Bankrupt Brazilian airline Gol received U.S. court approval on Wednesday for a $1 billion loan, after resolving the concerns of a group of lenders that feared they would be sidelined by the new loan, Reuters reported. Gol had previously proposed borrowing $950 million in bankruptcy, but it allowed the objecting lenders to kick in an additional $50 million on the new loan and receive interest on that new debt, Gol's attorney Justin Cunningham said at a hearing in Manhattan.

Brazil's inflation picked up in mid-February driven by higher education prices, but landed slightly below market expectations, government statistics agency IBGE said on Tuesday, Reuters reported. The IPCA-15 consumer price index rose 0.78% in the period, while economists polled by Reuters expected an increase of 0.82%. In the same period of the previous month, inflation had hit 0.31%. n annual terms, inflation came in at 4.49%, below the expected 4.52%.

Light SA, a Brazilian utility that filed for bankruptcy protection last year, released a new version of its judicial recovery plan outlining capital increase of 1.5 billion reais amid ongoing negotiations with creditors to restructure its debt, Bloomberg News reported. The troubled Rio utility said in a filing that 1 billion reais will come from key shareholders, including Nelson Tanure, Ronaldo Cézar Coelho and Carlos Alberto Da Veiga Sicupira, who own 50% of the company.

Argentina’s economy contracted in December by the most since the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic as newly elected President Javier Milei put in motion shock austerity measures that slammed the brakes on consumption, Bloomberg News reported. Economic activity in December fell 3.1% from November, according to government data published Thursday, a drop not seen since April 2020. From the same month a year earlier, activity fell 4.5%, more than the 3.2% decline forecast by economists surveyed by Bloomberg. The contraction was driven by declines in the financial sector, manufacturing and commerce.

Argentina must pay a large deposit in a case brought by hedge funds seeking $1.5 billion in compensation for losses in the nation’s growth-linked securities, London’s Court of Appeal ruled, Bloomberg News reported. The South American nation must pay down €310 million ($337 million) before a full appeal is heard. Hedge funds, including Palladian Partners LP, won the case for compensation in a lower court last year. Argentina has until April 5 to deposit the cash in a trustee account, a judge ruled Thursday.

Unigel has agreed a Brazilian reais (R) 3.9 billion ($791 million) debt restructuring with its creditors, which has saved the beleaguered styrenics, acrylics and fertilizer producer from filing for bankruptcy for the time being, ICIS.com reported. The agreement includes raising a new $100 million credit line that will mature in 2027, and give its shareholders “economic benefits corresponding” to 50% of the company, it said. An intention to improve the company’s governance structure is also included, although Unigel did not disclose further details.

Bolivia's government set out on Tuesday a package of measures to spur investment and exports as it seeks to reverse a worsening dollar scarcity that has left shelves empty and workers unpaid, Reuters reported. The government of President Luis Arce said its plan, agreed with businesses, would aim to cut red tape for exports, increase investment in grains production, make diesel imports easier, and allow bigger trucks on the roads.

Brazil´s state-controlled oil giant Petrobras has no plans to lower jet fuel prices as part of a wider effort to rescue struggling Brazilian airlines, Bloomberg News reported. The Rio de Janeiro-based producer can’t just lower prices when the government tells it to, Chief Executive Officer Jean Paul Prates told Bloomberg News during a recent trip to India, reiterating his opposition to such a move. Prates added that “abnormal” airfare costs continued in 2023 even while jet fuel prices fell.

Paraguay’s central bank cut its benchmark interest rate Monday for the seventh time since August as inflation remains below 4% after a post-pandemic surge, Bloomberg News reported. The monetary authority lowered its key rate to 6.25% from 6.5%, continuing an easing cycle that began after borrowing costs peaked at 8.5%, according to a statement published Monday. Consumer prices increases, once in double-digit territory after the pandemic, have consistently cooled with the latest data showing annual inflation at 3.4% in January.

Fertilizer maker Unigel Participacoes SA is pitching a last-minute deal to avoid filing for bankruptcy protection as a temporary order shielding it from creditors expires, Bloomberg News reported. The company is trying to sell bondholders led by Pacific Investment Management Co. on a plan that would include an injection of $100 million in new money, and allow it to restructure debt out of court, said the people, asking not to be identified because the discussions are private. Unigel needs the buy-in of about a third of its bondholders to kick off the restructuring.