Inside a small, family-run auto parts plant on the outskirts of Buenos Aires, production lines sit quiet, Reuters reported. The factory is running below capacity as the firm, Suspenmec, ​struggles to compete with an influx of cheaper imported parts, many from China, after Argentina sharply eased trade restrictions. Sales this year are down around 30% at the ‌company, which makes 600 types of suspension parts. President Javier Milei's aggressive economic reforms - including slashing import barriers and presiding over a stronger peso - have helped stabilize the economy.

Venezuela's inflation rate ‌eased to 10.6% in April from 13.1% in March, the country's central bank said ​on Monday, Reuters reported. The inflation rate so far ​in 2026 has reached 90%, the ⁠bank said on its website, ​while according to Reuters calculations based on ​central bank figures the annualized inflation rate is 611.86%. "Our economy is healthy; it's doing well," ​the bank's acting president, Luis ​Perez, said in an interview on state TV, ‌in ⁠which he predicted single-digit inflation for May. Perez added that the bank did not alter figures to make them ​more positive.

When potential providers and financiers for Venezuela's electric industry, including Siemens Energy and GE Vernova, held meetings with officials in Caracas in April, questions of how they might get paid to shore up the country's deteriorated grid were top of mind, Reuters reported. Those executives came away hesitant, the sources said, as ‌the nation tries to jumpstart a $100 billion reconstruction plan pushed by Washington.

Brazilian retailer ​CVLB Brasil has ‌filed for bankruptcy protection, saying ​on Wednesday ​that it needed ⁠to broaden ​and provide greater ​legal stability to an ongoing debt ​restructuring process, Reuters reported. "The ​company clarifies that its ‌sales ⁠ecosystem, which includes physical stores and digital ​channels, ​remains ⁠fully operational," said the ​retailer, which ​runs ⁠the CASA&VIDEO and Le Biscuit ⁠store ​chains. Read more.

Brazil's planned critical ‌minerals rules do not involve fresh tax breaks, Finance Minister Dario Durigan said on Friday, adding that their aim was to secure national sovereignty and add value through domestic processing, Reuters reported. Durigan, who took charge of the ministry last month, told Reuters from his new office ​that critical minerals would be a priority in a May or June auction for the Eco Invest program, ​which offers blended finance to lure foreign investment. Although a small producer, Brazil holds vast reserves ⁠of critical minerals that are key for high-tech industries.

Raízen SA’s bank creditors presented the Brazilian bioenergy company with a new restructuring proposal, Bloomberg News reported. As part of the plan, creditors are proposing that 30% of the proceeds from the sale of Argentine assets be used to pay down debt, said the people, who asked not to be identified citing private negotiations. Creditors are also requesting that Rubens Ometto, the founder of parent Cosan SA, be replaced as Raízen’s chairman, echoing a previous proposal by bondholders.

The World ⁠Bank ⁠Group said ⁠on Thursday it is working on ​a guarantee of up to $2 billion ‌to help refinance “a relevant ‌portion of Argentina’s debt,” Reuters reported. The ⁠operation ⁠is subject to approval by the World Bank’s ​Board of Executive Directors, the bank said. The loan would be mostly backed ​by the International Bank for Reconstruction and ⁠Development (IBRD) and ⁠the Multilateral Investment ⁠Guarantee ​Agency (MIGA), Bloomberg reported earlier on Thursday.

Oncoclínicas is set to file a precautionary court request seeking protection from creditors after breaching its debt limits and receiving a going-concern warning from Deloitte, Bloomberg News reported. The company must also negotiate with physicians this week, as doctors have threatened a coordinated resignation over drug shortages that have already delayed treatment for around 6,000 cancer patients. Sources added that Porto and Fleury requested an extension of their exclusivity agreement, which expired on Sunday (12), though approval appears uncertain.

Ecuador's government on Thursday said it was raising tariffs on imports from its larger neighbor Colombia to 100% from a prior level of 50%, citing Colombia's alleged ​failure to implement border security measures, Reuters reported. "After confirming Colombia’s failure to implement concrete and effective border security ‌measures, Ecuador is compelled to take sovereign action," the government said in a statement. Ecuador said the tariffs would take effect from May 1.

Argentines’ improved access to credit was a notable shift in a nation where it has long been scarce, even if the amount available still lags far behind the rest of Latin America. But a new problem has emerged in the wake of a sharp rise in interest rates, slowing economic growth and rising unemployment at the end of last year: a growing number of borrowers are struggling to repay debts, Bloomberg News reported.