Brazil

Oi SA, the distressed Brazilian telecom operator, asked a court to shield it from creditors ahead of a major debt payment, in what may lead to a second bankruptcy protection process in seven years, Bloomberg News reported. The company, which underwent one of the largest corporate restructurings in Brazil’s history — that began in 2016 and ended just last year — said it needs urgent help to fend off creditors, according to a filing to a Rio de Janeiro court seen by Bloomberg News. The company confirmed the request for a preliminary injunction on Thursday.

Brazil's currency firmed and interest rate futures jumped on Thursday as a more hawkish outlook from the central bank led economists to push back forecasts for rate cuts to next year, Reuters reported. The central bank's policy statement was a setback for newly inaugurated President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who has blasted the level of interest rates - maintained at a six-year high of 13.75% on Wednesday - as an obstacle to economic growth.

Brazil's government debt as a share of gross domestic product ended 2022 at its lowest level in more than five years, central bank data showed on Monday, helped by nominal economic growth and net public debt redemptions, Reuters reported. The country's gross debt fell to 73.5% of GDP in December from 74.6% in November, accumulating a 4.8 points contraction in the year, to its lowest ratio since July 2017, when it reached 73.2%. The reduction was mainly led by a nominal rise in GDP, which is also affected by inflation.

A Brazilian court has ordered the seizure of all corporate emails of managers and board members from bankrupt retailer Americanas SA sent and received over the last 10 years, according to documents seen by Reuters.

Brazil's outstanding public debt is expected to increase this year up to 14%, the Treasury said on Thursday, and it stressed that commitment to the public accounts balance will be essential to lengthen the country's debt profile, Reuters reported. In its Annual Financing Plan, the Treasury set the 2023 public debt target at a range between 6.4 trillion reais and 6.8 trillion reais, up from last year's 5.951 trillion reais ($1.2 trillion).

Brazilian shopping chain Americanas SA yesterday filed for chapter 15 bankruptcy, a move that protects its U.S. assets while insolvency proceedings play out in its home country, Bloomberg News reported. The retailer nosedived in January after becoming mired in an accounting scandal. The firm, backed by billionaire Jorge Paulo Lemann, filed for bankruptcy at a court in Rio de Janeiro on Jan. 19. In disclosures to investors, the firm implied it misreported numbers connected to some of its financing and wrongly deducted interest paid to lenders from its liabilities.

Brazilian retailer Americanas SA reported 7,720 creditors and debt totaling nearly $8 billion within its restructuring process, a Rio de Janeiro court said on Wednesday, Reuters reported. Americanas, backed by the billionaire trio that founded 3G Capital, entered bankruptcy protection last week after disclosing "inconsistencies" in its accounting, leading top investors such as BlackRock and Capital International to scale back their positions in the firm.

Americanas SA three largest shareholders, the billionaire founders of 3G Capital, said on Sunday they had not known of $4 billion in accounting 'inconsistencies' at the Brazilian retailer, Reuters reported. In their first official statement since Americanas filed for bankruptcy this month, Jorge Paulo Lemann, Carlos Alberto Sicupira and Marcel Telles said they were "sorry for investor and creditor losses". "We didn't know of and would never allow any accounting manipulation in the company", the statement said.

Brazil's annual consumer prices came in slightly above market expectations in the month to mid-January, statistics agency IBGE said on Tuesday, as policymakers in Latin America's largest economy work to lower inflation to the central bank's target, Reuters reported. The IPCA-15 consumer price index rose 5.87% in the 12 months to mid-January, slightly exceeding the 5.83% median forecast in a Reuters poll of economists, though slowing from the 5.9% seen in the previous month.

Brazil and Argentina will sign a bilateral agreement creating a guarantee fund to stimulate Brazilian exports, a Brazilian government source said on Monday, as officials from both governments meet for a summit in Buenos Aires, Reuters reported.