China Increases Its Stake in Petrobras

... through the US government. Dig this.

The U.S. Export-Import Bank tells us it has issued a "preliminary commitment" letter to Petrobras in the amount of $2 billion and has discussed with Brazil the possibility of increasing that amount. Ex-Im Bank says it has not decided whether the money will come in the form of a direct loan or loan guarantees. Either way, this corporate foreign aid may strike some readers as odd, given that the U.S. Treasury seems desperate for cash and Petrobras is one of the largest corporations in the Americas.

Since the US Export-Import Bank doesn't have any more money than the US Government has, in effect China is lending this money to Petrobras. We borrow from China and lend to Petrobras. Petrobras, who is developing some of the largest offshore oil fields in the world, is a great investment.

You're welcome, China.