Samarco Mineracao faces a possible creditor standoff at a meeting which has been scheduled for March 10 to vote on debt restructuring proposals which would allow the Brazilian iron ore miner to exit bankruptcy protection, Reuters reported. Creditors of the iron ore joint venture between Vale SA and BHP Group were expected to vote on Wednesday on the latest proposals to restructure some $5 billion in financial debt. But due to a lack of quorum, the meeting was rescheduled, Samarco said in a statement.

Economic activity in Brazil rose 4.5% in 2021, a central bank index showed on Friday, rebounding from a record downturn the year before, when the coronavirus pandemic ravaged Latin America's largest economy, Reuters reported. The IBC-BR economic activity index, a leading indicator of gross domestic product (GDP), grew a seasonally adjusted 0.33% in December from November, and rose 1.3% from December 2020. Brazil's GDP shrank 3.9% in 2020, its worst year on record. The Economy Ministry has estimated GDP growth of 5.1% in 2021, while the central bank has forecast 4.4% growth.

The owner of two strategic soy crushing plants in southern Brazil has appealed to the country’s antitrust body for a probe into a signed supply deal between U.S.-based grains trader Bunge and brewer Cervejaria Petropolis which is leasing the facilities, Reuters reported. In documents filed with regulator CADE late on Monday, the plants owner Imcopa said the deal falls foul of antitrust laws because the parties involved were already working together to implement it before they sought CADE’s approval.

Brazil's central bank still has further interest rate hikes to make as inflation remains in double digits, Monetary Policy Director Bruno Serra said on Wednesday, reinforcing policymakers' will to extend aggressive monetary tightening, Reuters reported. During an online event hosted by Modalmais bank, Serra said that considering current risks, especially those related to the country's fiscal prospects, 2023 inflation is now seen above the target, forcing authorities to keep a hawkish stance. "The battle is still far from won, we still have double-digit inflation.

Brazil posted negative foreign direct investment (FDI) of $3.9 billion in December, the worst monthly figure ever recorded in Latin America's biggest economy, bringing the 2021 total to $46.4 billion, the central bank said yesterday, Reuters reported. The figure last month was slammed by a negative $6 billion in reinvested profits in the country, according to the central bank. In the series started in 1995, Brazil had recorded negative monthly FDI on two previous occasions - the $24 million reported in March 1995 and the $103 million in July 2016.

Brazil's IPCA-15 consumer price index rose 0.58% in the month to mid-January, decelerating from previous figures but at a pace that still exceeded expectations, statistics agency IBGE said on Wednesday, Reuters reported. The monthly rise was higher than the 0.43% increase foreseen by economists in a Reuters poll but slowed from a 0.78% surge in December thanks to lower transportation prices. According to IBGE, prices rose in the remaining eight of nine groups of goods and services covered. The most significant impact came from foods and drinks, with a monthly increase of 0.97%.

Brazilian power company Companhia Energetica de Sao Paulo (CESP) on Monday said its board of directors has approved terms of a deal with conglomerate Votorantim SA and Canada Pension Plan Investments Board (CPPIB) to merge the trio's energy assets in Brazil, Reuters reported. CESP is expected to become a full subsidiary of Votorantim and CPPI's joint venture VTRM Energia once the deal is closed. The terms of the transaction, which valued CESP at about 9.1 billion reais ($1.67 billion), were disclosed this month. The company has also scheduled a shareholder meeting for Feb.

Brazil’s next president will have to temporarily increase public spending to fight poverty and unemployment, according to a close economic adviser to Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who leads opinion polls ahead of the October vote, Bloomberg News reported.

Annual inflation in Brazil ended 2021 at a six-year high of 10.06%, government data showed on Tuesday, well above the upper limit of the central bank's year-end target range due to surging fuel and energy prices, Reuters reported. Despite slowing from the 12 months through November, when it reached 10.74%, the rise in the benchmark IPCA consumer price index was the most for a calendar year since 2015, said IBGE, while slightly exceeding the 9.97% median forecast in a Reuters poll of economists.

The São Paulo State Prosecutor's Office has requested that the Court block the assets of Sidnei Piva and declare the bankruptcy of Viação Itapemirim and ITA Transportes Aéreos, the Rio Times reported. The opinion, signed by the 5th Bankruptcy Prosecutor, Nilton Belli Filho, was submitted in the airline's judicial reorganization proceeding.