/raid1/www/Hosts/bankrupt/TCRLA_Public/221227.mbx
T R O U B L E D C O M P A N Y R E P O R T E R
L A T I N A M E R I C A
Tuesday, December 27, 2022, Vol. 23, No. 252
Headlines
A R G E N T I N A
ARGENTINA: Elaborate Ploy to Lure Tourists Begins
MERCADOLIBRE INC: Egan-Jones Retains BB- Senior Unsecured Ratings
B A H A M A S
FTX GROUP: Could Pay Over $2,100 Per Hour for Bankruptcy Lawyers
FTX TRADING: Founder Charged w/ Fraud, Released on $250M Bond
B R A Z I L
BRAZIL: Ministry Discloses 38.9% Cut in Itaipu's Tariff for 2023
E C U A D O R
ECUADOR: Not Looking for New Deal with IMF But Will Maintain Ties
J A M A I C A
JAMAICA: BOJ Notes $8.7 Billion in Circulation 2 Weeks Ago
TRANSJAMAICAN HIGHWAY: S&P Affirms B+ Debt Rating, Outlook Stable
T R I N I D A D A N D T O B A G O
TRINIDAD & TOBAGO: Inflation Rises to 5.4%
- - - - -
=================
A R G E N T I N A
=================
ARGENTINA: Elaborate Ploy to Lure Tourists Begins
-------------------------------------------------
Patrick Gillespie at Bloomberg News reports that in a bid to boost
tourism dollars in Argentina, the government has allowed MasterCard
Inc and Visa Inc to start offering travelers an exchange rate that
nearly doubles their purchasing power.
Visitors to Argentina have historically been able to get much
better exchange rates by swapping dollars for pesos on the black
market, according to Bloomberg News. But paying with cash has
become cumbersome because the government's largest denomination
bill of 1,000 pesos is worth about US$3, the report relays. That,
coupled with inflation galloping toward 100 percent, has left
tourists using wads of pesos for everyday purchases, the report
notes.
Argentina is desperate to lure more dollars into its formal economy
because it needs greenback reserves to stabilize its currency and
avoid another devaluation, the report discloses.
But the black market's higher exchange rates have made stockpiling
difficult - tourists had been deterred from using credit cards in
Argentina because they were charged the official exchange rate, the
report notes. Foreign credit card transactions in the country have
nosedived from US$250 million a month in previous years to US$30
million a month in 2022, the Central Bank said, the report relays.
The Central Bank aims to curb that by allowing credit card
companies to use exchange rates on purchases made with
foreign-issued credit and debit cards that are similar to the black
market, which is currently about double the official rate, the
report notes. The initiative started on November 3 and is showing
early signs of working, with the Central Bank reporting that
MasterCard transactions in Argentina rose 25 percent in the first
week, the report says.
"It isn't necessary to come with cash, the credit cards now
recognise the differential exchange rate," Tourism & Sports
Minister Matias Lammens said in an email obtained by the news
agency. "The dollars that before helped prop up the informal
market today are going to strengthen reserves at the Central Bank,"
he added.
This is the latest attempt by Argentina to help its weakening
currency by trying to lure more visitors, the report relays.
Earlier this year, the country began allowing foreign tourists to
exchange as much as US$5,000 cash for pesos at a more lucrative
exchange rate than the official one, the report notes. In 2021,
the capital city of Buenos Aires ran a marketing campaign pitching
itself as the best place to work remotely because the peso has lost
89 percent of its value against the dollar since 2018, the report
says.
Now, holders of foreign-issued cards will be able to get 325 pesos
per dollar, compared to the country's official rate of 173 pesos,
though each credit card company is expected to charge a commission
below about four percent, Central Bank officials said, the report
notes.
Only time will tell if this experiment will be a long-term
solution, the report discloses. Studies have shown that when
consumers use credit cards, they often spend more because they
worry less about the money being used, the report relays. But
there is also a long established behavior of visitors to Argentina
using cash, the report adds.
While the measure makes travel more convenient for foreign
tourists, it's part of a growing number of informal or temporary
exchanges rates that Argentines have criticized for making an
already complex economy even harder to understand and navigate, the
report relays. Argentina has different exchange rates for exports,
music concerts and Argentines travelling abroad, the report says.
The Central Bank paved the way for companies to use the new rate in
November, but it took more time than expected to get companies on
board, according to a senior Central Bank official who asked not to
be identified to discuss private conversations, the report notes.
But not all companies are on board. American Express Co still
hasn't implemented the new exchange rate, according to the senior
Central Bank official. American Express didn't respond to an
emailed request for comment.
About Argentina
Argentina is a country located mostly in the southern half of South
America. Its capital is Buenos Aires. Alberto Angel Fernandez is
the current president of Argentina after winning the October 2019
general election. He succeeded Mauricio Macri in the position.
Argentina has the third largest economy in Latin America. The
country's economy is an upper middle-income economy for fiscal year
2019, according to the World Bank. Historically, however, its
economic performance has been very uneven, with high economic
growth alternating with severe recessions, income maldistribution
and in the recent decades, increasing poverty.
Last March 25, 2022, Argentina finalized agreement with the IMF for
a new USD44 billion Extended Funding Facility (EFF) intended to
fund USD40 billion in looming repayments of the defunct Stand-By
Arrangement (SBA), with an extra USD4 billion in up-front net
financing. This has averted the risk of a default to the IMF and is
facilitating a parallel rescheduling of Paris Club debt.
As reported in the Troubled Company Reporter-Latin America on Nov.
18, 2022, S&P Global Ratings affirmed its 'CCC+/C' foreign currency
sovereign credit ratings on Argentina. S&P lowered the long-term
local currency sovereign credit rating to 'CCC-' from 'CCC+' and
the national scale rating to 'raCCC+' from 'raBBB-'. S&P also
affirmed its 'C' short-term local currency rating. The outlook on
the long-term ratings is negative. S&P's 'CCC+' transfer and
convertibility assessment is unchanged.
Last April 14, 2022, Fitch Ratings affirmed Argentina's Long-Term
Foreign and Local Currency Issuer Default Ratings (IDR) at 'CCC'.
Fitch said Argentina's 'CCC' ratings reflect weak external
liquidity and pronounced macroeconomic imbalances that undermine
debt repayment capacity, and uncertainty regarding how much
progress can be made on these issues under a new IMF program. On
July 19, 2022, Fitch Ratings placed Argentina's Long-Term Foreign
Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) and Long-Term Local Currency
IDR Under Criteria Observation (UCO) following the conversion of
the agency's Exposure Draft: Sovereign Rating Criteria to final
criteria. The UCO assignment indicates that ratings may change as a
direct result of the final criteria. It does not indicate a change
in the underlying credit profile, nor does it affect existing
Rating Outlooks.
Moody's credit rating for Argentina was last set at Ca on Sept. 28,
2020.
DBRS has also confirmed Argentina's Long-Term Foreign Currency
Issuer Rating at CCC and Long-Term Local Currency Issuer Rating at
CCC (high) on July 21, 2022.
MERCADOLIBRE INC: Egan-Jones Retains BB- Senior Unsecured Ratings
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Egan-Jones Ratings Company, on November 30, 2022, maintained its
'BB-' foreign currency and local currency senior unsecured ratings
on debt issued by MercadoLibre, Inc.
Headquartered in Buenos Aires, Argentina, MercadoLibre, Inc.
operates an online trading site for the Latin American markets.
=============
B A H A M A S
=============
FTX GROUP: Could Pay Over $2,100 Per Hour for Bankruptcy Lawyers
----------------------------------------------------------------
Dietrich Knauth and Andrew Goudsward at Reuters report that
bankrupt crypto exchange FTX has asked a U.S. bankruptcy judge for
permission to pay its top restructuring lawyers as much as $2,165
per hour, an unusually high rate for a company that cannot afford
to repay all of its debts.
FTX declared bankruptcy on Nov. 11, collapsing amid a wave of
customer withdrawals, according to Reuters. Federal prosecutors
have charged founder Sam Bankman-Fried with stealing billions of
dollars in FTX customer assets to plug losses at his hedge fund,
Alameda Research, and two of his former associates have already
pleaded guilty, the report notes.
New York-based law firm Sullivan & Cromwell is representing FTX in
its Chapter 11 case and guiding its efforts to return assets to
customers, the report relays. FTX asked the Delaware federal judge
overseeing the case for approval to pay the firm's partners and
special counsel between $1,575 and $2,165 per hour for their work,
the report notes.
The top lawyers' rates far exceed the $1,300 per hour billed by
FTX's new CEO John Ray, who also filed an application with the
court, the report relays.
Court-approved billing rates for bankruptcy attorneys did not cross
the $2,000-per-hour mark until earlier this year, when a U.S.
bankruptcy judge approved a $2,035-per-hour fee in the bankruptcy
of cosmetics giant Revlon, the report notes.
Bankruptcy experts have said total legal fees in a case as complex
as FTX can exceed $100 million, the report says.
Bankman-Fried criticized Sullivan & Cromwell in draft congressional
testimony he planned to deliver before his Dec. 12 arrest, claiming
he was pressured into filing for bankruptcy at least in part
because the case would deliver large legal fees, the report notes.
Sullivan & Cromwell did not immediately respond to a request for
comment.
Before FTX's bankruptcy, Sullivan & Cromwell represented the
company in U.S. regulatory inquiries and on potential acquisitions,
including its proposed acquisition of bankrupt crypto lender
Voyager Digital, the report relays. The firm was paid $8.56
million for that pre-bankruptcy legal work, the report adds.
About FTX Group
FTX is the world's second-largest cryptocurrency firm. FTX is a
cryptocurrency exchange built by traders, for traders. FTX offers
innovative products including industry-first derivatives, options,
volatility products and leveraged tokens.
Then CEO and co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried said Nov. 10, 2022, that
FTX paused customer withdrawals after it was hit with roughly $5
billion worth of withdrawal requests.
Faced with liquidity issues, FTX on Nov. 9 struck a deal to sell
itself to its giant rival Binance, but Binance walked away from the
deal the next day amid reports on FTX regarding mishandled customer
funds and alleged US agency investigations.
At 4:30 a.m. on Nov. 11, Bankman-Fried ultimately agreed to step
aside, and restructuring vet John J. Ray III was quickly named new
CEO.
FTX Trading Ltd (d/b/a FTX.com), West Realm Shires Services Inc.
(d/b/a FTX US), Alameda Research Ltd. and certain affiliated
companies then commenced Chapter 11 proceedings (Bankr. D. Del.
Lead Case No. 22-11068) on an emergency basis on Nov. 11, 2022.
Additional entities sought Chapter 11 protection on Nov. 14, 2022.
FTX Trading and its affiliates each listed $10 billion to $50
million in assets and liabilities, making FTX the biggest
bankruptcy filer in the US this year. According to Reuters, SBF
shared a document with investors on Nov. 10 showing FTX had $13.86
billion in liabilities and $14.6 billion in assets. However, only
$900 million of those assets were liquid, leading to the cash
crunch that ended with the company filing for bankruptcy.
The Hon. John T. Dorsey is the case judge.
The Debtors tapped Sullivan & Cromwell, LLP as bankruptcy counsel;
Landis Rath & Cobb, LLP as local counsel; and Alvarez & Marsal
North America, LLC as financial advisor. Kroll is the claims agent,
maintaining the page https://cases.ra.kroll.com/FTX/Home-Index
Lawyers at Paul Weiss represented SBF but later renounced
representing the entrepreneur due to a conflict of interest.
FTX TRADING: Founder Charged w/ Fraud, Released on $250M Bond
-------------------------------------------------------------
Luc Cohen and Jody Godoy at Reuters report that Sam Bankman-Fried
was released on a $250 million bond package while he awaits trial
over the collapse of the FTX crypto exchange, which a U.S.
prosecutor called a "fraud of epic proportions."
Federal prosecutors in Manhattan have accused the FTX founder of
stealing billions of dollars in customer funds to plug losses at
his hedge fund, Alameda Research, according to Reuters.
Bankman-Fried was not asked to enter a plea, the report notes. He
has previously acknowledged risk-management failures at FTX, but
has said he does not believe he has criminal liability, the report
relays. His defense lawyer, Mark Cohen, declined to comment after
the hearing in Manhattan federal court, the report discloses.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Gabriel Gorenstein set Bankman-Fried's next
court date for Jan. 3, 2023, before U.S. District Judge Ronnie
Abrams, who will handle the case, the report relays.
Bankman-Fried founded FTX in 2019. A boom in the values of bitcoin
and other digital assets propelled the exchange to a valuation of
some $32 billion earlier this year, making the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology (MIT) graduate a billionaire several times
over, as well as an influential donor to U.S. political campaigns,
the report relays.
In granting him pretrial release, Gorenstein said Bankman-Fried had
"achieved sufficient notoriety that it would be impossible" for him
to engage in further financial schemes or to hide without being
recognized, the report says.
After the court appearance, the one-time billionaire was surrounded
by photographers as he exited the lower Manhattan courthouse and
entered a black SUV, the report relays. He sported facial stubble
and a gray suit - a far cry for the shorts and T-shirt he became
notorious for wearing in public appearances while running FTX, the
report notes.
Nicolas Roos, a prosecutor, told Gorenstein that the bail package
would require Bankman-Fried to surrender his passport and remain in
home confinement at his parents' home in Palo Alto, California. He
would also be required to undergo regular mental health treatment
and evaluation, the report relays.
Roos said that while Bankman-Fried had carried out a "fraud of epic
proportions," he had no history of flight and his financial assets
had reduced significantly, the report notes.
Bankman-Fried, 30, was arrested in the Bahamas, where he lived and
where FTX is based, cementing his fall from grace, the report
notes. He departed the Caribbean nation in FBI custody, the report
adds.
Cohen said he agreed with prosecutors' proposed bail conditions. He
noted that Bankman-Fried's parents - both Stanford Law School
professors - would co-sign the bond and post the equity in their
home as assurance for his return to court. Both appeared at the
hearing, the report says.
"My client remained where he was, he made no effort to flee," Cohen
said, the report notes.
The bond is meant to ensure that if Bankman-Fried flees, the
government could confiscate the family's assets - including their
Palo Alto home - up to $250 million, the report relays. Reuters
could not determine the family's total net worth.
Bankman-Fried said at a New York Times conference on Nov. 30,
following the exchange's collapse, that he had $100,000 in his bank
account, the report discloses.
'Sufficient Notoriety'
Wearing leg restraints, Bankman-Fried sat flanked by his lawyers
and nodded when the judge informed him that if he fails to appear
in court, a warrant would be issued for his arrest, the report
notes. Gorenstein said conditions also included electronic
monitoring via a device to be fitted before he left court, and a
ban on opening new lines of credit or businesses, the report
relays.
He spoke only when asked by Gorenstein whether he understood the
conditions of his release, and that he could be charged with an
additional crime if he fails to show up to court, the report says.
"Yes I do," Bankman-Fried replied, the report discloses.
But concerns about commingling of funds between FTX and Alameda led
to a flurry of customer withdrawals in early November, ultimately
forcing the exchange to declare bankruptcy on Nov. 11, the report
notes.
Roos said that evidence at trial would consist of testimony from
"multiple cooperating witnesses," as well as thousands of pages of
written communications, the report relays.
Just hours after Bankman-Fried's plane from the Bahamas took off,
Damian Williams, the top federal prosecutor in Manhattan, announced
that two of Bankman-Fried's closest associates - former Alameda CEO
Caroline Ellison and FTX co-founder Gary Wang - had pleaded guilty
and were cooperating with prosecutors, the report ntoes.
Details of their cooperation were kept under wraps until
Bankman-Fried left the Bahamas, according to court papers filed,
the report adds.
About FTX Group
FTX is the world's second-largest cryptocurrency firm. FTX is a
cryptocurrency exchange built by traders, for traders. FTX offers
innovative products including industry-first derivatives, options,
volatility products and leveraged tokens.
Then CEO and co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried said Nov. 10, 2022, that
FTX paused customer withdrawals after it was hit with roughly $5
billion worth of withdrawal requests.
Faced with liquidity issues, FTX on Nov. 9 struck a deal to sell
itself to its giant rival Binance, but Binance walked away from the
deal the next day amid reports on FTX regarding mishandled customer
funds and alleged US agency investigations.
At 4:30 a.m. on Nov. 11, Bankman-Fried ultimately agreed to step
aside, and restructuring vet John J. Ray III was quickly named new
CEO.
FTX Trading Ltd (d/b/a FTX.com), West Realm Shires Services Inc.
(d/b/a FTX US), Alameda Research Ltd. and certain affiliated
companies then commenced Chapter 11 proceedings (Bankr. D. Del.
Lead Case No. 22-11068) on an emergency basis on Nov. 11, 2022.
Additional entities sought Chapter 11 protection on Nov. 14, 2022.
FTX Trading and its affiliates each listed $10 billion to $50
million in assets and liabilities, making FTX the biggest
bankruptcy filer in the US this year. According to Reuters, SBF
shared a document with investors on Nov. 10 showing FTX had $13.86
billion in liabilities and $14.6 billion in assets. However, only
$900 million of those assets were liquid, leading to the cash
crunch that ended with the company filing for bankruptcy.
The Hon. John T. Dorsey is the case judge.
The Debtors tapped Sullivan & Cromwell, LLP as bankruptcy counsel;
Landis Rath & Cobb, LLP as local counsel; and Alvarez & Marsal
North America, LLC as financial advisor. Kroll is the claims agent,
maintaining the page https://cases.ra.kroll.com/FTX/Home-Index
Lawyers at Paul Weiss represented SBF but later renounced
representing the entrepreneur due to a conflict of interest.
===========
B R A Z I L
===========
BRAZIL: Ministry Discloses 38.9% Cut in Itaipu's Tariff for 2023
----------------------------------------------------------------
Rio Times Online reports that the Ministry of Mines and Energy
(MME) announced the reduction of 38.9% in the Itaipu tariff for
2023.
The new tariff reflects the reduction in the state-owned
hydroelectric dam's debt service and the Unit Cost of Electricity
Services (Cuse), according to Rio Times Online.
In 2019, Itaipu's debt was US$2.07 billion and will fall to
US$277.3 million in 2023, the report notes.
Thus, the tariff, which in 2019 was US$ 22.60/kW, will go to US$
12.67, representing a reduction of more than R$9 (US$1.7) billion
in the bill, the report relays.
About Brazil
Brazil is the fifth largest country in the world and third largest
in the Americas. Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva won the 2022 Brazilian
general election. He will be sworn in on January 1, 2023, as the
39th president of Brazil, succeeding Jair Bolsonaro.
In July 2022, Fitch Ratings affirmed Brazil's Long-Term Foreign
Currency Issuer Default Rating at 'BB-' and revised the Rating
Outlook to Stable from Negative. In June 2022, S&P Global Ratings
also affirmed its 'BB-/B' long- and short-term foreign and local
currency sovereign credit ratings on Brazil. Moody's, in April
2022, affirmed Brazil's long-term Ba2 issuer ratings and senior
unsecured bond ratings, (P)Ba2 senior unsecured shelf ratings, and
maintained the stable outlook. On the other had, DBRS, in August
2022, confirmed Brazil's Long-Term Foreign and Local Currency
Issuer Ratings at BB (low).
=============
E C U A D O R
=============
ECUADOR: Not Looking for New Deal with IMF But Will Maintain Ties
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Reuters reports that Ecuador has fully financed its budget for next
year and is not looking for a new credit agreement with the
International Monetary Fund (IMF), the country's economy minister
said, adding that the government will maintain close ties with the
fund.
The IMF concluded the latest review of its $6.5 billion financing
agreement with Ecuador, opening the way for a final disbursement of
$700 million to the South American nation, according to Reuters.
Although Ecuadorean authorities view the agreement as a success,
Ecuador will not require funds from the IMF to finance its 2023
budget because it has resources that will come from other
multilateral lenders and domestic debt issuances, Economy Minister
Pablo Arosemena said, the report relays.
"We have already financed next year's budget without counting on
resources from a potential program with the IMF," Arosemena told
reporters in Guayaquil. "The idea is to continue working with the
(International Monetary) Fund," the report adds.
=============
J A M A I C A
=============
JAMAICA: BOJ Notes $8.7 Billion in Circulation 2 Weeks Ago
----------------------------------------------------------
RJR News reports that some $8.7 billion more was in circulation as
of two weeks ago, compared with the corresponding period in 2021.
The Bank of Jamaica says that represents a 4.1 per cent increase
for December 12-16, 2022, according to RJR News.
Compared to the similar week in 2021, the sum disbursed by the bank
was 3.3 per cent higher, the report notes.
The central bank said the increase was in line with the bank's
projections for the amount of currency to be in circulation for
December, the report relays.
As at 16 December, the stock of currency in the hand of Jamaicans
and in vaults of financial institutions was $220.1 billion, the
report notes.
That represents an annual nominal growth of 1.9 per cent, compared
with growth of 23 per cent at the similar point last year, the
report relays.
The BOJ is projecting that by the end of December, the stock of
currency will increase by $21.5 billion, reaching $227.6 billion,
the report adds.
As reported in the Troubled Company Reporter-Latin America in March
2022, Fitch Ratings has affirmed Jamaica's Long-Term Foreign
Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at 'B+'. The Rating Outlook is
Stable.
TRANSJAMAICAN HIGHWAY: S&P Affirms B+ Debt Rating, Outlook Stable
-----------------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings affirmed its 'B+' rating on Transjamaican
Highway Ltd.'s (TJH or the project) debt.
The stable outlook continues to reflect that on the Jamaica, as
well as S&P's expectations that the road's traffic volumes will
increase about 4% in 2023 and 2% in 2024, allowing the project to
maintain a minimum debt service coverage ratio (DSCR) of about
2.28x and median DSCR of 2.96x.
On Dec. 19, 2022, TJH obtained bondholders' consent to amend the
existing operations and maintenance (O&M) agreement and to acquire
Vinci's (not rated) 51% stake in the toll road's operator, Jamaican
Infrastructure Operator Ltd. (JIO; not rated).
After receiving the requisite consents from bondholders on Dec. 19,
2022, the project completed the acquisition of Vinci's 51% stake in
JIO, amended the O&M contract, and reduced the O&M fees by cutting
part of the fixed fee component, while increasing the variable fee
component (based on toll revenue) to 5% from 3%. In addition, TJH
increased the O&M reserve account's required amount to six months
from three months of budgeted O&M costs.
S&P said, "Despite the change in controlling stakeholder, we expect
JIO to continue to operate with all existing staff, which includes
employees with an average of 12 years of operating the toll road.
In our view, this will allow for a smooth ownership transition
without disrupting the asset's normal operations. We also expect
the operator to maintain three managerial positions as before, but
for the CEO to change.
"We still consider JIO to be a material counterparty. It's
experienced but we view it as replaceable because almost all the
operational positions will be retained by the new controllers and
there are several operators that could undertake the same task. TJH
also has a six month O&M reserve account to allow for a possible
change in operator without hurting the project's cash flows. In
addition, we expect the decrease in the O&M fixed fee with the new
contract to result in a 4% increase in CFADS throughout the tenor
of the debt."
This stronger assessment is mainly due to the higher-than-expected
tariff increase granted in July 2022, averaging around 15%, along
with traffic levels at 110% of 2019 levels for the first three
quarters of 2022 and O&M cost reductions related to the new O&M
contract.
S&P said, "We also improved the counterparty dependency assessment
of TJH's bank account providers, Bank of New York Mellon
(AA-/Stable/A-1+) and National Commercial Bank Jamaica Ltd.
(B+/Stable/B) to six notches above the ratings on the bank account
providers, because we assess them as material but replaceable
counterparties. We think that active management would allow the
project to react in case of stress and liquidity is available in
the structure to allow the project to replace the banks if needed.
As a result, we revised upward the operations phase stand-alone
credit profile to 'bbb+', from the previous 'b+ that we limited by
the rating on National Commercial Bank Jamaica.
"In our view, the asset's exposure to Jamaica continues to limit
the rating. We don't believe the project would survive a sovereign
default because of the regulator's capacity to lower or freeze
tariff increases, which would hurt the project's cash flows."
=====================================
T R I N I D A D A N D T O B A G O
=====================================
TRINIDAD & TOBAGO: Inflation Rises to 5.4%
------------------------------------------
Trinidad Express reports that as Trinidad and Tobago continues to
grapple with high food prices, the Index for Food and Non-Alcoholic
Beverages increased to 145.1 points in October compared to 141.5
points in September, reflecting an increase of 2.5 per cent.
The Central Statistical Office (CSO), in a news release, said
contributing significantly to this increase was the general upward
movement in the prices of tomatoes, carite—fresh; pumpkin, white
flour, hot peppers, cheddar cheese, table margarine, chive, celery
and carrots, according to Trinidad Express.
However, CSO said the full impact of these price increases was
offset by the general decreases in the prices of eddoes, garlic,
melongene, ochroes, cucumber, Milo, grapes, green sweet pepper,
oranges, and powdered milk with full cream, the report notes.
A closer look at the data for October 2022 versus September 2022
revealed a 4.0 per cent decrease in the sub-index for alcoholic
beverages and tobacco, the report relays.
The CSO noted a price increase in clothing and footwear of 1.6 per
cent; housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels of 3.1 per
cent; furnishings, household equipment, and routine maintenance of
the house of 6.5 per cent; health of 1.1 per cent; transportation
of 6.1 per cent; communication, 2.3 per cent; recreation and
culture of 5.0 per cent; hotels, cafés, and restaurants of 7.4 per
cent; and miscellaneous goods and services of 6.6 per cent, the
report notes. All other sections remained unchanged.
It said that the rate of inflation, as measured by the percentage
change in the average All Items Index for the period January to
October 2022 over the period January to October 2021, was 5.4 per
cent, the report discloses. This rate is greater than that
observed for the period January to October 2021 over the period
January to October 2020, which was 1.8 per cent, the report adds.
*********
S U B S C R I P T I O N I N F O R M A T I O N
Troubled Company Reporter-Latin America is a daily newsletter
co-published by Bankruptcy Creditors' Service, Inc., Fairless
Hills, Pennsylvania, USA, and Beard Group, Inc., Washington, D.C.,
USA, Marites O. Claro, Joy A. Agravante, Rousel Elaine T.
Fernandez, Julie Anne L. Toledo, Ivy B. Magdadaro, and Peter A.
Chapman, Editors.
Copyright 2022. All rights reserved. ISSN 1529-2746.
This material is copyrighted and any commercial use, resale or
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Information contained herein is obtained from sources believed to
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balance thereof are US$25 each. For subscription information,
contact Peter A. Chapman at 215-945-7000.
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* * * End of Transmission * * *