WSJ : Brazil’s Petrobras Plans to Claim Part of Odebrecht’s Anticorruption Settl

Brazil’s Petrobras Plans to Claim Part of Odebrecht’s Anticorruption Settlement
Construction company still banned from bidding on Petrobras contracts despite record settlement deal

SÃO PAULO—Brazilian oil company Petróleo Brasileiro SA, or Petrobras, plans to request part of the record anticorruption settlement that construction company Odebrecht SA signed earlier this week with Brazilian, U.S. and Swiss authorities.
Petrobras has said it was the victim of the vast bid-rigging and kickbacks scheme that Odebrecht admitted to helping run. Investigators say the graft ring, which included a group of builders, cost Brazilian taxpayers and Petrobras shareholders an estimated $13 billion.
After months of negotiations, Odebrecht agreed Wednesday to pay between $2.6 billion and $4.5 billion to Brazilian, U.S. and Swiss authorities over 23 years, according to the U.S. Department of Justice, which had brought suit against the firm under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

“We’re looking for ways to reimburse shareholders and the [Brazilian] government,” Petrobras’s director of governance, risk management and compliance, João Elek, told The Wall Street Journal late Thursday. “Petrobras will make an effort to recover the part that’s fair.”

In addition to Odebrecht’s fine, the largest anticorruption settlement in history, the company’s petrochemicals subsidiary, Braskem SA,agreed to pay $957 million.
It is “extremely difficult” to calculate how much Petrobras should be entitled to, and the company has a team of people preparing to show authorities how the final value was reached, Mr. Elek added, saying Petrobras would soon send them the information.
The record settlement deal has reverberated across Latin America, where Odebrecht admitted to paying around $800 million in bribes since 2001 in 10 countries in the region, as well as in Angola and Mozambique.
Petrobras praised Wednesday’s deal as an “important step,” but Mr. Elek said the construction company won’t be allowed to do business with Petrobras until further conditions have been met.
WHERE ODEBRECHT PAID BRIBES
  • Brazil: $349 million
  • Angola: $50 million
  • Argentina: $35 million
  • Colombia: $11 million
  • Dominican Republic: $92 million
  • Ecuador: $33.5 million
  • Guatemala: $18 million
  • Mexico: $10.5 million
  • Mozambique: $900,000
  • Panama: $59 million
  • Peru: $29 million
  • Venezuela: $98 million
Source: Court documents
Odebrecht would have to prove it has introduced measures to guarantee it won’t engage in such practices in the future before Petrobras allows the construction company to bid again for contracts at the state-controlled oil company, Mr. Elek said without providing further details.
For much of the past decade, Brazil’s largest construction companies conspired with politicians and Petrobras executives to skim billions of dollars off inflated contracts, using the funds to get rich, buy the silence of those involved and finance political campaigns, according to Brazil’s authorities.

Brazil’s prosecutors and police have estimated Petrobras lost a total of 42 billion reais ($12.8 billion) in the scheme that cost the Rio de Janeiro-based company its investment-grade credit rating and helped turn it into the world’s most heavily indebted listed energy company.

>>> US Filings, Offerings and Pricings

Filings, Offerings and Pricings
Filings:
  • eMagin (EMAN) filed offering of ~2.947 mln shares of common stock on behalf of selling stockholders.
  • Albireo Pharma (ALBO) filed $100 mln mixed securities shelf offering.
  • Norbord (OSB) filed $500 mln mixed securities shelf offering.
  • NTN Buzztime (NTN) filed $25 mln mixed securities shelf offering.
  • Meta Financial (CASH) filed to withdraw Registration Statement on Form S-3 initially filed on January 21, 2016.
  • New York REIT (NYRT) filed offering of 3 mln shares of common stock on behalf of selling stockholders.
  • Pressure BioSciences (PBIO) filed for $29 mln offering of common stock and warrants.
  • Advanced Micro (AMD) filed offering of 75 mln shares of common stock on behalf of selling stockholders.
  • Virtus Investment Partners (VRTS) filed $500 mln mixed securities shelf offering.
  • Cobalt International Energy (CIE) filed $1 bln mixed securities shelf offering and ~71.375 mln shares of common stock on behalf of selling securityholders.
  • Green Plains (GPRE) filed mixed securities shelf offering; size not disclosed.
  • Extraction Oil & Gas (XOG) filed offering of ~18.79 mln shares of common stock on behalf of selling stockholders.
  • Fusion Telecom Int'l (FSNN) filed ~2.431 mln share common stock offering by selling stockholders.
  • Arbutus Biopharma (ABUS) filed $150 mln mixed securities shelf offering.
  • Golub Capital (GBDC) filed $800 mln mixed securities shelf offering.
Offerings:
  • ION Geophysical (IO) announced $20 mln "at-the-market" equity offering program.
  • WPCS Intl (WPCS) entered into Securities Purchase Agreement with Alpha Capital Anstalt and Brio Capital Master Fund.
  • RAVE Restaurant Group Board (RAVE) approved capital raise by way of a registered rights offering.
  • Cancer Genetics (CGIX) filed offering of ~2.608 mln shares of common stock on behalf of selling stockholders; confirmed registering for resale by purchasers, shares of common stock underlying certain existing warrants issued in private placements earlier this year.
  • RAVE Restaurant Group (RAVE) filed $1-3 mln offering of 4% Convertible Senior Notes due 2022; approved capital raise by way of a registered rights offering.
  • Enphase Energy (ENPH) entered into a $17 mln at-the-market issuance sales agreement.
Pricings:
  • BioAmber (BIOA 4.23) announced $7 mln underwritten offering of common stock priced at $4.00/share & about a 2.22 mln unit concurrent registered direct offering of warrants for gross proceeds of about $8.9 mln.
  • Strongbridge Biopharma (SBBP 3.00) entered into a securities purchase agreement for a placement of 14 mln of its ordinary shares priced at $2.50/share & warrants to purchase 7 mln shares for gross proceeds of $35 mln.

>>> US Early premarket gappers

Early premarket gappers

  • Gapping up: DPRX +68.75%, NEOT +20.83%, UEC 12.12%, IPDN 10.11% GSAT 7.18% LTBR 7.08% GOGL 6.32% FRED 6.19% URRE 5.59% CNAT 4.77% PGNX 4.40% ITUB 3.26% ZNGA 2.73% BBD 2.72% NOK 2.54% CVRR 2.48% WTW 2.44% COH 2.19% GME 2.15% CCJ 1.70%
  • Gapping down: MEMP -40.05% BCEI -20.92% AREX -10.71% AERI -6.05% CTAS -3.00% GNC -2.80% LMT -1.92% ALV -1.72% HSBC -1.59% BCS -1.54% NRG -1.48% AMD -1.29%

(Strategie) METHBOT, UNE FRAUDE GÉANTE À LA PUBLICITÉ DIGITALE

METHBOT, UNE FRAUDE GÉANTE À LA PUBLICITÉ DIGITALE
http://www.strategies.fr/actualites/medias/1054169W/methbot-une-fraude-geante-a-la-publicite-digitale.html
La société de sécurité White Ops vient de mettre à jour un réseau de fermes de robots gigantesque, Methbot, basé en Russie et ultra perfectionné. Cela permettait à ces escrocs de détourner entre 3 et 5 millions de dollars chaque jour.


La société de sécurité en publicité digitale White Ops vient de révéler la plus grosse fraude publicitaire digitale de l'histoire de la publicité digitale. Une escroquerie sans précédent dans le monde programmatique. Il s’agit d’une «ferme de robots», baptisée Methbot et localisée en Russie. Des hackers ont utilisé une armée de navigateurs, pilotés depuis des adresses IP acquises illégalement. Cette ferme de robots ciblait les inventaires vidéo premium, vendus en programmatique, localisés sur 6000 noms de domaines pourtant réputés «premium».
Au total, Methbot «visualisait» frauduleusement près de 300 millions de vidéos par jour, ce qui lui permettait de générer entre 3 et 5 millions de dollars de revenus quotidiens. Une estimation sans doute bien en-dessous de la réalité, car elle ne se base que sur les données auxquelles White Ops a eu accès. Ainsi, les bénéfices retirés et l’ampleur financière réelle de cette escroquerie massive sont sans aucun doute sous-évalués.
Fraude quasi indétectable
L'escroquerie Methbot se démarque par plusieurs points. D’une part par son ampleur sans précédent, qui en fait la plus grosse fraude jamais connue à ce jour dans le monde de la publicité digitale. Avec 3 millions de dollars de revenus générés par jour, elle se place devant les fraudes Zero Access (900 000 dollars par jour) et Chameleon (200 000 dollars par jour).
Methbot se distingue également par sa structure en réseau, contrairement aux fermes de robots classiques. D’habitude, les logiciels malveillants utilisent en arrière-plan un réseau domestique ou un ordinateur privé. Mais une fois installés sur la machine, ils fonctionnent en continu et sont associés à une adresse IP. Methbot, elle, fonctionnait sur un réseau d’adresses IP aléatoires, puisées directement au cœur de data centers professionnels. Les adresses changeaient donc à chaque fois, rendant la fraude très difficile à détecter.
Fausses connexions aux réseaux sociaux
Pour éviter la détection, Methbot allait encore plus loin en imitant de faux clics, des mouvements de souris, mais aussi de fausses connexions sur les réseaux sociaux pour simuler de l’engagement humain, de fausses données de géolocalisation. Et White Ops précise même que Methbot possédait des mesures spécialement dédiées pour contrecarrer le code de défense de plusieurs sociétés de publicités digitales.
Seule certitude, il y aura encore beaucoup à apprendre de Methbot pour contrer la fraude digitale, de plus en plus perfectionnée.
L'escroquerie Methbot en chiffres :
  • 3 à 5 millions de dollars de revenus par jour
  • Un CPM compris entre 3,37 dollars et 36,72 dollars (et une moyenne de 13,04 dollars)
  • Entre et 200 et 300 millions d’inventaires frauduleux fabriqués de toute pièce
  • 250 267 URL craquées pour créer cet inventaire
  • 6 111 noms de domaine ciblés
  • 800 à 1200 serveurs opérant principalement aux Etats-Unis et aux Pays-Bas

FT : ECB: Crisis knocked 10% off household wealth amid evidence of higher inequa

ECB: Crisis knocked 10% off household wealth amid evidence of higher inequality
A collapse in house prices during the eurozone’s sovereign debt crisis knocked household wealth amid suggestions of rising inequality, according to new figures from the European Central Bank.

It its latest survey of 84,000 households across the single currency area, the ECB found average net wealth in the eurozone fell 10 per cent from 2010 to 2014 compared to the pre-crisis years, while inequality between the richest and poorest also edged up on some measures.

Amid concerns that growing inequality has emboldened populist forces in Europe and US, the ECB said the overall distribution of wealth in the eurozone was “skewed” towards the richest.

The survey found that the median household – which separates the richer half of the population from the poorer half – owned net wealth worth €104,100 over the four-year period. This compares with €496,000 for the 90th percentile (the household that divides the poorest 90 per cent of the population from the richest 10 per cent).

Declining asset prices – led by property crashes in the likes of Spain and Ireland but spread across the continent from 2010 to 2012 – imposed the biggest hit to wealth in the period. Euro-area citizens are particularly exposed to changes in house prices, as over 80 per cent of household wealth is in “real assets” such as property.

Evidence of higher inequality following the financial crisis has been mixed. Global central banks have however been criticised for stimulus measures that have driven up the price of stocks and bonds through their quantitative easing measures.

One widely-cited measure of wealth inequality, the Gini coefficient, crept up to 68.5 per cent from 68 per cent in the eurozone, “within the margin of measurement error”said the ECB. It also found that the share of wealth concentrated among the top 5 per cent of rich households increased to 37.8 per cent from 37.2 per cent.

According to the Gini measure, a value of 100 reflects maximum inequality, or one household owning all wealth.

The poorest households also suffered the biggest average hit to their wealth. For example the 25th percentile suffered a 14.7 per cent hit while the 75th percentile’s net wealth was 10.2 per cent lower.

ECB president Mario Draghi has voiced his concerns about rising popular dissatisfaction with the eurozone, calling on EU integration to protect the most vulnerable.

“I do not think there will be significant progress in terms of opening up markets and competition if Europe does not listen to the demands of those left behind by a society built on the pursuit of wealth and power”, Mr Draghi said in September.

>>> Putin: Glencore, Qatar ‘complete deal’ for Rosneft stake

Putin: Glencore, Qatar ‘complete deal’ for Rosneft stake

Glencore and Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund have completed their deal to buy 19.5 of Russian state-run oil giant Rosneft, Russian president Vladimir Putin announced.

Speaking at an annual press conference on Friday, Mr Putin said that “foreigners” had “transferred the money into the Russian budget in full.” The deal is worth Rbs700bn ($11.5bn).
The deal as announced two weeks ago would see Glencore and Qatar contribute EUR2.8bn of their own capital, with the rest to come from Italian bank Intesa and a consortium of Russian lenders.
Intesa said earlier this week that its “potential involvement” in the deal was “still under evaluation.” Financial regulators in Rome are examining whether Intesa Sanpaolo’s financing of a €10.2bn investment in Russian oil group Rosneft complies with sanctions.
Glencore and Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund did not immediately reply to requests for comment.

>>> What to look at today - 23rd of December 2016

Dow -012% S&P -0.19% Nasdaq -0.44% Russell -0.90%
US Market closed lower again today but still in lower volume than on up move *&%mil shares). Retail was under pressure with XRT -3.5% after BBBY. Three other large sectors like financials (-0.3%), technology (-0.3%), and industrials (-0.2%) also spent the day in negative territory. Only one cyclical sector—energy (+0.5%)—ended in the green, taking a lead from crude oil, which climbed 0.8% to $52.97/bbl. The commodity-sensitive sector will enter Friday with a 0.1% decline for the week. The countercyclical side had a better showing as telecom services (+1.0%), utilities (+0.3%), and health care (+0.1%) registered gains while consumer staples (-0.1%) and real estate (-0.1%) recorded slim losses.US After Hours (DPRX) +66% on reverse merger, Lockheed Martin (LMT) -2% on Donald Trump tweet. Thin trade ahead of the Christmas holiday and shortened trading sessions in several markets left little to break the malaise in the Asia region. Taking a cue from Wall St. markets had little to get excited about with the Dow failing to reach the pivotal 20,000 level and the first two days of losses recorded in 6-weeks. Macro news was limited, though the Singapore dollar saw some strength ahead of its CPI data testing 1.4427. Italy's Govt approved €20B plan to support Monte dei Paschi and the banking system. China leaders said to aim for growth of ~6.5% in 2017 v 6.5-7.0% target for 2016.

Nikkei -0.09% Hang Seng - CSI -0.77% Shanghai -0.84%

Eur$ 1.0444 CNH 6.9450 CNY 6.9499 GBP 1.2288 CHF 1.0254 RUB 60.9771 WTI$ 52.66 -0.55%

S&P +0.01% EuroStoxx +0.18% FTSE +0.06% Dax +0.12% SMI +0.11%

Macro :
- S&P to Climb to 2,350 in ’17, Weeden Says; Sees More Volatility
- Italy Approves EU20b Fund, Liquidity Measures to Support Banks

Keep an eye on :
- AF FP : Air France-KLM Sells Amadeus IT Group Shares
- AAL LN : Anglo American Said to Dial Back Plan to Sell 2/3 of Mines: WSJ
- AMS SM : Amadeus Raises Offer for i:FAO to EU30/Share
- BARC LN : Barclays Intends to Seek Dismissal of DoJ Claims
- BMPS IM : Monte Paschi Says Failed to Raise Sufficient Funds on Market
- BEFB BB : Befimmo Finalizes Acquisition of Gateway Project in Brussels
- BNP FP : BNP Italy Unit BNL Reaches Accord With Unions on Job Reductions
- BPOST BB : GLG Partners Accumulates 0.50% Short Position in Bpost
- CSGN VX : Credit Suisse Agrees to Pay $5.3 Billion in U.S. Mortgage Accord
- DBK GY : Deutsche Bank Agrees to Pay $3.1b Civil Penalty With DoJ
- DBK GY : Deutsche Bank Sees Charge of $1.17b in 4Q Related to DoJ Penalty
- DB1 GY : Deutsche Boerse Mulls VW-Like Stakeholding for Hesse, FAZ Says
- DL NA : NN Group Agrees to Buy Delta Lloyd For EU2.5b
- DGE LN : Diageo Says Minority Union Unite Rejected Pension Proposal
- GOOGL US : Google to Introduce Two Flagship Smartwatches Next Year: Verge
- IAG LN : British Airways Cabin Crew Strike Suspended, Union Says: PA
- LUX IM : Luxottica Group, Ralph Lauren Renew Eyewear License Agreement
- MS IM : Vivendi Says Holds 28.8% of Mediaset as of Dec. 22
- NN NA : NN Sees EU150m Cost Synergies by 2020 From Delta Lloyd Takeover
- NOKIA FH : Nokia Expands Patent Litigation Vs Apple in Asia, Europe, U.S.
- NOVN VX : Novartis’s Alcon Gets FDA Approval for Acrysof IQ ReSTOR Lens
- SAB SM : Sabadell to Close 250 Branches, Cut Staff, Expansion Reports
- SAN FP : Sanofi Sues Watson, Alvogen Over Patents for Ms Pill Aubagio
- UCG IM : UniCredit Selects Bookrunners for Up to EU13b Rights Issue
- VIV FP : Vivendi Says Holds 28.8% of Mediaset as of Dec. 22
- VOW3 GY : VW Agrees to Settlement Terms for Diesel Audi, Porsche Owners
- VOW3 GY : Audi to Set Aside High 3-Digit Sum in 4Q for Diesel Scandal: HB
- VOW3 GY : EU Wants More Compensation for VW European Customers: Welt