There is a saying in Brazil, “he who steals a little is a thief but he who steals a lot is a baron.” Apparently, executives at Brazilian oil giant Petrobras were stealing a lot. Corruption charges are turning the company upside down as investigators unravel kickback schemes and inflated construction budgets that involved some of the country’s largest firms. Brazil’s president Dilma Rousseff was chairwomen of the Petrobras board when some of the alleged corruption took place and now questions are swirling about how much the board of directors knew. [Reuters]

As the oil price plunge threatens to push Venezuela’s fragile economy over the edge, hedge funds and money managers a placing bets on the likelihood of government bond defaults. Experts are saying debt default is not imminent but the situation is precarious. “Venezuela has emerged as a potential target for hedge funds that specialize in making money off troubled debt. Some are gambling that oil prices will rebound. Others see an upside in default, in which the government would likely swap outstanding bonds for new debt. With some bonds already below 40 cents on the dollar, the restructured debt might be worth more.” [Wall Street Journal]

BMW is rolling out an EV charging network that’s compatible with all vehicles except Tesla and Nissan. It appears there is a war going on between Tesla and established car makers for EV market share and the charging network landscape is the battleground. “Even though Tesla says anyone can use its patented recharging technology, no one has accepted the offer. The issue is not getting the electricity from the charger to the battery. The issue is the shape of the plug and standardizing the low voltage control network that prevents the car from being moved while connected and keeps the charger informed about the status of the battery.” [Cleantechnica]