Inflation in Venezuela hit 234% in 2022, Vice President Delcy Rodriguez said on Monday, representing a slowdown from the previous year, as the South American country struggles with a deep and lengthy economic crisis, Reuters reported. Rodriguez provided the inflation rate during a meeting with Turkish and Venezuelan business leaders. Venezuela's central bank infrequently publishes economic data, and has not given inflation data since October.

Brazil's annual consumer prices came in slightly above market expectations in the month to mid-January, statistics agency IBGE said on Tuesday, as policymakers in Latin America's largest economy work to lower inflation to the central bank's target, Reuters reported. The IPCA-15 consumer price index rose 5.87% in the 12 months to mid-January, slightly exceeding the 5.83% median forecast in a Reuters poll of economists, though slowing from the 5.9% seen in the previous month.

Brazil and Argentina will sign a bilateral agreement creating a guarantee fund to stimulate Brazilian exports, a Brazilian government source said on Monday, as officials from both governments meet for a summit in Buenos Aires, Reuters reported.

Argentina and Brazil are in the preliminary stages of renewing discussions on forming a common currency for financial and commercial transactions, reviving an often-discussed plan that would face numerous political and economic hurdles, Bloomberg News reported. South America’s two largest economies have considered options to coordinate their currencies for decades, often to counter the influence of the dollar in the region. The persistent macroeconomic imbalances of both countries, together with recurrent political obstacles to the idea, has resulted in little practical progress.

A Rio de Janeiro court on Thursday accepted Brazilian retailer Americanas SA's bankruptcy protection request, the firm said, days after the company uncovered nearly $4 billion in accounting inconsistencies and amid a legal feud with creditors, Reuters reported. Americanas, backed by the billionaire trio that founded 3G Capital, said in a securities filing that it will restructure debts of about 43 billion reais ($8.23 billion).

Argentina’s plan to repurchase $1 billion of its deeply distressed dollar bonds has emerging-market investors scratching their heads, according to a Bloomberg News commentary. Economy Minister Sergio Massa announced the plan Wednesday to buy back securities maturing in 2029 and 2030 trading at 30-some cents on the dollar. The notes jumped to their highest prices in more than a year after Massa spoke, extending a rally that had already produced 60% returns for investors since October.

Argentina’s international bonds leaped to their highest in more than a year after the government said it planned to repurchase about $1 billion of the debt, surprising investors in the cash-strapped country, Bloomberg News reported. The South American nation’s $16.1 billion in overseas bonds due 2030 rose as much as 3.2 cents to more than 36 cents on the dollar, the highest since October 2021, before paring gains. It is those bonds, plus ones maturing in 2029, that the government plans to buy back, Economy Minister Sergio Massa said Wednesday, without giving details.

Americanas SA shares sank further after the Brazilian retailer, whose main backers include billionaire Jorge Paulo Lemann, obtained a decision that paves the way for a potential bankruptcy filing, sparking a legal reaction from creditors that accuse the company of fraud, Bloomberg reported. The Rio de Janeiro-based firm said on Friday a local court granted it protection against early debt maturity and asset-seizure for a 30-day period, after which Americanas could file for bankruptcy protection.

A group representing minority shareholders on Friday filed a complaint with Brazil's securities regulator against Americanas SA after the retailer uncovered "accounting inconsistencies" totaling 20 billion reais ($3.89 billion), Reuters reported. The Abradin association said it was denouncing Americanas for what it called a "multi-billion fraud," while also asking regulator CVM to investigate the retailer's auditor, PwC.

Shares in Brazilian retailer Americanas SA fell more than 75% on Thursday after its chief executive officer resigned citing the discovery of "accounting inconsistencies" totaling 20 billion reais ($3.9 billion), Reuters reported. Outgoing CEO Sergio Rial, who replaced Miguel Gutierrez less than two weeks ago, said in a conference call with investors he had "clearly found some very important distortions" and signals of a lack of transparency from the previous management.