Brazil

Brazil’s lower house will investigate the events leading up to the financial crisis at Americanas SA, the retail giant that went into bankruptcy protection in January after unveiling a massive accounting hole of 20 billion reais ($4 billion), Bloomberg News reported. Speaker Arthur Lira authorized the creation of an inquiry committee on Wednesday and party leaders will now nominate representatives to lead the probe.

Brazil posted a current account surplus of $286 million in March, the strongest data for the month in 17 years, boosted by a strong trade balance performance, central bank data showed on Tuesday, Reuters reported. The trade balance had a positive balance of $9.48 billion, the highest figure in the entire series, driven by a significant increase in exports, with emphasis on booming shipments of oil and soybean. This led the current account to record its first positive balance since June 2022, with a March surplus being the first since 2006.

Brazilian telecom firm Oi SA said late Friday it decided to postpone the release of its 2022 financial statements to May 22, after an expected presentation of its judicial reorganization plan, Reuters reported. The company, which entered into a second bankruptcy protection in March just months after it emerged from similar proceedings, said the delay was mainly due to ongoing negotiations with a group of its financial creditors. Oi, however, release preliminary figures showing that it had consolidated net revenue of 2.62 billion reais ($518.96 million) in the fourth-quarter of last year.

Brazil's government announced a package of 13 measures on Thursday to ease consumer access to credit and reduce associated costs in the capital and insurance markets, a move the new leftist administration hopes will boost investment and revitalize a slowing economy, Reuters reported. Among the measures is the federal government's proposal to provide counter-guarantees for public-private partnership projects at the state and municipal levels, the Finance Ministry said in a presentation.

Brazil's government reversed a decision to end tax exemption on foreign shipments targeting Asian e-commerce giants, a measure aimed at improving public finances that faced backlash from lower-income Brazilians, a crucial part of the new government's electorate, Reuters reported. Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Finance Minister Fernando Haddad said that President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva had asked him not to proceed with ending the tax exemption for international orders from individuals.

Brazil's government is working on additional revenue measures to be announced in the second half of this year, said Revenue Chief Robinson Barreirinhas on Monday, highlighting confidence that this set of actions will improve public accounts, Reuters reported. Speaking at a news conference on the 2024 budget bill, Barreirinhas stated that the measures would be additional to those already announced by Finance Minister Fernando Haddad and that "strategic issues" are involved in the timing of their disclosure.

Brazilian Finance Minister Fernando Haddad said on Monday the government is going to announce this week measures to improve credit conditions in the country, including one regarding revolving credit card rates, Reuters reported. Revolving credit card rates are the interest consumers must pay when they cannot pay their credit card bills in full, pushing unpaid amounts into future installments. Talking to reporters ahead of a meeting with the Brazilian banking federation, Haddad said that the ministry will launch 14 measures to improve the credit environment.

Brazil analysts lowered their 2023 interest rate forecasts for the first time in a year and a half as President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva puts the finishing touches on a proposal aimed to control the growth of public debt, Bloomberg News reported. The benchmark Selic will fall to 12.5% this December, down from the prior estimate of 12.75%, according to a central bank survey of economists published Monday. It was the first reduction for 2023 since October, 2021. Estimates for borrowing costs at the end of next year remained unchanged at 10%.

Brazil's Finance Minister Fernando Haddad said on Thursday that the central bank has an opportunity to lower interest rates to help boost economic growth as fiscal and monetary policies are converging, Reuters reported. "I want to believe that the central bank has a window of opportunity that I hope will be taken advantage of so that Brazil can think about economic and sustainable growth," Haddad told journalists in China, where he is accompanying President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on a high-profile visit.

Brazil’s annual inflation slowed more expected, reaching the lowest since January 2021 as congress prepares to debate President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s new fiscal framework meant to shore up the nation’s finances, Bloomberg News reported. Official data released Tuesday showed consumer prices rose 4.65% in March compared to the year prior, less than February’s reading of 5.6% and below the 4.71% median estimate from analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. Monthly inflation slowed to 0.71%.