there was no credible alternative to his government and that early elections would not solve the problems of a country mired in the euro zone debt crisis.
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Berlusconi
seeks
confidence
vote
says
government
united
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* Suit seeks class action status for ATM operatorsOct 12 (Reuters) - A group representing operators of
automated teller machines filed a lawsuit against Visa
and MasterCard alleging that the credit and debit card
issuers violated antitrust laws by fixing the price of ATM
access fees.The suit, which seeks national class action status, was
filed on Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the District
of Columbia on behalf of the National ATM Council and several
independent ATM operators.The suit, charging restraint of trade, alleges that Visa
and MasterCard network rules prohibit ATM operators from
offering lower prices for transactions over PIN-debit networks
that are not affiliated with Visa or MasterCard.The suit alleges that the price fixing artificially raises
the price consumers pay for ATM services, limits ATM operator
revenue, and violates antitrust laws.It claims that rules by the card issuers prevent an
operator from offering consumers a discount for ATM
transactions not completed over Visa or MasterCard networks.”Visa and MasterCard are the ringleaders, organizers, and
enforcers of a conspiracy among U.S. banks to fix the price of
ATM access fees in order to keep the competition at bay,”
Jonathan Rubin, of the Rubin PLLC law firm which represents the
plaintiffs, said in a statement.The proposed class, should the case be granted class action
status, would be comprised of independent operators of some
200,000 ATMs in the United States, Rubin said.Visa declined to comment. MasterCard did not immediately
return calls seeking comment on the lawsuit.The case is The National ATM Council, Inc et al v. Visa,
Inc et al and MasterCard Inc et al, U.S. District Court,
District of Columbia, 11-cv-01803.
Tags:
ATM
group
sues
Visa
MasterCard
over
price
fixing
35 notes
* Suit seeks class action status for ATM operatorsOct 12 (Reuters) - A group representing operators of
automated teller machines filed a lawsuit against Visa
and MasterCard alleging that the credit and debit card
issuers violated antitrust laws by fixing the price of ATM
access fees.The suit, which seeks national class action status, was
filed on Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the District
of Columbia on behalf of the National ATM Council and several
independent ATM operators.The suit, charging restraint of trade, alleges that Visa
and MasterCard network rules prohibit ATM operators from
offering lower prices for transactions over PIN-debit networks
that are not affiliated with Visa or MasterCard.The suit alleges that the price fixing artificially raises
the price consumers pay for ATM services, limits ATM operator
revenue, and violates antitrust laws.It claims that rules by the card issuers prevent an
operator from offering consumers a discount for ATM
transactions not completed over Visa or MasterCard networks.”Visa and MasterCard are the ringleaders, organizers, and
enforcers of a conspiracy among U.S. banks to fix the price of
ATM access fees in order to keep the competition at bay,”
Jonathan Rubin, of the Rubin PLLC law firm which represents the
plaintiffs, said in a statement.The proposed class, should the case be granted class action
status, would be comprised of independent operators of some
200,000 ATMs in the United States, Rubin said.Visa declined to comment. MasterCard did not immediately
return calls seeking comment on the lawsuit.The case is The National ATM Council, Inc et al v. Visa,
Inc et al and MasterCard Inc et al, U.S. District Court,
District of Columbia, 11-cv-01803.
Tags:
ATM
group
sues
Visa
MasterCard
over
price
fixing
26 notes
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