Brazil

Brazil's incoming finance minister Fernando Haddad on Wednesday said fiscal expansion would not help the economy at the moment, downplaying market jitters on an expected spending boost starting next year, Reuters reported. "There are situations that demand countercyclical actions ... but we are not at a moment when fiscal expansion will help the economy," he said in an interview with TV channel GloboNews.

Brazil's central bank aims to launch its digital currency in 2024 after a closed pilot program next year with financial institutions, bank president Roberto Campos Neto said on Tuesday, adding that the project had received international attention, Reuters reported. Campos Neto said that the design of the central bank's digital currency would encourage banks to tokenize their assets, with considerable efficiency gains.

Industrial production in Brazil rose 0.3% in October from September, government statistics agency IBGE said on Friday, returning to positive territory after two consecutive monthly declines though still below pre-pandemic levels, Reuters reported. Production in October also grew 1.7% from a year earlier, slightly above market consensus of a 1.6% rise.

Brazil's economic growth slowed more than expected in the third quarter as higher interest rates affected household spending, underscoring challenges facing President-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva next year, Reuters reported. Gross domestic product rose 0.4% in the three months to September, government statistics agency IBGE said on Thursday, below the 0.7% growth forecast by economists polled by Reuters. Brazil's central bank have raised borrowing costs to a nearly six-year high to battle double-digit inflation this year, which has begun to weigh on domestic demand.

A broad measure of Brazilian consumer and business credit default ratios rose in October to its highest level in almost four years, central bank data showed on Monday, amid high borrowing costs and aggressive monetary tightening, Reuters reported. The default ratio in non-earmarked loans increased to 4.2% from 4.1% in September, the highest since August 2018's 4.22%. At the same time, bank lending spreads were up to 30.3% from 28.6% the month before.

Latin American governments on Sunday selected Brazilian economist Ilan Goldfajn to lead the region’s largest development bank in the wake of a misconduct probe that led to the firing of the previous president, the Associated Press reported. Governors from the Inter-American Development Bank’s 48 members selected Goldfajn to lead the Washington-based multilateral lender from a slate of five candidates nominated by Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico and Trinidad & Tobago.

Brazil's consumer prices returned to positive territory in the month to mid-October after two consecutive drops, government statistics agency IBGE said on Tuesday, ahead of a key central bank policy-setting meeting, Reuters reported. The IPCA-15 consumer price index came in ahead of expectations with a 0.16% increase, but economists do not expect the central bank to resume interest rate hikes at its meeting on Wednesday. In September, the Copom monetary policy committee chose to keep interest rates unchanged at 13.75%, pausing an aggressive monetary tightening cycle even as U.S.

Brazil's Nubank on Wednesday announced plans to release its own cryptocurrency as part of a new customer rewards program, Reuters reported. Warren Buffett-backed Nubank said in a statement the Nucoin digital currency is expected to be launched in the first half of 2023. Its goal is to offer customers benefits such as discounts and perks as they accumulate Nucoins.

Economic activity in Brazil fell much more than expected in August, a central bank index showed on Monday, confirming expectations of a slowdown in the second half, Reuters reported. The IBC-Br economic activity index, considered a leading indicator of gross domestic product, fell a seasonally adjusted 1.13% in August from July, more than double the 0.5% drop expected by economists polled by Reuters. In August, activity services growth once again beat expectations. The sector accounts for about 70% of the Brazilian economy and has been vital in the recovery after the pandemic.

Brazilian presidential candidate Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has proposed a broad consumer debt renegotiation program backed by government guarantees, aimed at relief for lower-income families if he wins an Oct. 30 runoff election, a senior adviser said, Reuters reported. Economist Guilherme Mello, who is advising Lula's Workers Party, told Reuters the government would partially guarantee renegotiations of up to 95 billion reais ($18.2 billion) of non-bank debts such as power, water, retail and phone bills, for consumers earning up to 3,600 reais ($677) per month.