An accounting scandal that engulfed Americanas SA last year was deeper than the Brazilian retailer previously reported, according to long-delayed financial reports it released Thursday, Bloomberg News reported. Americanas said the size of the fraud was 25.2 billion reais ($5.2 billion) as of the end of the end of last year — about 5 billion reais more than it previously estimated. The accounting issues stemmed from supply chain financing and false advertising contracts.
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South America
Peru's gross domestic product (GDP) shrank 1.29% in September from the same month last year, the government's INEI statistics agency said on Wednesday, marking a fifth consecutive month of decline and landing well below analysts' expectations, Reuters reported. The figure comes after Adrian Armas, the chief economist of Peru's central bank warned last week that July to September could mark a third straight quarter of economic contraction in the Andean country, the world's second-largest copper producer.
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Consumer prices in Argentina rose last month at their fastest pace since the country was exiting hyperinflation more than three decades ago, highlighting the dire state of the economy ahead of Sunday’s presidential election, Bloomberg News reported. Prices rose 8.3% in October on a monthly basis, a notch below September’s figure and less than the 9.45% median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg. Annual inflation accelerated to 142.7%, according to official government data published Monday, also slightly below projections. Argentines will choose their next president on Nov.
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Brazil’s annual inflation rate dropped more than expected, nearing the target range after policymakers committed to maintaining their current pace of interest rate cuts for the coming months, Bloomberg News reported. Official data released Friday showed consumer prices rose 4.82% in October from a year earlier, below the 4.87% median estimate of analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. Monthly inflation hit 0.24%. The central bank is set to deliver two more half-point cuts in as many meetings and bring the benchmark Selic to 11.25% by the end of January.
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The International Monetary Fund has hardened its view on how Argentina is running a $44 billion loan programme that has gone off track ahead of the country's key presidential vote later in November, Reuters reported. The IMF's board of executive directors met in a previously unreported meeting on Oct. 30 for an informal briefing on Argentina by the Fund's staff, as the South American nation is battling triple-digit inflation and with net reserves in the red in the run-up to the presidential vote.
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Unigel would be a step away from filing for bankruptcy and both credit agencies rating its debt obligations, Fitch and S&PL Global, have downgraded the company to the bottom notches of their rating scales, ICIS reported. On 2 October, Unigel failed to pay a coupon on a bond due in 2026, entering a 30-day grace period to negotiate with bondholders. The company said at the end of the grace period its talks with creditors were continuing, although fears about it filing for bankruptcy kept growing.
General Motors will cancel 1,245 layoffs at its factories in Sao Jose dos Campos, Sao Caetano do Sul and Mogi das Cruzes in the state of Sao Paulo, the union representing metalworkers said on Saturday, Reuters reported. The announcement was made a day after a Brazilian labor court rejected the U.S. automaker's request for an injunction to maintain the layoffs. Saving the jobs was a “historic victory” following a 13-day strike, the Sindmetal union said in a statement, adding that GM representatives will meet union leaders on Monday to confirm the decision.
Chilean economic activity registered the biggest monthly gain since January as the mining sector recovered and policymakers continued to lower borrowing costs, Bloomberg News reported. Activity rose 0.6% in September from the previous month, according to the central bank’s Imacec index, a proxy for gross domestic product. That compares with the 0.2% median estimate from analysts in a Bloomberg survey. The index was unchanged from the prior year, the bank reported Thursday.
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Annual inflation in Peru decelerated to 4.34% in October to reach its lowest in over two years, according to official data published on Wednesday, far surpassing forecasts though still above the central bank's target rate, Reuters reported. Data from national statistics agency INEI showed the key index based on the metropolitan region of Lima slowed to its lowest level since July 2021, when it stood at 3.8%. On a month-to-month basis the Lima Consumer Price Index, Peru's inflation benchmark, fell 0.32%, reversing the upward path seen in September, when consumer prices were up 0.02%.
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Bolivia's economy grew by 2.21% in the second quarter of this year compared to a year earlier, the country's planning ministry said on Friday, boosted by a growth in internal demand, Reuters reported. Growth was led by the South American country's services, electricity, gas and water, financial establishments and construction sectors, the ministry said in a report. "Bolivia maintains a sustained economic growth above the South American average," Planning Minister Sergio Cusicanqui said. The government forecasts annual growth of 4.86% this year.
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