Payment leader Visa launched Visa Checkout for online shopping in Brazil Friday. The online checkout offering enables customers to buy items quicker from any electronic device, and 96 percent of users consider this new service to be the most-secure way to make a payment over the Internet. Futebolcard, which sells soccer tickets in Brazil, is the first seller to use Visa Checkout. Read More »

Puerto Rico asked Congress to restructure the island's debt by invoking Super Chapter 9 Thursday. Puerto Rico Governor Alejandro Garcia Padilla and Antonio Weiss, from the U.S. Treasury Department, requested bankruptcy measures at the hearing. The unprecedented bankruptcy measures would enable Puerto Rico to leave its constitutional debt, which could raise borrowing costs. Read More »

In emergency cases, the Engility Holdings team will perform damage assessments and provide guidance on disaster response efforts to host governments and local stakeholders in 27 countries. The team also will provide year-round technical assistance that includes overseeing instruction in disaster management concepts, training methodologies and related technical disciplines. Read More »

Fast Dolphin, an international IT staffing firm, opened an office in Bogotá, Colombia, which will serve the Andean region. Led by Sales Director William Castro, the office also will benefit Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia where Fast Dolphin previously only worked with subsidiary companies. Fast Dolphin will offer support for businesses seeking to implement SAP and Oracle. Read More »

Banco Santander Brasil recently named BNY Mellon as the depositary bank for its American depositary receipt program. With offices in 65 countries, BNY also has been the American depositary receipt handler for Santander in Chile since June, as well as for 14 other banks in Latin America. This latest agreement fortifies the relationship between BNY Mellon and Santander. Read More »

Shopping center developer and operator Parque Arauco S.A. agreed to acquire Grupo Bancolombia's remaining 45 percent equity interest in Inversions Inmobiliarias Arauco Alameda S.A.S., a Colombian-based real estate adviser and management company. The $75 million purchase price includes an additional 24.75 percent ownership in Parque Arboleda, a shopping center in Colombia. Read More »

Panorama, the worldwide group of independent executive search firms, recently partnered with EXEC. A top search firm in Brazil, EXEC is a boutique consultancy that provides clients with search and selection, as well as advice for organizational and leadership decisions. It is the sole independent consultancy based in Brazil that also has co-management with an advisory board. Read More »

FLSmidth signed a five-year maintenance contract with Minera Doña Collahuasi, a copper producer based in Chile. Headquartered in Denmark, FLSmidth will supply the maintenance services for three production lines at Minera Doña Collahuasi's copper plant in Chile. The plant, on the Bolivian border, is able to produce more than 140,000 metric tons of processed rock per day.  Read More »

NexusTours, a full-service destination management company that is part of Suwing Travel Group, recently signed a partnership deal with Grupo Gaviota, the most established travel company in Cuba. The companies will combine their commercial experience and workforce. As part of the deal, NexusTours has gained a 30 percent share of Cuba's destination management service market. Read More »

Chambers Latin America ranked Akerman LLP, a leading U.S. law firm, one of the top four law firms within Cuba Thursday. The ranking was included in the Cuba: Corporate/Commercial category, which is for law firms that are established abroad, making Akerman the sole U.S. law firm to gain this honor. Akerman Cuba Chair Augusto Maxwell was also chosen as the top lawyer. Read More »

Brazil-based Embraer recently sold 19 E175 airplanes to Skywest Airlines in a transaction valued at an estimated $843.6 million.The list price for each E175 plane, which features a new wingtip that improves aerodynamic performance, is $44.4 million, and this most-recent order follows a previous one for 18 E175 units. 80 percent of Embraer's E175 orders have come from the U.S. Read More »

A large part of the Ecuadorean industry has started to prepare for higher production costs following a recent decision by the government to eliminate subsidies for diesel and industrial use. Since the Ecuadorean government, which depends on oil-export revenues, has been impacted by weaker commodities prices, it is struggling to cover the shortfall in revenue. Read More »

Latin American and Caribbean countries need to work together to be less vulnerable to potentially harmful trade accords, Alicia Bárcena, the United Nations' executive secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLA), said last week. Bárcena was specifically discussing the potential impact of the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) in Latin America. Read More »

A recently launched beauty marketplace website named Miora, which helps connect consumers with beauty products and services, aims to establish itself in Colombia, Chile, Mexico and Peru and then further expand across the region. The company founders recently managed to attract $4.2 million in capital from investment funds, including two from Latin America, to expand. Read More »

Sichuan Honghua International Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of drilling rig manufacturer Honghua Group Ltd. (HH), acquired three oil and gas engineering turnkey service agreements Thursday with PDVSA PETROLEO, S.A. The three agreements total approximately US$340 million. HH will service PDVSA in Lake Maracaibo area of Venezuela, including a progressive cavity pump upgrade project. Read More »

ET Solar has solar energy projects in different stages for a total of 187 megawatts (MW) in all of Latin America and the Caribbean of which 23 MW will be completed in November. The construction stage for the remainder, which is a total of 164 MW, is scheduled to begin in 2016. Of the total projects, 125 MW are in different stages of development in Chile while 62 MW will be in Brazil. Read More »

Mitsui & Co. and Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. signed a Share Purchase Agreement Monday, where Mitsui will acquire 49 percent of Gaspetro shares through Mitsui Gas e Energia do Brasil Ltda under an estimated purchase price of approximately $486,936,446. The gas distribution business in Brazil is composed of regional monopolies that are based on the concessions granted by the government. Read More »

Real Scientific Hemp Oil was recently approved for import by the Brazilian government. Due to two girls from the United States and Brazil with CDKL4 epilepsy, Brazil decided to change its international cannabis regulations, after a federal judge decided it was “inhumane” to keep the oil from one of the girls. The all-natural, hemp-based cannabidiol oil is now being imported by Brazil. Read More »

U.S.-based digital remittance company Remitly expanded its mobile money transfer service into Mexico. The United States to Mexico is the largest international money corridor in the world, with more than $24 billion transferred annually. Remitly's network includes most major banks and more than 11,000 locations in Mexico. This expansion allows customers to send money at cheaper rates. Read More »

G6 Hospitality will open its Estudio 6 property in Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico, in 2016. The hotel will be located in the heart of Puerto Vallarta, with rooms ranging from economy to suites stacked with amenities, such as HDTVs, free Wi-Fi and kitchenettes. G6 Hospitality was ranked one of the Top 10 Hotel Companies by Hotel Management Survey in September 2015. Read More »