South America

For years, Argentina imposed one of the world’s strictest rent-control laws. It was meant to keep homes such as the stately belle epoque apartments of Buenos Aires affordable, but instead, officials here say, rents soared, the Wall Street Journal reported. Now, the country’s new president, Javier Milei, has scrapped the rental law, along with most government price controls, in a fiscal experiment that he is conducting to revive South America’s second-biggest economy. The result: The Argentine capital is undergoing a rental-market boom.

Soccer-mad Brazilians have fallen hard for online sports betting, yielding a boom of interest from foreign gambling companies that may boost state coffers but also threatens to divert funds from consumer spending in other areas, Reuters reported. Latin America's largest economy has seen lower-than-expected growth in consumer spending in the country in recent months, a weakness some banks and think tanks are blaming on gambling. Such a linkage would echo data seen in some U.S. states touched by online gambling fever.

AgroGalaxy’s financial struggles reached a critical point and the company, a major player in Brazil’s agricultural input retail sector, filed for judicial recovery on Sept. 18, the Rio Times reported. The decision to file for judicial recovery came after months of financial turmoil. AgroGalaxy’s board of directors approved the filing, which was submitted to the court under confidential terms. Earlier in the day prior to the filing, a series of high-profile resignations rocked the company’s leadership structure.

Brazilian markets rallied on Thursday as the central bank’s unanimous decision to raise interest rates — and a statement viewed as hawkish — signaled its commitment to getting inflation back to target, Bloomberg News reported. The real trimmed gains after climbing as much as 1.2% versus the dollar, and swap rates jumped, after central bank officials raised the benchmark rate by 25 basis points late Wednesday, just hours after the Federal Reserve delivered its first cut in four years.

Argentina's economy likely shrank 1.4% in the second quarter versus a year earlier, a Reuters poll showed on Monday, the fifth such decline as a recession deepens under a tough austerity drive by libertarian President Javier Milei, Reuters reported. That median GDP estimate from 15 analysts polled by Reuters for the April-June period would follow a 5.1% year-over-year contraction in the first quarter. The official data is released on Wednesday. Milei's cost-cutting has hurt economic activity and pushed up poverty and unemployment.

Brazilian airline Azul has moved closer to clinching a new deal with lessors as the company offers them equity to pay off some $600 million in debt, Reuters reported. Shares in the carrier jumped over 20% in Friday trading after Reuters first reported on the progress in negotiations. Azul's shares had slipped over 40% since August on media reports that it was considering filing for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection as it struggles with its debt load. The company has said it is focused on direct talks with creditors.

A recent flurry of judicial and economic rule changes has served as a reminder of just how unpredictable operating in Latin America can be, denting the region’s appeal for foreign investors already weary after years of sub-par returns, Bloomberg News reported.

Brazil Finance Minister Fernando Haddad said the government is worried a resurgence in extreme weather will spur inflation as central bankers are expected to lift the interest rate starting next week, Bloomberg News reported. The nation’s persistent dry spell can stoke food and energy price increases, Haddad told reporters in Brasilia on Wednesday. At the same time, such cost rises are not easily controlled with borrowing cost hikes, he said. “The central bank has the technical framework to make the best decision,” Haddad said.

Argentina's monthly inflation rate stood at 4.2% in August, official data published on Wednesday showed, rising from last month and surpassing analysts' forecasts, while Argentines tighten their wallets to deal with spiraling costs, Reuters reported. Inflation in the 12 months through August reached 236.7%, still the highest level recorded in the world. Analysts had hoped for a slight monthly slowdown to 3.9%, which would signal progress for the government of libertarian President Javier Milei, which has been focused on taming runaway prices.

The board of ailing state-owned company Petroleos del Peru submitted its resignation on Tuesday, Bloomberg News reported. “As several days have passed without the government making a statement, the directors appointed by the general shareholders meeting, unanimously, have presented our resignation,” the members said in a statement.