Chile, by far the biggest shipper of copper into the U.S., is waiting for details to emerge following President’s Donald Trump’s bombshell comments on tariffs, Bloomberg reported. Trump sent shock-waves through the global copper industry on Tuesday by telling reporters that he would be slapping a 50% levy on copper imports — about double what the market was pricing in. Chile — and particularly state-owned Codelco — would be the most affected producer given the country accounts for about 500,000 metric tons of the total of 700,000 tons of refined metal the US imports a year.
Read more
Holders of a defaulted Venezuelan bond, some creditors and bidders that participated in a U.S. auction of shares in the parent of Venezuela-owned refiner Citgo Petroleum filed objections to the auction's recommended outcome, court documents released on Monday showed, Reuters reported. The challenge to the $7.4 billion offer by a group led by a unit of miner Gold Reserve could again derail the sale. Citgo, Venezuela's priced foreign asset, has been put on the auction block to pay creditors who lost billions to the South American country's expropriations and defaults.
A court-appointed special master recommended a nearly $7.4 billion bid from Venezuela creditor Gold Reserve for the country’s state-owned oil refiner Citgo Petroleum, roughly double the prior leading offer, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. Robert Pincus, the special master overseeing the forced sale of Venezuela’s stake in Citgo, said in court papers filed Wednesday that the bid from Gold Reserve’s Dalinar Energy is the highest and best offer.
Read more
A U.S. judge ordered Argentina to give up its 51% stake in oil and gas company YPF to partially satisfy a $16.1 billion court judgment against the country, Investing.com reported. U.S. District Judge Loretta Preska in Manhattan ruled yesterday that Argentina must transfer its YPF shares within 14 days to a BNY Mellon custody account. The country must also instruct the bank to transfer the shares within one business day to the plaintiffs. The plaintiffs in the case are Petersen Energia Inversora and Eton Park Capital Management, which are represented by litigation funder Burford Capital.
Read more
Bolivia's central bank on Friday reiterated a dramatic uptick in transactions of digital assets, following a Reuters report that showed how more Bolivians were turning to crypto exchanges like Binance and stablecoins like Tether as a hedge against the depreciation of the local boliviano currency. According to new figures published on Friday by the Bolivian central bank, transactions using Electronic Payment Channels and Instruments for Virtual Assets (VA) soared more than 530%, from $46.5 million in the first half of 2024, to $294 million in the same period of 2025.
Read more
In the busy shopping district of the Bolivian city of Cochabamba, ATMs let shoppers swap coins for cryptocurrency, beauty salons offer cut-price deals if you pay in Bitcoin, and people use Binance accounts to buy fried chicken, Reuters reported. Bolivians are facing a rising economic crisis, with reserves of dollars near zero, inflation at 40-year highs and fuel shortages causing long lines at the pump. The country's currency has lost half its value on the black market this year, even as the official exchange rate has been held artificially steady by government intervention.
Read more
Brazil's central bank said on Tuesday that much of the impact from its "particularly quick and very firm" tightening cycle is yet to be felt, which is why it now foresees a pause in interest rate increases to assess those effects, Reuters reported. In the minutes of last week's decision, when the monetary policy committee Copom raised rates by 25 basis points to 15% and signaled a "very prolonged" pause ahead, the central bank also stressed that it will still assess whether the current rate is appropriate to bring inflation back to target.
Read more
Gaucho Group Holdings announced its emergence from chapter 11 on June 16, having resolved litigation with 3i Parties and secured a settlement, TipRanks reported. The company is now poised to leverage Argentina’s improving economic conditions, including reduced inflation and renewed mortgage financing, to advance its business strategy and capitalize on new investment opportunities. Gaucho Group Holdings Inc. is a company focused on luxury real estate, fine wines, and leather goods, primarily operating in Argentina.
A record share of the world’s central banks plans to accumulate more gold over the next 12 months, drawn by bullion’s performance during times of crisis and protection against inflation, Bloomberg reported. In a survey of 72 monetary authorities, 43% said they expected their gold reserves to increase, up from 29% a year earlier and the highest figure in eight years of data collected by the World Gold Council and YouGov. None anticipated a decline. Central banks have been one of the most important drivers of a long-running gold rally that has seen prices double since late-2022.
Gaucho Group Holdings has successfully emerged from chapter 11 bankruptcy after a seven-month restructuring period, maintaining its core assets focused on fine wines, luxury real estate, and leather goods in Argentina, Stock Titan reported. The company's emergence coincides with significant improvements in Argentina's macroeconomic landscape, including the lowest inflation rates in five years and renewed access to long-term mortgage financing.