Nova lei de parcelamento de dívidas é mais liberal que anteriores, diz advogado

Câmara Americana de Comércio / Eduardo Sanz
26/08/2009
A nova lei que prevê o parcelamento de dívidas com a União (11.941/09) pode ser considerada mais flexível que as anteriores, na análise de Eduardo Sanz, sócio do escritório Eduardo Sanz Advogados Associados.
“Mesmo seguindo a proposta das leis anteriores, aparentemente a 11.941/09 é muito mais liberal quanto ao Refis (Programa de Recuperação Fiscal) e o Paes (Parcelamento Especial). Os prazos para pagamento e negociação frente a denúncias foi estendido e melhorou a condição para parte de empresários”, disse Sanz no comitê de Legislação da Amcham-Curitiba na sexta-feira (21/08).
O advogado reconhece ganhos das mudanças, mas teme que sejam empregadas pelo governo como um “artifício decorrente da ausência da reforma tributária”.
Para ele, o ideal é que as empresas realizem um planejamento tributário cuidados, garantindo pagamentos em dia e evitando gastos desnecessários. “Tudo dever feito de maneira muito clara, para deixar claro à administração estatal que a gestão tributária não visa sonegação, mas uma oneração menor”, esclarece Sanz.
Prazo de renegociação
Instaurado pela lei 11.941/09, o prazo para negociação das dívidas com União teve início no dia 17 de agosto e termina em 30 de novembro deste ano. A lei beneficia débitos com vencimentos anteriores a 30/11/08, que poderão ser pagos à vista – com descontos maiores – ou em até 180 meses.
Empresas interessadas em aderir ao programa podem acessar os sites da Procuradoria-Geral da Fazenda Nacional e da Receita Federal.

IFRS: Brasil terá grandes dificuldades na implantação, diz pesquisador

Infomoney / Marcelo Rossi Poli
26/10/08
Dúvidas e um amplo leque de debates surgem no cenário corporativo quando o assunto são as normas contábeis internacionais (IFRS). Desde primeiro de janeiro de 2005, data oficial da implementação, diversos países aderiram a esse padrão contábil, como China, Rússia, Hong Kong, África do Sul, Austrália e países da União Européia. No que diz respeito ao Brasil, companhias de capital aberto deverão elaborar demonstrações financeiras consolidadas com base no novo método a partir do exercício de 2010. A InfoMoney TV conversou com um especialista no assunto, o pesquisador da Fipecafi e professor de economia da FEA-USP, Nelson Carvalho. Ele revela quais são as vantagens do novo método e comenta as dificuldades para a implantação das normas contábeis internacionais.
Confira o vídeo da entrevista do Prof. Nelson Carvalho no site:
http://web.infomoney.com.br/templates/news/view.asp?codigo=1413660&path=/suasfinancas/videos/

Consumo de energia no País cai 2,8% em julho, diz EPE

Agência Brasil
26/08/2009
O consumo nacional de energia elétrica da rede elétrica nacional atingiu em julho 31.632 gigawatts-hora (GWh), resultado que ficou 2,8% abaixo do de julho do ano passado, de acordo com a Empresa de Pesquisa Energética (EPE). Com isso, o consumo acumulado de janeiro a julho fechou também negativo (-2,7%, na comparação com o período de janeiro a julho de 2008).
Apesar da queda no mês passado, a empresa aponta "sinais visíveis" de recuperação do consumo de energia. Dados da Resenha Mensal do Mercado de Energia Elétrica, divulgada nesta terça-feira mostram que a indústria permanece como o segmento responsável pela retração do consumo no País.
No mês passado, a queda foi de 10,4% na comparação com julho do ano anterior. Já o consumo das famílias (classe residencial) e o do setor de comércio e serviços (classe comercial) mantiveram taxas de crescimento elevadas.
De acordo com a EPE, em julho, as indústrias demandaram 13.941 GWh da rede elétrica nacional (sistema interligado e sistemas isolados). Apesar da queda na comparação com o ano anterior, a dinâmica do consumo industrial em 2009 vem mostrando recuperação, diz a empresa responsável pelo planejamento energético do governo federal.
Na avaliação na EPE, a dinâmica de recuperação deve continuar agora no segundo semestre, uma vez que outros indicadores da economia sugerem isso. Mesmo prevendo a retomada do crescimento da demanda, a empresa estima que o consumo agregado da indústria na rede elétrica deverá fechar o ano de 2009 com "recuo expressivo" em relação ao ano passado.

Brasil sairá da crise 'relativamente ileso', diz consultoria

Para braço de pesquisas da 'Economist', PIB brasileiro deve subir 3,3% em 2010.
BBC Brasil
26/08/2009
A economia brasileira deve sair da crise global "relativamente ilesa" graças às reformas feitas nesta década e o impacto "altamente benéfico" dos preços mais altos das commodities, segundo afirma um relatório divulgado nesta terça-feira pela consultoria Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), braço de pesquisas da revista Economist
A EIU revisou para cima sua projeção para o crescimento do PIB brasileiro em 2010, para 3,3%. No mês passado, a empresa havia estimado em 2,7% o crescimento da economia brasileira no próximo ano.
A EIU manteve, porém, sua previsão de retração de 1% no PIB do Brasil para este ano.
Segundo o relatório, o crescimento da demanda da China por commodities e o estímulo ao consumo interno devem impulsionar a economia brasileira a partir do ano que vem.
"Muitos países da América Latina foram gravemente atingidos pela crise financeira e econômica global, mas alguns sinais de recuperação já começam a aparecer, particularmente entre aquelas economias (principalmente na América do Sul) que têm uma maior exposição aos mercados asiáticos", afirma o documento.

SEC, BofA plead for Merrill bonus settlement

By Jonathan Stempel Jonathan Stempel – Mon Aug 24, 7:03 pm ET
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Bank of America Corp (BAC.N) and the top U.S. securities regulator sought to persuade a judge to approve their $33 million settlement of a civil lawsuit over the lack of disclosure of billions of dollars of bonuses at Merrill Lynch & Co.
A settlement would address part of what has become one of the hottest controversies of the global credit crisis.
In a filing on Monday, Bank of America told Judge Jed Rakoff of Manhattan federal court that it did not mislead shareholders about its approval of up to $5.8 billion of bonuses, saying it was "widely understood" that Merrill would pay out billions.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said that the largest U.S. bank was wrong not to tell shareholders about the payouts, but that a settlement strikes a fair balance between deterrence and not punishing shareholders further.
"Reasonable people can debate whether the penalty should be higher or lower, but it is squarely within an acceptable range," the SEC said.
Rakoff rejected the settlement on Aug 10, demanding many more details about who knew what and when about the bonuses, including the decision not to reveal what would become $3.6 billion of bonus awards. The merger closed on Jan 1.
"This isn't about money anymore, this is about the truth," said Tony Plath, an associate finance professor at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. "If the bank really believed it could defend itself and win, why cut a $33 million check to make it go away? This isn't a parking ticket."
CEOS INTERVIEWED
In its filing, the SEC said it interviewed 11 top Bank of America and Merrill executives about the merger, including the respective chief executives, Kenneth Lewis and John Thain.
It said Lewis, Thain, and the respective executives who led the merger talks, Bank of America's Gregory Curl and Merrill's Gregory Fleming, all said the preparation of the public proxy statement, including a decision not to attach a schedule discussing bonuses, was made by lawyers on both sides.
Even so, Bank of America maintained in its filing that it was clear from Merrill's public disclosures and media reports that Merrill would award billions of dollars of bonuses, despite a full-year loss that would reach $27.6 billion.
That loss would prompt Charlotte, North Carolina-based Bank of America to accept an additional $20 billion of federal bailout money, for a total of $45 billion taken from the Troubled Asset Relief Program.
The bonuses have been the focus of Congressional hearings and a probe by New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo.
Fallout from them have added to pressure on Lewis, a four-decade veteran of Bank of America who has since April lost his job as chairman and more than half of his long-supportive board of directors.
Bank of America's shares are down 49 percent since the merger was announced last Sept 15, at the height of the global banking crisis.
"TOTAL MIX"
In its Monday filing, Bank of America said Merrill regularly disclosed its intention to pay bonuses, and that these amounts would be similar to 2007 levels.
It also said a proxy filing gave shareholders notice of a "negative covenant" in the merger agreement that any bonus restrictions would be subject to exceptions.
"The intention of Merrill Lynch & Co Inc to pay incentive compensation for 2008 was disclosed and was part of the 'total mix' of information available to shareholders," the bank said.
Bank of America spokesman Larry Di Rita declined to elaborate on Monday's filing. The bank was not immediately available for comment on the government filing. A spokesman for Thain had no immediate comment.
At a hearing on August 10, Rakoff said the $33 million settlement seemed to be "lacking in transparency" and "strangely askew," and might not prove "remotely reasonable" if the SEC were right that the bank lied about the bonuses.
Rakoff said he could not reconcile the SEC's position that Bank of America "effectively lied" to shareholders with its decision not to force the bank to admit wrongdoing.
He also questioned one might view the government aid as a source of funding for the bonuses, but the SEC rejected that argument.
In 2003, Rakoff forced a revision of a similar SEC settlement with WorldCom Inc over an accounting fraud, increasing the payout to $750 million from $500 million.
Bank of America shares closed down 11 cents at $17.35 on the New York Stock Exchange.
The case is SEC v. Bank of America Corp, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan), No. 09-6829.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel; Additional reporting by Elinor Comlay and Joe Rauch; Editing Bernard Orr)

U.S. senator wants broad SEC market review

By Jonathan Spicer Jonathan Spicer – Mon Aug 24, 1:37 pm ET
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Senator Ted Kaufman on Monday asked U.S. regulators to undertake a comprehensive review of several "questionable" developments in the structure of capital markets, the latest lawmaker to weigh in on so-called dark pools, flashes, and high-frequency trading.
In a letter to Securities and Exchange Chairman Mary Schapiro, the Delaware Democrat said rule changes in recent decades had the effect of unintentionally favoring the most sophisticated investors at the expense of others.
Kaufman, a long-time adviser to Vice President Joe Biden, added that "increased liquidity" -- the availability of bids and offers for stocks -- is now valued more than "fair execution of trades for all investors."
The letter comes as the SEC decides whether to clamp down on some order types and trading venues, and follows a letter from New York Democratic Senator Charles Schumer late last month warning that unfair markets are harming investor confidence.
"I am concerned that questionable practices threaten to further erode investor confidence in our financial markets and that our understanding and regulatory capacity have not kept pace with those changes," Kaufman said in his letter.
"Markets have become so fragmented -- and the rise of high-frequency trading that can execute trades in milliseconds has been so rapid -- that the SEC should review and quantify the costs and benefits of these market structure developments to all investors," it continued.
High-frequency trading firms -- such as banks, hedge funds, and independent proprietary shops -- use computers and complex algorithms to make lightning-quick trades in small amounts of stock, intending to capitalize on small price variations. More than 60 percent of all U.S. equity volume is estimated to involve high-frequency traders.
Any curbs on high-frequency trading could drive down trading volumes, boost volatility, and hit the revenue of financial firms and exchange operators.
Kaufman said liquidity rebates, flash orders, co-location and direct market access were questionable practices, and called for a regulatory review that would examine each separately.
Exchanges and other trading venues such as dark pools, which execute orders anonymously, rebate traders who provide liquidity while charging those who take liquidity. Some exchanges also "flash" orders to a specific group of participants before rerouting them to the wider market.
Co-location is when trading firms place their computers next to the exchanges' trading engines, to shave valuable microseconds from execution times. Direct market access, or "sponsored access," is when registered brokers allow high-frequency firms to trade, unfettered, under their name.
Schapiro said in June that the SEC was giving "a serious look" at taking action on dark pools, and said earlier this month it was crafting a plan to "eliminate the inequity that results from flash orders."
SEC spokesman John Nester declined to comment on Kaufman's letter but said, "We share the Senator's interest in market structure issues."
Kaufman also criticized the SEC for allowing Nasdaq OMX's Nasdaq Stock Market and at BATS Exchange to begin offering flash orders in May.
The exchanges have since said they will voluntarily stop the practice starting next month. Rival alternative venue Direct Edge has said it will continue to offer flashes.
(Reporting by Jonathan Spicer, additional reporting by S. John Tilak in Bangalore; Editing by Tim Dobbyn)