Bankruptcy Judge Sean Lane on Friday approved Azul’s ‍debt restructuring, allowing the Brazilian airline to cut more than $2 billion in debt and raise capital through a new equity rights ‌offering and investment from ‌American Airlines and United Airlines, Reuters reported. Azul filed for chapter 11 protection ‍in New York ​in May, aiming to ​cut its debt and make ‍its business more resilient to market challenges like fluctuations in fuel prices and currency exchange rates.

Colombia’s corporate regulator has ordered provisional steps to protect the assets and operations of several Canacol Energy affiliates as part of ongoing insolvency-related proceedings, BNAmericas.com. The move applies to Canacol Energy Colombia, CNE Oil & Gas, Cantana Energy’s Colombia branch and CNEOG Colombia, according to a regulatory filing on Friday. “With the precautionary measures decreed, we ensure alignment of national regulations with international standards, without violating public order or creditor rights,” said Superintendency of Companies chief Billy Escobar.

Brazil’s central bank on Wednesday held its key interest rate steady at a steep level, as expected, and maintained its hawkish outlook as inflation remained above target, the Wall Street Journal reported. The bank’s monetary policy committee, known as Copom, kept its Selic rate at 15%—among the world’s highest levels—for a fourth consecutive meeting and gave no indication that a cut might be coming anytime soon.

The Central Bank of Argentina (BCRA) is analyzing lifting the crypto ban on banks and allowing them to provide account holders with digital asset-related services, according to Argentinian newspaper, La Nacion, Reuters reported. The new rules for banks could be ready as soon as April 2026, La Nacion reported, quoting sources close to the BCRA.

Elliott Investment Management's affiliate Amber Energy plans to keep Citgo Petroleum's refineries, terminals and other connected assets once it takes over the Venezuela-owned U.S. refiner, following the completion of a court-ordered auction, sources close to the preparations said, Reuters reported. A Delaware court last week approved Amber's $5.9 billion bid for Citgo's parent PDV Holding and ordered the sale of PDV's shares, wrapping up an auction aimed at compensating creditors for debt defaults and expropriations in Venezuela.

A U.S. judge on Saturday authorized the sale of shares in the Venezuela-owned parent of Citgo Petroleum to an affiliate of Elliott Investment Management, following his approval earlier this week of a $5.9 billion bid from the company in a court-organized auction to pay Venezuela-linked creditors, Reuters reported. The sale order is the last major legal step to wrap a two-year auction aimed at paying up to 15 creditors for debt defaults and expropriations in the South American country.

A federal judge endorsed Elliott Investment Management’s roughly $6 billion bid for Venezuela’s shares of Citgo Petroleum, pushing the forced sale of the country’s prized foreign asset closer to completion, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. U.S. District Judge Leonard P. Stark approved a court-appointed special master’s selection of Elliott as the winning bid, saying that although it didn’t have the highest sticker price, it was the best all-around bid and the one most certain to close.

Chiquita Brands, the world’s largest banana producer, has engaged investment bankers to conduct a review of certain assets as the company seeks to move forward from an adverse legal judgment stemming from past operations in Colombia, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. Chiquita is working with Houlihan Lokey to examine certain business lines, conduct valuation analysis, and assess options for acquisitions, divestitures, and other combinations.

A planned $20 billion bailout to Argentina from JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Citigroup has been shelved as bankers pivot instead to a smaller, short-term loan package to support the financially distressed government, the Wall Street Journal reported. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and the Trump administration had been seeking to bolster Argentine President Javier Milei’s pro-reform party when they announced a pair of financial lifelines this fall. The package included a $20 billion currency swap with the U.S.

In an executive order, Trump exempted dozens of Brazilian food products, including coffee and beef, from the 40% increased tariffs he imposed in an ill-fated attempt to help former President Jair Bolsonaro dodge a coup attempt trial, Bloomberg News reported. Together with prior exemptions, the move will leave many of the nation’s major exports free from heightened US duties, a victory for an agricultural powerhouse that ranks as the world’s largest beef and coffee producer and counts the US as its No. 2 trade partner.