Brazil's federal audit court TCU has completed a technical review of the central bank's handling of Banco Master's liquidation and found no reservations or recommendations regarding the regulator's conduct, Reuters reported. The central bank did not immediately reply to a request for comment. The audit court said in a statement that the case is confidential and that no further information is available.

The resignation of Argentina’s national-statistics chief over a new inflation index is testing investor confidence in President Javier Milei’s economic overhaul, reviving memories of efforts by his Peronist predecessors to doctor consumer-price data, the Wall Street Journal reported. Marco Lavagna, head of Argentina’s Indec statistics agency, stepped down Monday after the government delayed plans to update the country’s inflation index, which economists said understates current price increases.

Fictor Holding filed for bankruptcy protection in Brazil, with its holding company and a financing firm seeking to restructure 4 billion reais (about $763 million) in debt, Bloomberg reported. The Brazilian firm’s other companies, including Sao Paulo Stock Exchange-listed Fictor Alimentos, are not included in the filing, according to the report. Fictor said that it wants to pay creditors the full amount it owes but wants to block them from forcing it to pay for 180 days. The bankruptcy came about three months after the liquidation of Banco Master, according to the report.

Azul S.A. announced on Jan. 28 that its subsidiary Azul Secured Finance LLP has launched a private offering of senior secured notes due 2031 to provide exit financing under the airline’s court-approved chapter 11 restructuring plan, primarily to repay its debtor-in-possession facility and, with any remaining funds, to support a broader restructuring aimed at optimizing its capital structure and liquidity, TipRanks.com reported.

Two global trading houses that brokered an opaque deal with the Trump administration this month to sell Venezuelan oil were previously prosecuted for bribery schemes involving oil sales elsewhere, court records show, underscoring concerns by anti-corruption experts and lawmakers that the arrangement is vulnerable to abuse, the Washington Post reported. The administration granted confidential licenses to Vitol and Trafigura in early January to sell Venezuelan oil with little independent oversight.

Colombia's central bank raised its benchmark interest rate by 100 basis points to 10.25% on Friday, its ​first hike in nearly three years and a larger move than most ‌analysts had expected, as policymakers pointed to rising inflation pressures, a sharp jump in inflation expectations and mounting fiscal and external risks, Reuters reported. The increase was approved by a divided seven-member board: four directors voted for the 100-basis-point hike, two voted for a 50-basis-point cut and one backed holding the ‌rate unchanged, according to the central bank's statement.

A proposed reform of Venezuela's oil law is enough to encourage companies working in the country to expand and for some new entrants to begin investing, but deeper reforms would be necessary to attract the $100 billion the U.S. says is required to revamp the nation's energy sector, foreign and local executives and lawyers said, Reuters reported. The U.S. has taken control of Venezuela's oil exports and revenue following a military incursion to capture President Nicolas Maduro earlier this month, and a naval blockade to stop oil shipments on sanctioned vessels since December.

U.S. control of Venezuela's oil exports has ensnared barrels that had been servicing debt to China, lining up another potential showdown between the two superpowers that could further complicate the South American country's path out of default, Reuters reported. Around a tenth ​of Venezuela's $150 billion foreign debt pile is estimated to be loans from China that the OPEC member was paying in oil cargoes — until the U.S. seized Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro earlier this ‌month. Debt experts said the ramifications of China's claim on the cargoes and any clash with the U.S.

The U.S. is in talks with Chevron Corp., other crude producers and the world’s biggest oilfield service providers about a plan to quickly revive output in Venezuela at a fraction of the estimated $100 billion cost for a complete rebuilding, Bloomberg News reported. Oilfield contractors such as SLB Ltd., Baker Hughes Co. and Halliburton Co. would focus their initial efforts on repairing or replacing damaged or outdated equipment and refreshing older drilling sites, according to senior administration officials who asked not to be identified discussing internal plans.

Brazil's central bank ordered on Wednesday the liquidation of Will Financeira SA, a unit of ​troubled lender Banco Master, in the latest drastic step involving ‌illiquid institutions tied to the conglomerate, Reuters reported. The move comes a day after Mastercard said that it ‌had suspended Will Bank cards from its network due to non-compliance with settlement schedules under its payments arrangement.