South America

Court advisers have billed nearly $30 million for a stalled auction of shares in a parent of Venezuela-owned oil refiner Citgo Petroleum, raising the ire of creditors that have waited years to get compensation, Reuters reported. Citgo, the crown jewel of Venezuela's overseas assets, sits at the center of a Delaware court auction in which 18 companies seek to collect up to $21.3 billion for debt defaults and expropriations in the South American country.

Brazil’s inflation picked up much more than expected in early November, adding urgency to government plans to cut swelling public spending that is pushing cost-of-living increases above target, Bloomberg News reported. Official data released Tuesday showed consumer prices rose 4.77% from a year earlier, above all forecasts in a Bloomberg survey of economists that had a 4.64% median estimate. On the month, they increased 0.62%. Price pressures are building in Latin America’s largest economy, stoked by a historic drought and investor anxiety over growing government spending.

A group of investors led by Elliott Investment Management faces new obstacles to taking control of Venezuela’s oil refiner Citgo Petroleum in a court-ordered auction while seeking to shield themselves from legal claims against the cash-strapped country, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. Judge Leonard P. Stark of the U.S. District Court in Wilmington, Del., said in an order on Wednesday he isn’t inclined to let the sale proceed without preserving the legal liabilities.

Chile’s billionaire Luksic family is seeking €217 million ($226 million) in compensation from Banco Santander SA, PriceWaterhouseCoopers LLP and others in connection to the collapse of a Spanish lender seven years ago, Bloomberg News reported. Aeris Invest, a Luxembourg-based financial holding company owned by South America’s second wealthiest family, is demanding the payment to cover losses incurred as shareholders of Banco Popular, after the lender went bankrupt and was taken over by Santander in 2017, according to legal documents seen by Bloomberg.

Colombian lawmakers have lifted some restrictions on government spending in a controversial decentralization bill that’s already stoked concern among investors, Bloomberg News reported. The constitutional committee of Colombia’s lower house removed a requirement that the bill, which aims to transfer as much as 39.5% of central government revenue to regional authorities by 2039, must align with the government’s mid-term fiscal framework.

Argentina's state-run oil company YPF will seek $2 billion in financing in the second quarter of 2025 to complete its Vaca Muerta Sur project, Reuters reported. The project is being carried out by Vaca Muerta Oil Sur (VMOS), which is controlled by YPF, and aims to transport an additional 390,000 barrels per day from the Vaca Muerta formation to a coastal export terminal in Rio Negro province. The company is seeking $1.5 billion from foreign investors and $500 million locally and hoping to add Pampa Energy, Vista, Shell, Chevron and Pan American Energy as partners.

Argentina’s credit rating was raised two notches by Fitch Ratings, which said it expects the government will make upcoming payments on hard-currency bonds, Bloomberg News reported. Fitch lifted the South American nation’s long-term rating to CCC from CC, eight notches below investment grade and on par with Bolivia. Fitch doesn’t assign an outlook for that rating.

China has made a $1.3 billion bet that a new port in Peru will boost access to South America’s agricultural bounty. Cashing in on the investment may be harder than expected, Bloomberg News reported. China’s President Xi Jinping and Peruvian President Dina Boluarte officially inaugurated Chancay port during a ceremony at Peru’s presidential palace in Lima on Thursday. The move epitomizes Beijing’s ambitions to strengthen commerce with South America as the world braces for more restrictive trade measures under US President-elect Donald Trump.

The Brazilian agricultural sector experienced a significant uptick in companies seeking judicial recovery during the third quarter of 2024. This trend reflects broader economic challenges affecting various industries across the country, the Rio Times reported. According to the RGF Judicial Recovery Monitor, 264 agricultural companies were undergoing judicial recovery by the end of the third quarter, a 20.5% increase from the previous period. The surge stems from falling commodity prices, rising production costs, and high debt levels among rural producers.

Brazil’s central bank warned that additional deterioration of inflation expectations could lead to a more protracted tightening cycle, days after policymakers doubled the pace of their interest rate hikes, Bloomberg News reported. “A further deterioration in expectations could lead to a more prolonged monetary policy tightening cycle,” central bankers wrote in minutes to their Nov. 5-6 meeting, when they raised the benchmark Selic by 50 basis points to 11.25%.