Brazil Finance Minister Fernando Haddad said the government is worried a resurgence in extreme weather will spur inflation as central bankers are expected to lift the interest rate starting next week, Bloomberg News reported. The nation’s persistent dry spell can stoke food and energy price increases, Haddad told reporters in Brasilia on Wednesday. At the same time, such cost rises are not easily controlled with borrowing cost hikes, he said. “The central bank has the technical framework to make the best decision,” Haddad said.

Argentina's monthly inflation rate stood at 4.2% in August, official data published on Wednesday showed, rising from last month and surpassing analysts' forecasts, while Argentines tighten their wallets to deal with spiraling costs, Reuters reported. Inflation in the 12 months through August reached 236.7%, still the highest level recorded in the world. Analysts had hoped for a slight monthly slowdown to 3.9%, which would signal progress for the government of libertarian President Javier Milei, which has been focused on taming runaway prices.

The board of ailing state-owned company Petroleos del Peru submitted its resignation on Tuesday, Bloomberg News reported. “As several days have passed without the government making a statement, the directors appointed by the general shareholders meeting, unanimously, have presented our resignation,” the members said in a statement.

Brazil’s annual inflation eased roughly in line with expectations in August, offering limited relief to a central bank that’s under pressure to lift interest rates to contain above-target price increases, Bloomberg News reported. Official data released Tuesday showed prices rose 4.24% from a year earlier, just below the 4.27% median estimate of analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. On the month, inflation stood at -0.02%. The robust pace of growth in Latin America’s largest economy has investors betting that a hike to the benchmark Selic from its current level of 10.5% is imminent next week.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Bank of America Corp. are laying the groundwork for a swap that will help Ecuador manage its debt financing costs in exchange for a pledge to protect part of the Amazon rainforest, Bloomberg News reported. The two investment banks are preparing a deal ahead of formally engaging with potential investors for the transaction, said the people who asked not to be identified discussing private talks. The Nature Conservancy, a non-governmental organization, will be an adviser on the deal.

In just a little over a decade, Nu Holdings Ltd. has gone from an obscure fintech startup in Sao Paulo to the most valuable bank in all of Latin America. It’s been a dizzying ascent, powered by a business model that Brazil’s uber-conservative banking titans never had much of a stomach for: lending to low-income families. Growth keeps coming at a breakneck pace — some 60% of all Brazilian adults now have Nubank’s app on their phone — and investors keep frantically bidding the stock higher, Bloomberg News reported.

Azul is not planning on filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, the Brazilian airline's CEO told Reuters, contradicting reports which caused the carrier's shares to nosedive on Thursday, Reuters reported. Bloomberg reported on Wednesday Azul was considering options ranging from an equity offering to filing for Chapter 11 in the United States in order to address its debt obligations. The report was "misinterpreted," the company responded in a filing, as its Brazil-listed shares sank 24%.

Brazil’s possible cycle of monetary tightening would be gradual, central bank chief Roberto Campos Neto said on Friday as he sought to temper investor bets on large interest rate hikes starting next month, Bloomberg News reported. “If and when there is a cycle of interest rate increases, it will be gradual,” Campos Neto said at an event organized by XP Investimentos. Still, the bank will remain data dependent and refrain from giving guidance on its next steps, he said.

The largest shareholder of ailing Brazilian airline Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes SA is nearing a deal to raise $1.3 billion of funds from investment firm Castlelake LP to stave off the risk of defaulting on its bonds, Bloomberg News reported. Abra Group Ltd., which also owns Colombian airline Avianca Holdings SA, outlined Castlelake’s proposal to its investors last week. Under the plan, the investment firm would refinance Abra’s secured bonds due 2028, which could default after Gol raised a bankruptcy loan as part of its chapter 11 procedure in the U.S.