Americanas SA, the embattled Brazilian retailer, proposed a plan to restructure its 42.3 billion real ($8.1 billion) debt load some two months after obtaining bankruptcy protection that includes losses for unsecured creditors, a capital injection and asset sales, Bloomberg News reported. The plan, released late Monday in a securities filing, foresees a capital injection of 10 billion reais and potential asset sales including its Hortifruti Natural da Terra food markets, stake in Uni.Co and corporate jet.

Brazil's jobless rate rose to 8.4% in the three months through January, statistics agency IBGE said on Friday, slightly above market expectations, Reuters reported. The median forecast in a Reuters poll projected an unemployment rate of 8.3%. In the previous three months, the rate was also at 8.3%. "This stability still would be a repercussion of the reduction in the demand for work in the months of November and December 2022 over the beginning of 2023," said research manager, Adriana Beringuy.

A Brazilian Senate committee on Tuesday extended formal invitations to central bank chief Roberto Campos Neto and five former executives from beleaguered retailer Americanas SA, asking them to provide details on a pair of sagas that have gripped the country in the opening months of Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s presidency, Bloomberg News reported. The Senate’s economic affairs committee wants Campos Neto to explain his position on Brazil’s benchmark interest rate, as Lula and his economic team continue to push for lower borrowing costs in an effort to boost economic growth.

Brazil's Finance Minister Fernando Haddad said on Wednesday his proposal for a new fiscal framework was now "at the presidential palace," but did not provide further details, Reuters reported. His remarks to reporters in Brasilia came after CNN Brasil reported he had delivered the framework to President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, a key step for the proposal to go forward as Haddad previously said Lula would have the final word on it.

Brazil's Finance Minister Fernando Haddad said on Monday that getting a new fiscal framework right would have a much more important impact on the economy than the discussion about inflation targets, Reuters reported. Haddad said he intended to present the framework to President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva this week. "If we get the fiscal framework right, this has a much more important impact (than the discussion of inflation targets)," he said, when asked about possible changes to inflation targets.

LATAM Airlines reported a fourth-quarter net profit of $2.538 billion, the company said on Thursday, and said that the results reflected all financial renegotiations stemming from its bankruptcy proceedings, Reuters reported. The quarterly profit of South America's leading airline compares to a loss of $2.755 billion during the same three-month period a year earlier. However the company will propose not to pay out dividends and instead use its 2022 profits to offset accumulated losses, it said in a securities filing later on Thursday.

The turmoil in Brazil’s credit market has put several local bond sales on hold as banks and investors become more cautious with corporate borrowers in the aftermath of the sudden collapse of Americanas SA, Bloomberg News reported. Power company Coelba, a unit of Neoenergia SA, has pulled a planned debt sale after underwriters tapped the so-called “market flex” clause that allows for changes in conditions, according to people familiar with the matter. The firm had announced an issuance of 1.5 billion reais ($290 million) in local notes on Jan.

Brazil’s battered airlines got some relief on Monday after striking agreements that eased investors’ concern over their liquidity amid deteriorating credit conditions in their home market, Bloomberg News reported. Azul SA’s American depositary receipts closed 41% higher at $5.85 in New York, the most on record, and bonds due in 2026 climbed 16 cents to 67.5 cents on the dollar. The moves follow an agreement the company struck with most lessors allowing it to reduce its payments in exchange for a mix of stocks and bonds, according to a filing published Sunday.

The billionaire shareholders behind troubled Brazilian retailer Americanas SA are informally offering to boost a capital injection to 10 billion reais ($1.9 billion) which is being well received by bank creditors and could unlock talks, Bloomberg News reported. The last official offer of 7 billion reais was considered too low by creditors, but negotiations could begin in earnest if Jorge Paulo Lemann and his partners are willing to put 10 billion reais as a starting point.