Argentina is seeking new easing of targets in its $44 billion deal with the International Monetary Fund and faster payouts, and is pushing to get key IMF members the United States and Brazil to support it, Reuters reported. The country is expected to return to talks with the IMF on Thursday over amending the deal, which has come under strain amid a historic drought that has battered the country's key cash crops soy and corn, a senior economy ministry official said.

Argentina’s international reserves have tumbled to their lowest since 2016 as the central bank drains its coffers to defend the increasingly beleaguered peso, Bloomberg News reported. The currency tumbled 13% in parallel markets last month to a record low as a historic drought sapped key crop exports, fueling a dollar shortage at the same time that inflation accelerates past 100%.

Shareholders of embattled Brazilian retailer Americanas SA voted to ratify most of the names proposed for its board of directors, after the firm sank into bankruptcy in January following the revelation of a massive accounting error, Bloomberg News reported. At a general meeting held Saturday, Carlos Sicupira, one of the billionaire founders of 3G Capital Inc. that’s also among Americanas’ largest shareholders, was reelected to the board. Minority shareholders managed to elect Pierre Moreau.

Argentina's central bank hiked its benchmark interest rate a huge 10 percentage points to 91% on Thursday as it tries to tame high inflation and steady the peso currency, which has tumbled in black market trading over the last week, Reuters reported. The hike, the biggest since a market meltdown in August 2019, comes after the central bank (BCRA) had already lifted the rate last week by 300 basis points to 81% in an effort to control inflation running at 104% annually. The central bank confirmed the hike in a statement after Reuters earlier reported the move, citing bank sources.

Ahead of Brazil's next monetary policy decision, the Finance Minister expressed apprehension on Thursday about the economic impact of high interest rates, while the central bank's chief continued to emphasize inflation concerns, Reuters reported. Speaking at a Senate debate session on interest rates, inflation, and economic growth, Finance Minister Fernando Haddad warned that failure to integrate the country's monetary and fiscal policies would create "a lot of difficulty" in achieving the Brazilian economy's needs.

The Bolivian financial regulator (ASFI) will offer the savings deposited in Banco Fassil to other banks that can guarantee its devolution, a process that could last a month, but if this fails, a forced liquidation of assets may be considered, said ASFI Director Reynaldo Yujra in a press conference, Bloomberg News reported. Fassil reported liquidity problems since the beginning of the year but the situation worsened in March, when the entity cut its credit and debit card services and interrupted online transfers.

Brazil’s lower house will investigate the events leading up to the financial crisis at Americanas SA, the retail giant that went into bankruptcy protection in January after unveiling a massive accounting hole of 20 billion reais ($4 billion), Bloomberg News reported. Speaker Arthur Lira authorized the creation of an inquiry committee on Wednesday and party leaders will now nominate representatives to lead the probe.

Peru, the world's No. 2 copper producer, is seen posting economic growth of 2.5% this year, President Dina Boluarte said Wednesday, down from a prior forecast as the Andean nation reels from social protests and heavy rains in the country's north, Reuters reported. That would be down from the a prior government forecast in August of 3.5%. "There has been a negative impact due to the social unrest that has forced us to review growth" forecasts, Economy Minister Alex Contreras said at a cabinet meeting with Boluarte.

Colombia's civil aviation authority has formally approved a merger between Avianca, the Andean country's flag carrier, and Viva Air, the regulator said in a statement on Wednesday, Reuters reported. The merger is a lifeline for embattled Viva, which has struggled financially in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic and seen its situation worsen due to higher fuel prices in 2022 and the depreciation of Colombia's peso. The aviation authority has "confirmed the conditional approval of the integration operation," it said in a statement.

Brazil posted a current account surplus of $286 million in March, the strongest data for the month in 17 years, boosted by a strong trade balance performance, central bank data showed on Tuesday, Reuters reported. The trade balance had a positive balance of $9.48 billion, the highest figure in the entire series, driven by a significant increase in exports, with emphasis on booming shipments of oil and soybean. This led the current account to record its first positive balance since June 2022, with a March surplus being the first since 2006.