Brazil's central bank said on Tuesday that it has entered a "new stage" in which policymakers opt to keep interest rates unchanged while evaluating whether the current level is enough to ensure inflation converges to its 3% target, Reuters reported. In the minutes from its latest meeting, where it held the benchmark Selic rate at a near two-decade high of 15% for the second consecutive time, the bank said that policymakers would not hesitate to resume a hiking cycle if deemed appropriate.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Monday announced the Trump administration is looking at options to provide Argentina a financial lifeline as the country struggles to overhaul its economy, the Wall Street Journal reported. Bessent in a series of posts on X laid out the options administration officials are reviewing to backstop Argentina if the country under President Javier Milei’s leadership can’t overcome its financial woes. “These options may include, but are not limited to, swap lines, direct currency purchases, and purchases of U.S.

A U.S. judge upheld the validity of Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA's 2020 bonds on Thursday, in a blow to the company, which had argued that the defaulted bonds were not properly issued, Reuters reported. The bonds are secured by a majority stake in U.S. refiner Citgo , which is owned by PDVSA. The company defaulted on the bonds in 2019, putting the refiner at risk of seizure by creditors. On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla in Manhattan ruled that the bonds were indeed properly issued under Venezuelan law.

Brazilian Finance Minister Fernando Haddad said on Tuesday he expects interest rate cuts to begin in the coming months, citing a more favorable foreign exchange outlook in Latin America's largest economy, Reuters reported. "I believe there will be room for rate cuts ... in the coming months," Haddad told an event hosted by J. Safra Bank. He noted that at the start of the year he said he would not pay more than 5.70 reais per dollar, while the exchange rate now stands near 5.30. Although that level hurts government tax collection, he stressed it also brings "good news".

A long-awaited sale hearing expected to complete a U.S. court-organized auction of shares in the parent of Venezuela-owned U.S. refiner Citgo Petroleum is set to begin on Monday, with bidders and creditors locked in a bitter dispute over who should win, Reuters reported. The Delaware court will hear testimony from the involved parties, witnesses and experts in the four-day showdown before Judge Leonard Stark selects a final winner. Another set of arguments could be presented in October if the court decides more time and evidence are needed. At stake is the future of the seventh largest U.S.

As neighbouring countries like Paraguay and Venezuela deal with the impact of illegal crypto mining, a man has been arrested in the state of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil on charges of siphoning off-grid electricity to mine cryptocurrencies, Decrypt.com reported. The incident occurred in the Freguesia area, on Governador Island, an island in the north of the state. According to communications from local police, officers found several high-performance machines used for digital mining and that the house had electricity but no meter, indicating illegal theft.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva announced on Friday a 12 billion reais ($2.21 billion) debt renegotiation package aimed at supporting up to 100,000 agricultural producers, primarily small and medium-sized farmers affected by recent climate events, Reuters reported. The measure comes as Brazil's largest state-run bank, Banco do Brasil faces record default levels in its agribusiness portfolio, threatening the stability of the country's crucial agricultural sector.

Venezuela's government is slowly allowing the use of dollar-tied cryptocurrencies in currency exchanges for the private sector, a dozen sources said, as U.S. restrictions on oil exports reduce available foreign currency, Reuters reported. Sanctions by the United States, which the Venezuelan government has characterized as "economic war," prevent many business transactions, forcing companies seeking to buy raw materials from abroad to exchange local bolivars for dollars that are generated by the oil trade and foreign card transactions and are injected into exchanges by the central bank.

Pulp and paper manufacturer Celulosa Argentina SA filed for bankruptcy protection Monday, blaming the government of President Javier Milei for creating a bad business environment for local industry, the Buenos Aires Times reported. After missing bond payments, Celulosa, based in agricultural export hub Rosario, is now seeking protection from creditors in Argentina’s equivalent of a Chapter 11 process, according to an investor filing. Its locally traded shares slumped by as much as 17 percent on Monday and are down nearly 80 percent so far this year.

Brazil's economy lost momentum in the second quarter but still outperformed market expectations, driven by resilient services activity and gains in the extractive industry, official data showed on Tuesday, Reuters reported. Gross domestic product in Latin America's largest economy grew 0.4% in the April-to-June period from the previous quarter, statistics agency IBGE said. That reading marked a steep slowdown from the revised 1.3% growth reported for the first quarter, when seasonal farm output boosted performance in the agricultural powerhouse.