Brazil's central bank is not competing with financial or payment institutions through its operation and regulation of the widely used instant payments system Pix, said Renato Gomes, the institution's financial system organization director, Reuters reported. In remarks released by the central bank on Wednesday, Gomes said the institution "plays the role of a neutral agent, providing a public digital infrastructure that allows the market to develop more efficiently, inclusively and competitively." Pix is among the Brazilian trade practices under formal investigation by U.S.

Argentina's central bank on Tuesday raised its reserve requirements for banks to a level analysts said could risk slowing the economy, a move analysts say aims to soothe markets as the government of President Javier Milei is rocked by corruption allegations ahead of key legislative elections, Reuters reported. The 3.5% increase - the third increase in recent weeks - is set to come into force on September 1, affecting a range of existing reserve requirement rates that average around 45%.

Argentine authorities are stepping up scrutiny of investor activity in repo loans, the short-term financial instruments that have seen interest rates touch record highs amid a liquidity crunch at the nation’s banks, Bloomberg News reported. The Central Bank and local regulator CNV asked for help analysing the real-time data they receive daily from the country’s two main exchanges, BYMA and A3, on the short-term instruments known locally as cauciones bursátiles, according to people familiar with the matter.

A U.S. judge on Monday authorized a court officer overseeing an auction of shares in the parent of Venezuela-owned refiner Citgo Petroleum to receive and negotiate improved bids this week before confirming or changing the winner recommendation he made last month, Reuters reported. A final winner recommendation in the complex court-organized auction is expected to be submitted by the end of this month, Judge Leonard Stark said in a hearing. Read more.

Brazil's central bank is still assessing whether the benchmark interest rate at 15% is appropriate to bring inflation down to its 3% target, economic policy director Diogo Guillen said on Monday, Reuters reported. Policymakers kept rates unchanged in late July at a near 20-year high after 450 basis points in hikes since last September. They signaled borrowing costs would remain steady for a "very prolonged" period. Guillen stressed that the guidance signaled more rate holds. "We are still evaluating whether this is the appropriate rate to bring inflation to target," he said.

Peru hopes to increase agricultural investment with a significant reduction in income tax for large export companies, the sector's minister told Reuters on Monday. The Peruvian Congress last week passed a law that reduces income tax to 15% from the current 29.5% for large agricultural exporters over the next 10 years. Medium-sized businesses would pay 1.5% income tax, while small businesses would be exempt from the tax. Peru expects agricultural sales to surpass mining, considered the country's economic engine, by 2050. Peru is the world's third-largest copper producer.

Brazil’s banking sector has been grappling with a sharp rise in defaults in agribusiness in recent months. Despite expectations for record corn production and a strong soybean harvest in 2025, a mix of pressures has worsened financial stress across the sector. The downturn began with falling commodity prices, which squeezed margins of highly leveraged farmers who had borrowed when Brazil’s Selic rate was at historic lows in 2020 and 2021.

A U.S. appeals court on Friday granted Argentina's request to put on temporary hold a judge's order that it turn over its 51% stake in oil and gas company YPF to partially satisfy a $16.1 billion judgment won by two investors, Reuters reported. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit stayed U.S. District Judge Loretta Preska's June 30 turnover order while Argentina appeals. Argentina has warned that it would suffer irreparable harm and its economy could be destabilized if it gave up its stake in YPF, the country's largest energy company.

Brazil is engaged in a "constructive dialogue" with Canada to resume negotiations for a free trade agreement between South America's Mercosur bloc and Ottawa, the Brazilian Foreign Trade Secretary said, Reuters reported. Canadian officials are due to visit Brazil in late August, according to Tatiana Prazeres, Brazil's Foreign Trade Secretary, who shared details of the visit in a written response to Reuters this week.

A Rio de Janeiro court suspended the enforceability of obligations set out in Oi SA’s judicial recovery plan in Brazil, opening the way for the company to potentially seek a chapter 11 filing in the U.S., Bloomberg News reported. The court’s decision prevents the imposition of any liens or claims on the troubled Brazilian telecom operator’s assets from Aug. 13 to Aug. 31, the filing reads. It also required the company to present a transition plan to ensure the continuity of its public services.