Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido’s team of advisers is rushing to take control of the country’s main foreign asset, U.S. refiner Citgo Petroleum, before a potential bond default that could leave half the company in creditors’ hands, sources close to the talks told Reuters on Monday.

Many have applauded the return of stability to Argentina’s peso, which was one of the world’s worst-performing currencies in 2018. But being one of the best performing currencies this year brings a whole new set of problems, the Financial Times reported. The central bank is striving to maintain currency stability while fighting record levels of inflation, which reached nearly 48 per cent last year, without also prolonging a recession that could endanger President Mauricio Macri’s chances of re-election in October.

Venezuelan bond prices jumped to the highest in six months as large anti-government protests throughout the country spurred speculation that President Nicolas Maduro’s regime could be coming closer to an end, Bloomberg News reported. As Venezuelans took to the streets, the country’s $4 billion of defaulted notes due in 2027 surged 2.4 cents to 30.7 cents on the dollar, the highest price since June. Other overseas notes from the government and state-owned oil company joined along in a broad rally.

Banco Bradesco SA analysts can’t wait for the upcoming earnings. The second-biggest bank in Latin America by market value after Itau Unibanco Holding SA is expected to benefit from a pick-up in lending in Brazil, standing out from Itau and other rivals such Banco do Brasil SA, analysts say, Bloomberg News reported. "Bradesco will likely lead the class, with a solid 4Q18 and upbeat 2019 guidance," Itau BBA analysts led by Thiago Bovolenta Batista wrote in a Jan. 20 report.

Avianca Brasil, which filed for bankruptcy protection in December, is looking for a cash injection and has hired Brazilian consulting firm Galeazzi & Associados to help in talks with investors and creditors, the airline said. Galeazzi’s executives are already visiting the carrier’s creditors to discuss options, a source said, asking for anonymity to disclose private talks, Reuters reported. Reuters first reported the news of the Galeazzi hire, citing sources.

Avianca Brasil’s battle with its aircraft leasing firms intensified on Friday after Brazil’s aviation regulator said it would no longer ground 10 of the struggling carrier’s planes and another lessor renewed its effort to repossess 10 others, Reuters reported. Aircastle Ltd and General Electric Co’s GE Capital Aviation Services (GECAS) unit, among other lessors, have been trying to repossess planes from Brazil’s fourth largest airline since it fell behind on lease payments, but their efforts were hampered when Avianca Brasil filed for bankruptcy protection in December.

Brazil’s recent change of government has further delayed the long-awaited finalization of LyondellBasell Industries NV’s plan to buy Brazilian petrochemical company Braskem SA, three sources with knowledge of the matter said this week, Reuters reported. Netherlands-based LyondellBasell first said it had entered into exclusive talks to acquire control of Braskem from Brazilian conglomerate Odebrecht SA in June. However, the deal’s price depends on a long-term naphtha supply contract with state-controlled Petroleo Brasileiro SA, which also owns shares in Braskem.

Brazil’s aviation regulator said on Thursday it was going to ground 10 planes operated by Avianca Brasil, 20 percent of its fleet, prompting the carrier to go to court seeking to prevent the decision being enforced, Reuters reported. The regulator, known as ANAC, said it was acting at the request of one of various lessors involved in a festering legal dispute with Avianca Brasil, which filed for bankruptcy last month after falling behind with lease payments.

Corruption-ensnared Odebrecht SA has proposed that creditors take over its sugar and ethanol unit, Atvos Agroindustrial Participacoes SA, in exchange for reducing Odebrecht’s huge debt load, according to two sources with knowledge of the matter. The move is the latest sign of the radical way in which Brazilian conglomerate Odebrecht, best known for its engineering and construction operations, is remaking itself to renegotiate 70 billion reais (£15 billion) in consolidated debt, Reuters reported.

Brazilian carrier Avianca Brasil will trim its fleet and return some leased planes to owners trying to repossess them, a lawyer for the airline said on Monday. The attorney, who spoke on condition that he not be identified, also said the aircraft lessors had agreed to grant the airline 15 more days to fly the planes while renegotiating delinquent lease payments, Reuters reported. The lawyer who spoke after a closed hearing in bankruptcy court said that details were not final.