South America

Retail sales in Brazil rose less than expected in September but recovered from a fall in the previous month, as the strength of Latin America's largest economy keeps in focus amidst the central bank's fight against inflation, Reuters reported. Retail sales volumes rose 0.5% in September from August, statistics agency IBGE said on Tuesday, below the 1.10% increase forecast by economists in a Reuters poll, but above August's 0.2% decrease. Sales grew 2.1% from the year-earlier period.

Argentine President Javier Milei's dramatic austerity agenda has helped lower inflation, but the slowdown has come at the cost of consumption in a battered economy where more than half of the country has fallen into poverty, Reuters reported. The libertarian president, nearing a year in office, has celebrated falling inflation as one of his government's key accomplishments, after one of the largest adjustments in public spending in recent history.

A Brazilian government-backed credit line for struggling airlines should be ready by early 2025, helping the industry ride out a bumpy stretch for big carriers, Ports and Airports Minister Silvio Costa Filho told Reuters. Gol Linhas Aereas, which is negotiating its exit from bankruptcy protection, and Azul , which recently renegotiated debts to raise fresh capital, are both in talks with the government about the credit, Costa Filho said.

A boom in Brazil’s agriculture sector sparked a rush of investments, with the $7 billion market for agribusiness funds luring people from all walks of life in the past three years, Bloomberg News reported. But with bumper crops across the globe sending prices plunging and Brazilian farmers filing for bankruptcy at alarming rates, the retail investor is paying the price. It’s a sobering reminder of market risks to investors who have been bombarded with messages on national television promoting agriculture as hip and cool, and even music that celebrates the success of the sector.

Bolivia’s central bank ditched new rules on reporting its gold reserves which it had published just two days earlier, Bloomberg News reported. The bank said in a statement Friday that it wouldn’t implement the resolution to avoid “speculation that seeks to damage the economic stability of the country.” The resolution would have allowed the bank to report its gold holdings twice a year: on Nov. 5 and May 5. That could potentially have allowed it to access more liquidity to pay for imports and address a crippling fuel shortage.

Inflation smashed through the top of the central bank’s tolerance range in Brazil and accelerated much more than expected in Chile as surging energy costs give policymakers another reason to worry, Bloomberg News reported. Official data released Friday showed Brazil’s consumer prices rose 4.76% in October from the year prior, above the 4.5% tolerance ceiling of the central bank’s goal. Chile’s cost of living posted the biggest monthly rise since March of last year as annual inflation sped up to 4.7%.

Julius Baer Group Ltd. hired Goldman Sachs to seek buyers for its Brazilian unit, according to people familiar to the matter, a move that could help the Swiss bank right its footing after some high-profile setbacks, Bloomberg News reported. The unit has already been offered to some Brazilian banks and multifamily offices, the people said, asking not to be identified because the talks are private. Talks are ongoing and may not end up in a deal, the people said. Goldman Sachs and Julius Baer declined to comment.

Brazilian airline Gol said on Wednesday it has signed a deal with shareholder Abra to reinforce its current restructuring plan and raise credit to exit bankruptcy, including the conversion of $950 million in Abra's secured debt into Gol shares, Reuters reported. Abra is the main investor in airlines Gol and Avianca. The agreement is related to Gol's chapter 11 request, filed in January. According to the filing, Gol will present a restructuring plan that will allow a significant reduction of its leverage.

Argentina’s central bank lowered its benchmark interest rate Friday for the first time in nearly six months as President Javier Milei continues to oversee a slowdown in inflation in the crisis-prone economy, Bloomberg News reported. The monetary authority cut borrowing costs to 35% from 40%, according to a press release sent via text message. The decision is based on the country’s liquidity context, the lowering of consumer price expectations and the government’s fiscal anchor, the bank said. Argentina also reduced rates for notes known locally as pases to 40% from 45%.