Could Brazil Take No. 1?

Petrobras, the Brazilian oil giant formerly derided as “Petrosaurus,” could become the world’s most valuable company, based on its stock price. That startling forecast, made recently by mutual-fund maestro Ken Heebner, speaks volumes about how fast Petrobras, Brazil and world markets are changing.



Oil companies are blowing past technology titans like General Electric and Microsoft to claim five of the top 10 spots in rankings of the world’s largest companies. For a dizzying moment after its IPO last fall, PetroChina’s market cap topped $1 trillion, or twice as much as the next two corporations