Colombia

Colombia’s central bank ignored pressure to accelerate the pace of interest rate cuts as policymakers weigh fiscal risks that sent the peso to its weakest level in more than a year, Bloomberg News reported. The seven-member board voted 4-3 to lower the benchmark rate by half a percentage point to 9.75%, Governor Leonardo Villar told reporters in Bogota on Thursday. The minority voted for a bigger reduction, to 9.5%.
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Colombia sold $3.64 billion of dollar bonds on Monday, tapping international debt markets for the first time in almost seven months, Bloomberg News reported. The South American country sold $2 billion in notes maturing in 2036 and $1.64 billion in bonds due in 2054 to yield 7.8% and 8,5%, respectively, tighter than initial price talks of 8.15% and 8.8%. Citigroup, Itau BBA and SMBC Nikko are handling the deal, according to a filing. Proceeds will be used for general budgetary purposes and to buy back up to all of Colombia’s notes maturing in 2026 and 2027, the filing shows.

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The number of companies in Colombia filing for insolvency this year is on track to reach its highest level in a decade, heaping pressure on President Gustavo Petro to pull the country out of its economic doldrums, Bloomberg News reported. The surge in financially distressed firms is being driven by a sharp contraction in the construction industry, one of the nation’s biggest employers, that’s partly a result of a housing subsidy overhaul by Petro’s own government. Economists worry that ripple effects from businesses shutting down will hold back growth in the broader economy.
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Colombia’s central bank cut borrowing costs to a two-year low while ignoring President Gustavo Petro’s calls for an even bigger reduction. The board also elected Governor Leonardo Villar for a second four-year term, Bloomberg News reported. The board split once more as it lowered its benchmark rate by half a percentage point to 10.25%, Villar told reporters on Monday. The move was correctly forecast by 20 of 27 economists in a Bloomberg survey, while the others expected a deeper cut, to 10%.
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