Across the world, government bondholders have seen losses pile up this year as a pickup in inflation and economic growth puts central banks under pressure to raise interest rates, Bloomberg News reported. That makes even more remarkable the windfalls seen in Ecuador, a junk-rated South American nation that was mired in recession even before the pandemic and was forced to restructure $17.4 billion of debt last year -- a step rating companies considered a default.

Of all the numbers that lay bare the pandemic plight of blue-collar workers, few are as jarring as the pay cut suffered by the millions of Argentines who toil in off-the-book jobs, Bloomberg News reported. The decline for people like waiters, construction workers and candy-vendors was 36% on average last year, considering inflation. That staggering number is almost four times the average pay cut that Argentines in the formal economy had to absorb.

Colombian airline Avianca obtained financial commitments for US$1.6 billion to finance its exit from chapter 11 bankruptcy law as part of its reorganization, The Rio Times reported. "As a result of the continued support of its creditors, Avianca Holdings filed a motion with the bankruptcy court seeking approval of the terms of the commitment letters for its US$1.6 billion chapter 11 exit financing," the airline said in a statement. Avianca is the largest airline in Colombia and second largest in Latin America, after LATAM of Chile.

Colombia’s government formally presented a $3.95 billion tax-reform bill to congress, even as unions and student groups sought to revive the street protests that helped scupper the reform’s original iteration, Reuters reported. The law would raise 15.2 trillion pesos per year, significantly less than the 23.4 trillion pesos sought by the government in an April proposal that was later withdrawn amid sometimes-deadly protests and lawmaker opposition.