Oil and the Ukraine Crisis, Toy Battle and What Matters in the Market

ANDThis is the edition of the FolhaMercado newsletter for this Tuesday (15th). want to receive it from monday to Friday at 7 am In your email? Sign up below.

Crisis in Europe makes oil more expensive

The possibility of a war in Europe continued to affect markets this Monday (14th) and helped push prices of a barrel of Brent oil, the international benchmark, above $96 (R$ 500) at the end of the night, up more than 1.5%.

What explains: commodity prices were already at the highest level since 2014 with the recovery of economies and the decision of OPEC and its allies – including Russia – not to increase the current advance in the pace of production.

Reflection: the rise in oil prices puts pressure on fuel prices, which have a relevant impact on countries’ inflation rates. That should make it even harder for central banks to cool the rise in prices.

In the Bags: the main European, American and Asian indices closed the day down, reflecting tensions in Europe.

In Brazil, the Ibovespa once again went against the world and ended the day at a high of 0.29%, at 113,899 points, giving strength to the analysis that the stocks here continue as a refuge for foreigners in search of cheap assets. The dollar retreated 0.47%, the BRL 5,217.

Petrobras: even with oil on the rise, the state company’s shares fell 2.25%. The company is the focus of political pressure on fuel prices in the country.

In an interview with Reuters, President Joaquim Silva e Luna misled about further adjustments in gasoline and diesel prices in the face of tension between Russians and Ukrainians.

Reopening of Amounts Receivable

The first hours of the return of the System of Receivables from the Central Bank were marked by tens of millions of queries from Brazilians and, of course, by memes.

Understand: the tool to return money forgotten in banks returned to the air late Sunday night (13). In this first phase, BRL 3.9 billion available for redemption.

• These resources come from checking or savings accounts closed with available balance or resources from forgotten consortia, for example.
• The consultation is made with the CPF and date of birth or CNPJ and the date of opening of the company. If there are amounts to be redeemed, the system indicates a new date for the user to check the available balance and request its transfer.
• This second consultation will require an account on the gov.br portal with a gold or silver security level, which are considered safer. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to update your registration in the system.

And who did not find values ​​to receive? There are, in total, BRL 8 billion available for return, and there will be a second phase of redemption in May.

Users who did not find values ​​to receive in this first stage took the opportunity to do what Brazilians do like no one else: they used disappointment as fuel for memes.

boomed: the tool was accessed by more than 37 million of users until 18:30 this Monday (14). Another flurry of hits had taken place in January, when the BC announced the new feature, and caused the site to be taken down.

battle of toys

New episode of the dispute involving the toy manufacturers Hasbro and Estrela. The TJ-SP authorized the Brazilian to keep brands such as Banco Imobiliário, but ordered her to transfer other famous brands to the American, such as Detective and Jogo da Vida, and also to destroy the Super Pasta clay pots.

Understand the case: the two companies have been partners since the 1970s, when Estrela launched Hasbro products in Brazil, with adaptations to the local market – Monopoly became a Real Estate Bank, while The Game of Life became a Jogo da Vida, to name two examples.

In 2007, Estrela would have stopped paying royalties for the use of the brands, but maintained the production and sale of the products. The Brazilian says that the brands are hers, because they were adapted and present differences from the original products. The dispute has dragged on ever since.

twist: in November last year, a court order ordered that these adapted games should be taken over in the country by the American Hasbro. But Estrela appealed, and now some brands remain with it, while most go to Hasbro.

In addition, the Brazilian was ordered to pay BRL 50 million in royalties to the American.

Who stays with whom:

• Continuing on the Star: Monopoly, Commandos in Action and Lady Potato Head.
• Go to Hasbro: Genius, War of the Spiders, Super Dough, Lig4, Sploft, Shark Game, Happy Factory, Baby Guitar, Dr. Treats Teeth, Trap, Game of Life, Game of Modern Life, Game of Life, Combat, Detective, Auction of Art and Turn Letters.

And now? With the publication of the judgment, the judicial deadlines for payment of royalties and destruction of the pasta start to count. But the two companies must appeal, and the dispute could drag on even further.

Fines in sequence for Apple in the Netherlands

Apple was fined 5 million euros (R$ 29 million) for the fourth week in a row in the Netherlands for not allowing app producers in the country to use payment platforms other than those of the American company itself.

Understand: this is a battle that the world’s most valuable company has been fighting for some time. The App Store requires developers to use the company’s payment system, which charges 15% to 30% of commission.

• The case is the subject of a turbulent US court battle involving Apple and Epic Games, the maker of the hit Fortnite, which accuses it of an illegal monopoly.
• So far, Apple has won nine out of ten charges. In the one it lost, it got a higher court ruling to postpone the order to open the App Store to rival payment platforms.

In the Dutch caseApple says it complied with the December order from local authorities, but they say the company has not yet made the required changes.