A new reorganization plan from Brazil's debt-laden phone carrier Oi SA boosted shares on Thursday, but analysts continued to focus on the need for fresh capital after a heavy fourth-quarter loss, Reuters reported. Changes to the plan revealed late on Wednesday would offer Oi's financial creditors 25 percent of its equity or convertible bonds to be called in three years, at which point they could own up to 38 percent of the company's shares.

The bitter political standoff between Venezuela’s government and opposition may have cost the crisis-torn country nearly half a billion dollars in loans from one of its last active multilateral lenders as a fourth year of recession grips the economy, Bloomberg News reported. The Development Bank of Latin America, or CAF, is said to be reconsidering whether to issue fresh loans to Venezuela -- a principal member and home to its headquarters -- due to a legal dispute between the National Assembly and the Supreme Court, according to three people with direct knowledge of the matter.

Just how much do you trust Venezuela? That’s the question to ask as $2 billion of bonds from the state-owned oil company that come due next month trade at about 95 cents on the dollar, Bloomberg News reported. Traders with nerves of steel might be able to bank a quick profit if all goes well and Petroleos de Venezuela SA honors the debt. But there’s always the chance that won’t happen. Venezuela investors have been on default watch for years now, racking up some of the world’s highest yields for dollar-denominated debt amidst the omnipresent threat that it will all go belly up at some point.

Grupo Schahin said on Monday it can execute a reorganization plan after an appeals court favored the ailing Brazilian engineering and rig-leasing conglomerate over disgruntled creditors, according to a statement, Reuters reported. The reorganization, confirmed by a bankruptcy court a year ago, was challenged by a 13-bank consortium led by Itaú Unibanco SA, the statement said. Schahin's reorganization foresees repayment of 6.5 billion reais ($2 billion) of defaulted debt over a 15-year period, without any deductions, the company said.

It’s hard to find a pessimist among Brazil investors these days, even though there’s plenty to be worried about. Traders who pushed the real and Ibovespa stock index to some of the world’s biggest gains over the past year see a rosy outlook for President Michel Temer’s chances of pushing through pension, labor and tax reforms that are needed for Brazil to regain investment-grade status, Bloomberg News reported. They’re ignoring signs of a sluggish economy, chaotic politics and a new chapter in a corruption scandal that threatens to paralyze the government.

Investigations into Brazil’s embattled construction giant Odebrecht SA are exposing a larger network of graft in Latin America than was already revealed in a massive anticorruption settlement, according to prosecutors in several countries, The Wall Street Journal reported. Since the firm admitted in December to paying nearly $800 million in bribes, authorities across Latin America have launched new investigations that are beginning to ensnare former high-ranking officials and other companies beyond Odebrecht.

Pharol SGPS SA, the controlling shareholder of Brazil's debt-laden telephone carrier Oi SA, said in a statement on Tuesday that Rafael Mora had resigned as Pharol's executive director and a member of Oi's board, Reuters reported. João do Passo Vicente Ribeiro, previously named as Mora's alternate on Oi's board, will take his board seat, according to a Pharol press representative. The statement did not give a reason for Mora's resignation. Read more.

A São Paulo court granted Brazilian homebuilder PDG Realty SA bankruptcy protection on Thursday, the company said in a securities filing. PDG sought protection from creditors last week to enable it to restructure its debt, Brazil's second publicly listed builder to do so in less than six months, Reuters reported. PDG's gross debt was 5.4 billion reais ($1.75 billion) at the end of September, according to a quarterly earnings report. Read more.

Brazil’s government can’t waive Oi SA’s debt with a local regulator and state-run banks, the communications minister said, denying the phone carrier a lifeline that would have helped it pull out of the biggest bankruptcy in the country’s history, Bloomberg News reported. “The government can’t let go of resources, they are public resources, debt with the public administration," Science and Technology Minister Gilberto Kassab said Sunday in an interview in Barcelona, Spain. The debt with the regulator is Oi’s main problem with the government, said Kassab, who also oversees communications.

Brazilian homebuilder PDG Realty SA said it was seeking protection from creditors by filing on Wednesday to restructure its debt in court, the country's second publicly listed builder to do so in less than six months, Reuters reported. PDG's gross debt was 5.4 billion reais ($1.75 billion) at the end of September, according to a quarterly earnings report. The company had 235 million reais of cash on hand at the time.