South America

Colombia’s central bank lowered its key interest rate by half a percentage point to 11.75%, defying calls from the government for a deeper cut to boost economic growth, Bloomberg News reported. Five of the seven-member board backed the decision, Governor Leonardo Villar told reporters in Bogota. One argued for a deeper reduction, of three quarters of a percentage point, while another called for a full percentage point cut.

Grupo Casas Bahia SA shares jumped as much as 21% after the Brazilian retailer filed an out-of-court deal with its main creditors to reschedule the payment of 4.1 billion reais ($801 million) in debt, Bloomberg News reported. The plan was built with Banco Bradesco SA and Banco do Brasil SA, the main creditors, which hold approximately 55% of the debt in bank loans, according to Casas Bahia’s chief financial officer, Elcio Ito.

Brazil’s jobless rate ticked up less than expected last month, likely adding to central bankers’ concerns that the labor market is running too hot, Bloomberg News reported. Official data released Tuesday showed the unemployment rate rose to 7.9% in March from a month earlier as nearly 8.6 million people were jobless in the period. The central bank plans to lower the benchmark interest rate by half-point next month and is keeping a close eye on hiring as it charts its subsequent moves.

After years of fits and starts, Venezuela is setting the stage for one of the largest and most complex debt restructurings in decades — unwinding a $154 billion web of defaulted bonds, loans and legal judgments owed to creditors from Wall Street to Russia, Bloomberg News reported. President Nicolas Maduro’s government’s recent hiring of Rothschild & Co. as a financial adviser marks a first step in a massive undertaking that’s likely to drag on for years.

Brazil’s inflation cooled more than expected in early April, but fell short of soothing policymakers’ fears about lingering price pressures on Latin America’s largest economy, Bloomberg News reported. Official data released Friday showed prices increased 0.21% in the first two weeks of April from a month earlier, less than all estimates in a Bloomberg survey, whose median forecast was 0.29%. Annual inflation came in at 3.77%.

In a conference room of the run-down headquarters of Brazilian retailer Americanas SA, Camille Loyo Faria agrees that the office has seen better days, Bloomberg News reported. It’s “ugly, as a company in judicial recovery should be,” the chief financial officer says. The 50-year-old started at the Rio de Janeiro-based company on Feb. 1, 2023, in the wake of its bankruptcy protection measure and accounting fraud that eventually reached 25 billion reais ($4.8 billion) — one of the biggest-ever in Brazil. It’s just the latest company that Faria has helped pull out of distress.

LATAM Airlines' share of Brazil's domestic market reached its highest level in 11 years in March, data from local aviation regulator ANAC showed on Monday, while rival Gol continued to falter after filing for bankruptcy, Reuters reported. The Brazilian unit of Chile-based LATAM had a market share of 41% in the month as defined by revenue passenger-kilometers (RPK), according to ANAC figures, which the firm said was its highest since the 41.6% reached in July 2013.

Venezuela's state-run oil company PDVSA plans to increase digital currency usage in its crude and fuel exports as the U.S. reimposes oil sanctions on the country, Reuters reported. The U.S. Treasury Department last week gave PDVSA's customers and providers until May 31 to wind down transactions under a general license it did not renew due to a lack of electoral reforms. The move will make it more difficult for the country to increase oil output and exports as companies will have to wait for individual U.S. authorizations to do business with Venezuela.

Azul SA’s pursuit of a merger with Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes SA has gained momentum, with talks underway for a deal with the controlling shareholder of the rival Brazilian airline, Bloomberg News reported. In one scenario under consideration, holding company Abra Group Ltd. would contribute its Gol shares to Azul in exchange for a stake in the combined airline, one of the people said, asking not to be identified because discussions are still private. That type of transaction could appeal to Azul because it wouldn’t have to commit much cash, if any.

Argentina corn farmers had high hopes for this season’s harvest after near-perfect weather conditions ended years of drought. A record crop would also bode well for President Javier Milei’s plan to turn around the nation’s embattled economy, Bloomberg News reported. Now a bug is getting in the way. Corn farmers are seeing their fields ravaged by a plague of leafhopper insects. The infestation is slashing production potential for the world’s third-largest exporter of corn just as harvesting gathers speed.