Restructuring Brazilian low-cost carrier Gol swung to a net loss of R1.1 billion ($221 million) in the fourth quarter, the first results it has disclosed since entering bankruptcy protection in January, FlightGlobal reported. The loss compared to a net profit of R231 million for the same period in 2022 and reflects the R1.1 billion impact of foreign exchange losses and other one-off items during the fourth quarter.
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Brazil's finance ministry unveiled on Tuesday its proposal to reduce the burden of states' debt to the federal government, conditioned upon allocating resources to technical high school education, Reuters reported. The move comes after several governors have requested lower charges, arguing that the amount paid in interest is excessively high and hampers investment.
WOM Chile and some of its creditors have tapped advisers ahead of potential debt talks, Bloomberg News reported. Holders of global bonds issued by the mobile operator began working with Dechert LLP this week, according to the people, who asked not to be named as the negotiations are private. They didn’t identify members of the bondholder group that retained the law firm. Some bondholders also hired Ducera Partners LLC as an adviser, according to two other people familiar with the matter.
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Argentina’s economy shrank in the fourth quarter, consolidating a full year of negative growth, even before incoming President Javier Milei slashed spending as part of his shock therapy, Bloomberg News reported. Gross domestic product fell 1.9% compared to the period between July and September, according to official government data published Wednesday. Activity contracted 1.4% from a year earlier, slightly less the median estimate of a 1.5% decline of economists surveyed by Bloomberg.
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Colombia’s slowing inflation and weak economy call for more aggressive interest rate cuts, though policymakers must remain vigilant to potential risks ahead, according to a member of the central bank’s board, Bloomberg News reported. The fact that inflation has been above target for the past three years demands prudence, even after it eased in February to the slowest pace in nearly two years, central bank co-director Bibiana Taboada said in an interview.
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The highest bid received in a U.S. auction of shares that will decide the fate of Venezuela-owned oil refiner Citgo Petroleum was $7.3 billion, enough to cover only a third of court-approved claims, Reuters reported. A federal court in Delaware is auctioning the shares of a parent of Venezuela's foreign crown jewel, Houston-based Citgo, that it found liable for the South American country's debt defaults and expropriations. Creditors have flocked to Delaware to press claims totaling $21.3 billion in a case first brought nearly seven years ago by miner Crystallex.
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President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s plan to help Brazilians escape the record amounts of debt they amassed during the pandemic remains well short of its targets as it approaches its March 31 expiration, denting his efforts to unleash consumer spending and boost growth in Latin America’s largest economy, Bloomberg News reported. Desenrola, as the program is known, was expected to help as many as 70 million people, including 30 million with lower incomes and smaller debts.
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The Latin American high-yield bond rally that started in El Salvador and expanded to Venezuela, Argentina and Ecuador has now swept up Bolivia in its wake. That’s a step too far for some investors, Bloomberg News reported. El Salvador gained after unexpectedly meeting all its debt payments, while Venezuela rallied after the US lifted sanctions. Ecuador and Argentina jumped as they imposed radical free-market reforms following years of mismanagement.
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Brazil is putting the finishing touches on a rescue plan for its troubled airlines, as President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s government confronts a challenge the US and Europe dealt with much sooner after the pandemic, Bloomberg News reported. The package, to be announced in coming days, will use public funds as collateral for loans to struggling carriers from the country’s development bank, according to a person familiar with the matter. But the plan is still in flux and it’s expected to be more of a band-aid solution than an industry cure-all.
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