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%.

Brazilian retailer Americanas SA, which filed for bankruptcy protection in January, faces resistance from key creditors to a reorganization plan that could lead to a haircut of up to 80% on their claims, Reuters reported. The plan, submitted last week to a Rio de Janeiro court, would include a capital injection of 10 billion reais ($1.95 billion) from its top shareholders announced earlier this month. The billionaire trio that founded 3G Capital - which controls consumer goods giants like Kraft Heinz Co and Anheuser Busch Inbev - owns about a third of Americanas.

In his first public comments since blowing the whistle on a 20 billion real ($3.8 billion) accounting hole on Jan. 11 that led to the collapse of one of Brazil’s most well-known retailing chains, Sergio Rial told senators that he was kept in the dark before taking over and then immediately realized the firm was insolvent, Bloomberg News reported. During a hearing in Brasilia to discuss the downfall of Americanas SA, Rial, who was chief executive officer from Jan.

Brazilian bank lending fell for the second consecutive month in February, according to data from the central bank published on Wednesday, adding to concerns about a potential credit crunch amid high borrowing costs, Reuters reported. Outstanding loans slipped 0.1% in February from the previous month to 5.319 trillion reais ($1.03 trillion), pushing 12-month growth down to 12.6% from 13.8% in the previous month. The performance was driven by a 0.7% decline in corporate credit, while there was a 0.4% increase in household loans.

Brazil's central bank stated on Tuesday that current monetary policy requires "serenity and patience," indicating that worsening inflation expectations justified its decision to maintain a hawkish stance towards future steps, Reuters reported. In the minutes of the meeting held between March. 21-22, when the rate-setting committee known as Copom kept the benchmark rate at 13.75%, the central bank noted that the Finance Ministry's commitment to implementing fiscal measures and the reinstatement of fuel taxes have reduced the upside risk on short-term inflation.