Argentina’s monthly inflation eased more than expected in August to a 13-month low as food and living cost increases lost some momentum, Bloomberg News reported. Consumer prices rose 2.5% in August from a month earlier, the lowest level since July 2020 and less than economists’ median estimate for a 2.9% increase. From a year ago, inflation reached 51.4%, one of the highest levels since President Alberto Fernandez took office in December 2019.

Avianca Holdings SA won court approval to send its reorganization plan to creditors for a vote, bringing the Colombian air carrier one step closer to exiting bankruptcy under new ownership, Bloomberg News reported. Lenders and noteholders who agreed to refinance their debt at the beginning of Avianca’s bankruptcy case last year will get 72% of the airline’s equity in exchange for canceling about $934.7 million, according to court papers. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Martin Glenn said he would approve a disclosure statement that will be sent to creditors in the U.S.

The Argentine government’s election loss on Sunday weakens Economy Minister Martin Guzman’s negotiating power with the International Monetary Fund over its record $45 billion debt, according to one of the nation’s former representatives with the fund, Bloomberg News reported. President Alberto Fernandez’s coalition was defeated in primary congressional races in the majority of Argentina’s provinces, as well as in the capital, reflecting discontent over rising poverty and 50% inflation ahead of the general midterms on Nov. 14.

LATAM Airlines said yesterday that it has received several offers to fund its exit from chapter 11 bankruptcy, each of which are worth more than $5 billion, Reuters reported. LATAM, the largest airline in Latin America, received the offers from creditors and shareholders, according to a filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New York City. The Santiago, Chile-based company did not reveal the number of offers received or from whom they came, but Delta Air Lines Inc is LATAM’s largest shareholder. Other shareholders include Qatar Airways, with a 10% stake.

Brazilian Economy Minister Paulo Guedes on Friday outlined a rosier outlook for Latin America's largest economy in 2022, predicting a "robust" GDP growth and inflation meeting its target, Reuters reported. "I have a constructive and positive view that we're going to post a robust growth next year," he said. Market participants see GDP growth at mere 1.93%, according to a central bank survey released last week. In an event hosted by Credit Suisse, Guedes said inflation is likely to be at 5% next year, the upper part of a range.

Colombia’s rapid recovery and growing inflationary pressure mean the central bank will need to pare back the amount of stimulus it’s providing the economy, bank Governor Leonardo Villar said, Bloomberg News reported. “We saw the need to begin reducing the magnitude of stimulus,” Villar said in a presentation Thursday, referring to the central bank board’s discussion in its last policy meeting in July. “That doesn’t mean eliminating stimulus altogether.” The bank will begin to lift interest rates “gradually”, he said, without specifying when it will start.

Ecuador has reached a new staff-level agreement with the IMF that could result in $1.5 billion in new disbursements this year following promises by President Guillermo Lasso's government to cut spending, the finance minister said on Wednesday, Reuters reported. The South American nation last year struck a $6.5 billion deal with the multilateral lender to help revive an economy that for years struggled under low oil prices and was further weakened by a brutal coronavirus outbreak.

Shares of Avianca Holdings SA have tumbled 45% over the past week as the Colombian airline prepares a bankruptcy exit plan that will likely make the stock worthless, Bloomberg News reported. The air carrier, which was driven into chapter 11 during last year’s pandemic and travel bans, fell 6% in Bogota trading Monday, extending losses for a fifth day, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Shares were trading around 119 pesos (about 3 cents) on Monday. A U.S.

Molino Cañuelas, one of Argentina's leading food producers, has filed for the local equivalent of Chapter 11 after years of disputes with creditors, the Buenos Aires Times reported. Molca, as the company is known in Argentina, could not reach an agreement with creditor financial institutions, so it was forced to request the opening of bankruptcy proceedings, the firm reported in a statement sent by email via an outsourced public relations firm. The company owes US$1.4 billion to domestic and foreign debtors, including ING Groep NV and Rabobank UA, a spokeswoman confirmed.

Axel Kicillof, the outspoken governor of Buenos Aires, called journalists to one of the province’s opulent 19th-century mansions and conceded defeat. It was early 2020, just weeks before the pandemic hit, and Kicillof, a man reviled in investing circles for his brash negotiating style when he was economy minister during Argentina’s default a decade ago, was once again doing battle with creditors. This time around, he lamented bondholders’ “enormous intransigence” in refusing his province’s request to delay a $250 million bond payment.