Managua, Nicaragua / AFP The political and economic crises buffeting Brazil and Venezuela are having a big impact in Nicaragua, where the future of billion-dollar projects have been thrown into uncertainty. Venezuela was to have invested $6.5 billion in a petrochemical plant in the Central American country, while Brazil was set to spend $1.1 billion on a hydroelectric facility. They …

  Bloomberg EIG Global Energy Partners has submitted a new bid for Pacific Exploration & Production Corp. with $830 million in creditor recovery that the private-equity firm argues is “vastly superior” to one selected last month by the board of the Colombia-based oil producer. The new bid comes ahead of a Tuesday court hearing in Canada on Pacific’s restructuring plan. …

  Caracas, Venezuela / AFP Venezuela’s opposition forces said electoral authorities have tallied 1.5 million signatures seeking to force President Nicolas Maduro from power with a recall referendum. Oil-dependent Venezuela has descended ever deeper into economic turmoil as global crude prices have collapsed, triggering food shortages, rampant inflation and now an electricity crisis. The center-right opposition, which won control of the …