/raid1/www/Hosts/bankrupt/TCRLA_Public/230523.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, May 23, 2023, Vol. 24, No. 103
Headlines
A R G E N T I N A
ARGENTINA: Lula to Send Brazil Minister to China in Push for Aid
B R A Z I L
BRAZIL: Services Grew 0.9% From Feb. to March, Reveals IBGE Survey
BRAZIL: To Start a Cycle of Interest Rate Cuts, Minister Says
ULTRAPAR PARTICIPACOES: Moody's Affirms 'Ba1' CFR, Outlook Stable
J A M A I C A
JAMAICA: CAPRI Proposes $2.2-M Income Tax Threshold
P U E R T O R I C O
BED BATH & BEYOND: Leases for Auction for Court Approval
LARRY BARBER: Seeks to Hire Bush Ross as Bankruptcy Counsel
X X X X X X X X
LATAM: Inflation is Hitting Turning Point, Fueling Rate Cut Calls
LATAM: Regional Firms Worried About Disruption Due to Disasters
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A R G E N T I N A
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ARGENTINA: Lula to Send Brazil Minister to China in Push for Aid
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Simone Preissler Iglesias at Bloomberg News reports that Brazil's
Finance Minister Fernando Haddad will travel to China to seek
alternative forms of aid for Argentina, whose economy continues to
suffer the consequences of spiralling inflation and severe
drought.
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who has pledged to help
Argentina as its economic crisis worsens, will send Haddad to
Shanghai for a meeting of New Development Bank (NDB, formerly
referred to as the BRICS Development Bank) members in late May, his
press office announced, according to Bloomberg News.
Haddad will try to push for talks to obtain new loans and financing
for Argentina from the BRICS bloc of nations which, along with
Brazil and China, also includes Russia, India and South Africa,
Bloomberg News relays.
The so-called BRICS bank is currently headed by former Brazilian
president Dilma Rousseff, who took over as executive director this
year and will hold the first meeting of her term on May 30-31,
Bloomberg News notes.
Bloomberg News discloses that Argentina's Economy Minister Sergio
Massa will travel to Beijing on May 29 to renew the country's
foreign exchange swap line with China, which Argentina uses to
finance some imports in a context of dollar shortages.
Lula has stepped up his efforts since Argentina's President Alberto
Fernandez, a leftist ally, made an emergency trip to Brasilia to
ask for help earlier this month, Bloomberg News notes.
"I will make every sacrifice so that we can help Argentina in these
difficult moments," Lula declared alongside Fernandez during the
May 2 visit, Bloomberg News relays.
He also said he had asked Chinese leader Xi Jinping for extra
support during a trip to Beijing in April, Bloomberg News
discloses.
Argentina is currently negotiating with the International Monetary
Fund to revise its US$44-billion programme and accelerate scheduled
disbursements, as the worst drought in its history aggravates its
economic crisis, Bloomberg News notes.
During meetings of Group of Seven finance ministers held this month
in Japan, Haddad discussed those plans with IMF managing director
Kristalina Georgieva and US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen,
Bloomberg News says.
"If Brazil and the US come together to support, things could be
much easier for Argentina," Haddad said after the meetings,
Bloomberg News relays.
Haddad also discussed Argentina during a meeting in Brasilia with
IMF Deputy Managing Director Gita Gopinath.
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.
S&P Global Ratings, on March 29, 2023, lowered its long-term
foreign currency sovereign credit rating on Argentina to 'CCC-'
from 'CCC+'. S&P also affirmed its 'C' short-term foreign currency
sovereign credit rating and its 'CCC-/C' local currency ratings on
Argentina. The outlook on the long-term ratings is negative. S&P
also lowered the transfer and convertibility assessment to 'CCC-'
from 'CCC+'. The negative outlook on the long-term ratings
reflects risks surrounding pronounced economic imbalances and
policy uncertainties before and after the 2023 national elections.
Divisions across the political spectrum constrain the sovereign's
ability to implement timely changes in economic policy. Global
capital markets are closed to Argentina. In the local market, swaps
are being deployed to manage large maturities before placing debt
through traditional auctions. The central bank continues to play a
key role as a backstop for local debt management in the secondary
market. The ongoing severe drought has exacerbated pressures in the
already disrupted foreign exchange (FX) market.
Fitch Ratings, on the other hand, downgraded Argentina's Long-Term
Foreign Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to 'C' from 'CCC-',
and has affirmed the Long-Term Local Currency IDR at 'CCC-' on
March 24, 2023. Fitch's downgrade of Argentina's rating to 'C' from
'CCC-' follows an executive decree that forces domestic
public-sector entities into operations involving their holdings of
sovereign debt securities, which would involve unilateral exchanges
and forced currency conversion that constitute default events under
Fitch's criteria. The 'C' rating reflects Fitch's view that default
is thus imminent. Fitch said the rating would be downgraded to
'Restricted Default' (RD) upon execution of the exchanges.
Moody's Investors Service, in September 2022, affirmed Argentina's
Ca foreign-currency and local-currency long-term issuer and senior
unsecured ratings. The outlook remains stable. The decision to
affirm the Ca ratings balances Argentina's limited market access,
weak governance, and history of recurrent debt restructurings with
recent efforts to marshal fiscal and monetary measures to start
addressing underlying macroeconomic imbalances in the context of
the IMF program that was approved in 2022, according to Moody's.
DBRS, Inc. confirmed Argentina's Long-Term Foreign Currency Issuer
Rating at CCC and downgraded its Long-Term Local Currency Issuer
Rating to CCC from CCC (high) on March 3, 2023.
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B R A Z I L
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BRAZIL: Services Grew 0.9% From Feb. to March, Reveals IBGE Survey
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Rio Times Online reports that the volume of services in the country
grew 0.9% from February to March this year. It is the second
consecutive increase in the indicator, which had already grown 0.7%
from January to February.
The data are from the Monthly Service Survey (PMS), released in Rio
de Janeiro, by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics
(IBGE), according to Rio Times Online.
The sector also showed growth of 6.3% compared to March, 5.8%
year-to-date, and 7.4% over the last 12 months, the report relays.
The 0.9% expansion was driven by increases in three of the five
activities surveyed, the report adds.
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 was sworn in on January 1, 2023, as
the 39th president of Brazil, succeeding Jair Bolsonaro.
As recently reported in the Troubled Company Reporter-Latin
America, Fitch Ratings, in December 2022, affirmed Brazil's
Long-Term Foreign Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at 'BB-'
with a Stable Outlook. The ratings are constrained by high
government indebtedness, a rigid fiscal structure, weak economic
growth potential, and a record of governability challenges that
have hampered efforts to address these fiscal and economic issues
and clouded policy predictability. The Stable Outlook reflects
Fitch's expectation that growth will slow in the coming year and
that recent fiscal improvement will erode under a new government,
but within a margin consistent with the current rating, and from a
better starting point than previously expected. Uncertainty is
elevated regarding the plans of the incoming government and the
extent to which these could ease or aggravate fiscal and economic
challenges. However, Fitch does not expect policies that
jeopardize broad economic stability.
Standard & Poor's affirmed its 'BB-/B' long- and short-term
foreign and local currency sovereign credit ratings on Brazil, and
the outlook remains stable (June 2022). The stable outlook
reflects S&P's base-case assumption that Brazil will maintain its
fiscal anchors over the next two years despite an increasing
interest burden, preventing significant fiscal slippage and
limiting the rise in its already high debt burden.
Moody's credit rating for Brazil was last set at Ba2 in 2018 with
stable outlook. Moody's affirmed the Ba2 issuer ratings and
senior unsecured bond ratings in April 2022.
DBRS's credit rating for Brazil is BB (low) with stable outlook
(March 2018).
BRAZIL: To Start a Cycle of Interest Rate Cuts, Minister Says
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Rio Times Online reports that the Brazil Minister of Finance
Fernando Haddad, defended again the reduction of the introductory
interest rate, Selic.
The minister said the country is ready to start a cycle of interest
rate cuts, according to Rio Times Online.
"We think there is room to start a cycle [of rate cuts], but
ultimately there is a technical team there [at the central bank's
monetary policy committee] that has been formed and that we are
trying to respect," he said, the report notes.
He participated in an event promoted by the Central Bank, the
report relays.
According to Haddad, the Treasury has already presented data to the
Central Bank, the report adds.
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 was sworn in on January 1, 2023, as
the 39th president of Brazil, succeeding Jair Bolsonaro.
As recently reported in the Troubled Company Reporter-Latin
America, Fitch Ratings, in December 2022, affirmed Brazil's
Long-Term Foreign Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at 'BB-'
with a Stable Outlook. The ratings are constrained by high
government indebtedness, a rigid fiscal structure, weak economic
growth potential, and a record of governability challenges that
have hampered efforts to address these fiscal and economic issues
and clouded policy predictability. The Stable Outlook reflects
Fitch's expectation that growth will slow in the coming year and
that recent fiscal improvement will erode under a new government,
but within a margin consistent with the current rating, and from a
better starting point than previously expected. Uncertainty is
elevated regarding the plans of the incoming government and the
extent to which these could ease or aggravate fiscal and economic
challenges. However, Fitch does not expect policies that
jeopardize broad economic stability.
Standard & Poor's affirmed its 'BB-/B' long- and short-term
foreign and local currency sovereign credit ratings on Brazil, and
the outlook remains stable (June 2022). The stable outlook
reflects S&P's base-case assumption that Brazil will maintain its
fiscal anchors over the next two years despite an increasing
interest burden, preventing significant fiscal slippage and
limiting the rise in its already high debt burden.
Moody's credit rating for Brazil was last set at Ba2 in 2018 with
stable outlook. Moody's affirmed the Ba2 issuer ratings and
senior unsecured bond ratings in April 2022.
DBRS's credit rating for Brazil is BB (low) with stable outlook
(March 2018).
ULTRAPAR PARTICIPACOES: Moody's Affirms 'Ba1' CFR, Outlook Stable
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Moody's Investors Service has affirmed Ultrapar Participacoes S.A.
("Ultrapar")'s Ba1 Corporate Family Rating and the Ba1 rating of
the Backed Senior Unsecured Notes issued by Ultrapar International
S.A., guaranteed by Ipiranga Produtos de Petroleo S.A. (Ipiranga)
and Ultrapar. The outlook remains stable.
Affirmations:
Issuer: Ultrapar Participacoes S.A.
Corporate Family Rating, Affirmed Ba1
Issuer: Ultrapar International S.A.
Backed Senior Unsecured Notes, Affirmed Ba1
Outlook Actions:
Issuer: Ultrapar International S.A.
Outlook, Remains Stable
Issuer: Ultrapar Participacoes S.A.
Outlook, Remains Stable
RATINGS RATIONALE
The rating affirmation recognizes the reduction in debt and
leverage after the conclusion of the company's divestment program.
It also incorporates Moody's expectation that operating margins
will gradually recover trending towards 2.4% - 3.0% in the next 3
years having reached 2.2% in the end of 2022 after a consistent
decline from 3.7% in 2017 to as low as 1.3% in 2021. Moody's
believes a less volatile fuel price environment in Brazil and
actions undertaken by the new management team since late in 2021
will allow the fuel distribution arm Ipiranga to improve its level
of profitability. Also, growing contributions of Ultragaz and
Ultracargo will favor margin improvement.
Ultrapar's Ba1 ratings reflect the company's stable cash flow and
leading positions in different segments in Brazil: fuel and
liquefied petroleum gas distribution and storage of liquid bulk.
Liquidity is also adequate. As of March 2023, Ultrapar had BRL4.6
billion ($910 million) in cash and cash equivalents, compared with
BRL1.8 billion in short-term debt maturities (including operating
leases). During 2022, Ultrapar pre-paid $600 million in bonds after
having received the first installment for the sale of Oxiteno S.A.
(a chemical company with operations in Brazil, United States,
Mexico, and other countries) which was executed in April 2022 for a
total of $1.3 billion, equivalent to BRL6.3 billion at the time.
Ultrapar still expects to receive a second installment of $150
million for the sale of Oxiteno in April 2024. In August 2022
Ultrapar received BRL372 million for the sale of Extrafarma and it
will receive another two parcels of BRL183 million each in 2023 and
2024.
Ultrapar ratings are constrained by its revenue concentration on
the core fuel distribution segment. The company also has a history
of growth via M&A which could pressure credit metrics periodically
and include execution risk. An uneven execution lead to a gradual
reduction in margins since 2018 and a sustained high gross leverage
in the same period. But, following its divestment program, Moody's
expects the company to sustain a gross leverage below 4.0x. Like
other fuel distributors in Brazil, Ultrapar has a dependency on a
few key suppliers for raw materials with Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.
– PETROBRAS (Ba1 stable) being responsible for the bulk of its
fuel supply. In March 2023, Moody's-adjusted gross leverage was
2.5x. In 2022 Ultrapar generated an EBITDA of BRL5.2 billion, 3.6%
margin, compared to BRL2.8 billion in 2021, 2.5% margin.
Ultrapar's stable outlook incorporates Moody's expectation that
liquidity will remain adequate, and leverage will reduce in the
next 12 to 18 months. It also incorporates a gradual improvement in
operating margins and that any asset acquisition or shareholder
distribution will be prudently managed as not to deteriorate the
company`s liquidity and downward trend for leverage metrics.
FACTORS THAT COULD LEAD TO AN UPGRADE OR DOWNGRADE OF THE RATINGS
An upgrade of Ultrapar's rating is unlikely in the near term.
Ultrapar would need to diversify its business profile by reducing
the concentration in the fuel distribution business, increase its
operating margin, reduce its gross leverage, and maintain its
strong liquidity profile.
A downgrade of the Government of Brazil's rating (Ba2 stable) could
trigger a downgrade of Ultrapar's ratings. Quantitatively, a
downgrade could occur if there is a deterioration in the group's
liquidity, accompanied by the following: (i) Leverage (debt/EBITDA)
remaining above 4.0x without prospects of deleveraging in the near
term; (ii) Interest coverage (EBIT/interest expense) remaining
below 2.5x for a prolonged period, and (iii) Retained Cash Flow/Net
Debt remaining below 20% for a prolonged period.
The principal methodology used in these ratings was Retail
published in November 2021.
Ultrapar Participacoes S.A. (Ultrapar), headquartered in Sao Paulo,
Brazil, operates in the segments of fuel distribution and
convenience stores through its subsidiary Ipiranga, liquefied
petroleum gas – LPG distribution through its subsidiary Ultragaz,
and storage services for liquid bulk through its subsidiary
Ultracargo. In 2021, Ultrapar's consolidated net revenue (according
to Moody's standard adjustments) was BRL109.7 billion, with an
operating margin of 1.3%. Ipiranga is the group's largest business
segment, representing 90% of its consolidated net revenue and 64%
of EBITDA in 2021.
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J A M A I C A
=============
JAMAICA: CAPRI Proposes $2.2-M Income Tax Threshold
---------------------------------------------------
Josimar Scott at Jamaica Observer reports that the Caribbean Policy
Research Institute (CAPRI) is proposing that the Government
increase the personal income tax threshold by 47 per cent in the
next budget cycle to help compensate for losses due to inflation
since the last increase. The proposal, if accepted, will see the
personal income tax threshold rising from $1.5 million per annum to
$2.2 million, according to Jamaica Observer.
The recommendation formed part of executive director of CAPRI Dr
Damien King's presentation of the report "Budget Breakdown 2023: An
Analysis of the Government's Proposed Revenue and Expenditure" at
The University of West Indies headquarters in St Andrew, the report
relays.
King's proposal comes against the background of gains the country
has made over the last decade, which have resulted in an increase
in tax revenues and the reduction in the country's debt to gross
domestic product (GDP), the report notes. Additionally, he pointed
out that the recommendation also seeks to correct for the loss in
real income, due to inflation, since the $1.5-million income tax
threshold was implemented in 2017, the report says.
"Coming out of this we have two recommendations - recommendations
that we encourage the Government to implement with its next budget.
The first one is to correct for the erosion of the income tax
threshold, which has moved a segment of the population which, seven
years ago, we decided to release from the tax burden and only
because of inflation . . . they have now been brought into the
income tax burden," the CAPRI executive director stated, the report
relays.
"So, to compensate for that loss since 2017, we recommend using
part of the fiscal dividend from falling debt levels . . . to raise
the income tax threshold to $2.2 million," he continued, the report
notes.
The second recommendation, which is to index the income tax
threshold to the consumer price index (CPI), aims to ensure that
incomes keep pace with the rate of inflation, the report says. The
CPI measures the change in the prices of goods and services
purchased in common across the economy over a period of time, the
report discloses.
When looking at the impact of inflation on the non-taxable $1.5
million in income, King said that, according to CAPRI's estimate,
the value of that sum today is $1 million, the report relays.
"So a third of it has been lost," he clarified.
Based on Jamaica Observer calculations, the rate of inflation
cumulatively over the last seven fiscal years - from 2016/2017 to
2022/23 - stands at 38 per cent, the report notes.
During that time as well, employment has grown by 11 per cent,
resulting in the Government seeing a "quite impressive increase in
income tax revenue", even when adjusted to inflation, the report
discloses.
"Over the course of the seven years since 2017, inflation erodes
the real value of that $1.5 because as the prices of goods and
services go up year after year, incomes levels follow it . . .
without there necessarily being greater purchase power," King
observed, the report relays.
He further argued that pegging the income tax threshold to the CPI
on annual basis will eliminate the cycles of adjustment the
Government makes to personal income tax, the report notes.
In response to the call to increase the income tax threshold,
Minister of Finance and the Public Service Dr Nigel Clarke, who was
a guest panellist at the CAPRI forum, said that while "it is
something to look at", doing so would be "a very expensive
undertaking", pointing to a 2.0 per cent loss in GDP in fiscal year
2017/2018, the report relays.
"Whatever you do has to be sustainable, so it's something that we
will look at and be transparent about the cost implications and see
how the cost implications could be absorbed," the finance minister
explained, the report relays.
Justifying CAPRI's proposal to the Government, King noted that the
recommendation takes into consideration the structure of the
economy and the fact that the tax system is unable to account for
those in the informal economy, the report notes.
"So in the context of the economy, income tax is an unfair tax that
is paid by those who have formal sector jobs but not by those who
don't... So part of the motivation behind the proposal is to
eliminate the unfairness in what is fundamentally an unfair tax,"
the CAPRI executive director said, the report re;aus.
Again, Clarke shared that while the Government is in agreement with
CAPRI's position in principle, it had to take into consideration
the affordability of implementing such a policy and its impact on
the budget, the report adds.
As reported in the Troubled Company Reporter-Latin America in March
2022, Fitch Ratings affirmed Jamaica's Long-Term Foreign
Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at 'B+'. The Rating Outlook is
Stable.
=====================
P U E R T O R I C O
=====================
BED BATH & BEYOND: Leases for Auction for Court Approval
--------------------------------------------------------
James Rogers of MarketWatch reports that Bed Bath and Beyond's
hundreds of leases that are set for auction are pending for court
approval.
Bankrupt Bed Bath and Beyond Inc.'s real estate advisor A&G Real
Estate Partners plans to auction hundreds of the home goods
retailer and buybuy BABY's leases as part of the company's Chapter
11.
A&G Real Estate Partners announced the plan, which is subject to
court approval of bid procedures, on May 9, 2023. Bed Bath & Beyond
BBBYQ, a sometime meme stock darling, filed for Chapter 11 last
April 2023.
The leases are at "well-located shopping centers across the
country," according to an A&G statement. The real estate advisory
firm and JLL Commercial Real Estate also plan to market a Bed Bath
& Beyond-owned data center in Claremont, North Carolina, as well as
leases for warehouses and distribution centers.
The Bed Bath & Beyond stores, which are located in 48 states and
the District of Columbia, range in size from 18,000 to 92,000
square feet, according to A&G. The buybuy BABY stores, which are
located in 37 states, range from 14,000 to 63,000 square feet.
"Landlords are among the likeliest bidders for these leases," said
A&G Senior Managing Director Mike Matlat, in the statement.
"They're looking forward to getting vacant spaces back, either to
backfill them with single large-format tenants or subdivide them
and re-lease them to multiple, smaller operators."
Warehouse and data center locations range in size from 189,000 to
more than 1 million square feet, according to A&G, and are
available in six states: California, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Nevada,
New Jersey and Texas.
"Several of these well-located facilities boast below-market,
fixed-rent leases with one or more renewal options," Matlat said.
"They represent a strong opportunity for users or investors who are
eager to capitalize on the existing rent spreads."
Shares of Bed Bath & Beyond began trading over the counter after
the Nasdaq started the delisting process for the bankrupt retailer.
Trading under the ticker BBBYQ, the stock opened at 7.5 cents on
its first day of over-the-counter trading. The stock ended May 9,
2023, session down 12.8% at 21.6 cents.
Bed Bath & Beyond's bankruptcy came after a troubled couple of
years marked by strategic missteps, cash burn, challenging
underlying business trends and the impact of the COVID-19
pandemic.
About Bed Bath & Beyond
Bed Bath & Beyond Inc., together with its subsidiaries, is an
omnichannel retailer selling a wide assortment of merchandise in
the Home, Baby, Beauty & Wellness markets and operates under the
names Bed Bath & Beyond, buybuy BABY, and Harmon, Harmon Face
Values. The Company also operates Decorist, an online interior
design platform that provides personalized home design services.
At its peak, Bed Bath & Beyond operated the largest home furnishing
retailer in the United States with over 970 stores across all 50
states, consistently at the forefront of major home and bath
trends. Operating stores spanning the United States, Canada,
Mexico, and Puerto Rico, Bed Bath & Beyond offers everything from
bed linens to cookware to electric appliances, home organization,
baby care, and more.
Bed Bath & Beyond closed over 430 locations across the United
States and Canada before filing chapter 11 cases, implementing full
scale winddowns of their Canadian business and the Harmon branded
stores.
Left with 360 Bed Bath & Beyond and 120 buybuy BABY stores, Bed
Bath & Beyond Inc. and 73 affiliated debtors on April 23, 2023,
each filed a voluntary petition for relief under Chapter 11 of the
United States Bankruptcy Code to pursue a wind down of operations.
The cases are pending before the Honorable Vincent F. Papalia and
have requested joint administration of the cases under Bankr.
D.N.J. Lead Case No. 23-13359.
Kirkland & Ellis LLP and Cole Schotz P.C. are serving as legal
counsel, Lazard Frares & Co. LLC is serving as investment banker,
and AlixPartners LLP is serving as financial advisor. Bed Bath &
Beyond Inc. has retained Hilco Merchant Resources LLC to assist
with inventory sales. Kroll LLC is the claims agent.
LARRY BARBER: Seeks to Hire Bush Ross as Bankruptcy Counsel
-----------------------------------------------------------
Larry Barber Enterprises, Inc. seeks approval from the U.S.
Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Florida to employ Bush
Ross, PA as additional general counsel.
Bush Ross will render these services:
(a) advise the Debtor of its powers and duties;
(b) prepare on behalf of the Debtor necessary legal papers;
(c) appear before the court and the United States Trustee to
represent and protect the interests of the Debtor;
(d) assist with and participate in negotiations with creditors
and other parties in interest;
(e) represent the Debtor in all adversary proceedings,
contested matters, and matters involving the
administration of this case; and
(f) perform all other legal services that may be
necessary for the proper preservation and
administration of this Chapter 11 case.
Bush Ross has further agreed not to accept any compensation for
fees in connection with this case and to accept this representation
in exchange for only reimbursement of expenses.
Kathleen DiSanto, Esq., an attorney at Bush Ross, disclosed in a
court filing that the firm is a "disinterested person" as that term
is defined in Section 101(14) of the Bankruptcy Code.
The firm can be reached through:
Kathleen L. DiSanto, Esq.
Bush Ross PA
Post Office Box 3913
Tampa, FL 33601
Telephone: (813) 224-9255
Facsimile: (813) 223-9620
Email: kdisanto@bushross.com
About Larry Barber Enterprises
Established by Larry Barber, Larry Barber Enterprises Inc. is a
full-service provider of tower civil design, construction and
maintenance services across the United States, Puerto Rico, and the
U.S. Virgin Islands. On the Web:
http://www.larrybarberenterprises.com/
Larry Barber Enterprises sought bankruptcy protection under
Subchapter V of Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code (Bankr. M.D. Fla.
Case No. 22-02083) on May 24, 2022, listing up to $50,000 in assets
and up to $10 million in liabilities. Amy Denton Mayer has been
appointed as Subchapter V trustee.
Judge Caryl E. Delano oversees the case.
Jake C. Blanchard, Esq., at Blanchard Law, P.A. is the Debtor's
counsel.
===============
X X X X X X X X
===============
LATAM: Inflation is Hitting Turning Point, Fueling Rate Cut Calls
-----------------------------------------------------------------
globalinsolvency.com, citing Bloomberg News, reports that Latin
America's top central bankers are meeting in Brazil as pressure
mounts on them to begin cutting interest rates in response to
slowing inflation.
Political leaders, investors and businesses across the region that
led the world into an aggressive monetary tightening campaign after
the Covid-19 pandemic are now anticipating - and in some cases
demanding - imminent rate reductions, according to
globalinsolvency.com.
That is testing the resolve of central bankers who remain hesitant
to declare victory even as they appear to have gained the upper
hand on consumer price increases, the report notes.
"Central bankers are more cautious after such a long period of
above-target inflation," Cassiana Fernandez, a Latin America
economist at JPMorgan & Chase Co, said ahead of the meeting, the
report relays.
For policymakers like Brazil central bank chief Roberto Campos
Neto, the Sao Paulo gathering is a chance to rally together to make
the case to impatient politicians that their caution is justified,
the report says.
Campos Neto, who is hosting the event, has faced unrelenting
criticism from President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva over his
decision to hold Brazil's key rate at a six-year high of 13.75%,
even as annual inflation has fallen more than 8 percentage points
from a year ago, the report adds.
LATAM: Regional Firms Worried About Disruption Due to Disasters
---------------------------------------------------------------
The Inter-American Development Bank says most Jamaican and
Caribbean businesses were concerned that disasters might disrupt
their operations.
Survey data made public in the bank's Caribbean Economics quarterly
publication, showed that between 70 and 100 per cent of respondents
highlighted this as a key concern.
The multi-lateral agency says governments and businesses alike need
to develop business, contingency, and investment plans to ensure
the economy can continue to operate in the face of future shocks.
It says given the level of susceptibility, the issue of financial
preparedness is crucial, and in addition to insurance, stakeholders
need to also shore up savings and or the availability of credit.
At least half of businesses analysed in the Caribbean said they did
not have resources set aside to aid in recovery, including about 66
per cent of Jamaican firms.
*********
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 2023. All rights reserved. ISSN 1529-2746.
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