Colombia

Latin America is turning into the world leader in corporate-bond defaults, Bloomberg News reported. Four companies in the region have skipped dollar-denominated debt payments this month, more than any other area and almost half the total in all of 2014. In a sign bond investors are increasingly concerned about Latin American companies’ ability to repay debt, borrowers led by Mexico’s oil-rig operators have pushed the amount of the region’s bonds trading at distressed prices to $58 billion, about a third of all emerging-market debt trading at such levels.

Mauricio Cárdenas, Colombia’s finance minister, describes his government’s economic agenda with a nod to French economist Thomas Piketty, who argues for taxes on the rich to reduce the concentration of wealth in the hands of a few. “It is very important to collect revenues from the wealthiest Colombians to be able to invest in security and defence on the one hand, and in social sectors on the other hand,” he told the Financial Times in New York, between meetings with investors. Colombia is one of the world’s most unequal societies.

Struggling Colombian banana marketer Banacol announced a financial restructuring plan last week in a bid to deal with mounting financial pressures, FruitNet.com reported. According to a report in Elcolombiano.com, the company is facing debts of US$184m resulting from high production costs, low banana pricing and a poor exchange rate. The company’s assets are valued at US$209m. The Colombian government has appointed a supervisory body to oversee the reorganisation of Banacol’s finances.

The Colombian central bank is gearing for a challenging year that will test its ability to steer the economy out of a slowdown while also fighting off the peso's appreciation, one the most disruptive challenges faced by local monetary authorities, The Wall Street Journal reported. "We are seeing high levels of uncertainty regarding the nature of several shocks to prices and production," said Jose Dario Uribe, the central bank chairman, in an interview.

About 7,000 people are reportedly affected after Spanish airline Air Comet's fleet was grounded this week by officials over its failure to pay debts, Colombia Reports reported. The low-cost Spanish carrier owes €17 million to Germany's Nord Bank in lease payments and Air Comet says it is seeking to lay off all of its nearly 700 employees. The Madrid-based company - which specialises in cheap flights to Latin America - also says it has filed for bankruptcy.