JetBlue Airways said it will be offering more flights to Mexico in the wake of a recent treaty between the U.S. and Mexico that will allow air carriers to have unlimited flights between the neighboring countries beginning Jan. 1. JetBlue said the new aviation treaty will allow it to expand service to Mexico, where it has been offering flights to Mexico City and Cancun since 2006. Read More »

Planet Payment, Inc., and Mexican financial institution BBVA Bancomer said they recently reached a deal to process payments for BBVA business customers using Planet Payment’s solutions. The agreement will allow both parties to process payments in different currencies as well as allow BBVA customers to use the integrated payments solution being launched by Planet Payment. Read More »

Beauty product manufacturer Coty, Inc. recently agreed to purchase the personal care and beauty division of Brazilian consumer goods company Hypermarcas. Read More »

Omnicom Group said Monday its DDB Worldwide division has acquired Grupo ABC, the largest marketing communications and advertising company in Brazil. Grupo ABC owns DM9 among other advertising and marketing agencies. "Grupo ABC is widely acknowledged as an outstanding company with impressive creative work and expertise," Omnicom Group President and CEO John Wren said. Read More »

The credit ratings agency Fitch Ratings contends that the improvement of the U.S. economy and low oil prices could improve credit ratings throughout Central America. In addition to more potential capital flowing in from a healthier U.S. economy, falling oil prices will benefit the region's oil importers who could take the economic torch from commodities exporters. Read More »

The Economist will sponsor a summit of policymakers and business leaders from the United States and Cuba on Dec. 3 in D.C. The meeting will focus on clarifying the warming of diplomatic relations between the two countries for businesses and investors. Speakers will discuss the short- and- long-term risk outlook for investors interested in the Cuban market. Read More »

Fitch Ratings downgraded the foreign currency Issuer Default Ratings of several Brazilian corporations. The Brazilian sovereign foreign and local currency IDRs dropped from BBB to BBB- and the country ceiling from BBB+ to BBB. The current foreign currency rating is Negative. Brazil's rising debt, challenges to fiscal consolidation and economic growth are all factors in the downgrade. Read More »

Following the announcement in September of Bancolombia’s agreement to acquire a 20 percent stake in Banco Agromercantil de Guatemala, Fitch Ratings reported Friday that any negative impact would be manageable.With this transaction, Bancolombia will own 60 percent of BAM. According to the report, the acquisition of BAM is in line with the bank’s broader strategy for growth. 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 »

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 »

Jaguar Growth Partners opened an office in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Thursday. Christian Klotz and Ricardo Costa, two recent additions to the private equity firm’s staff, will head up the new office. The opening of the office will establish Jaguar's presence in Latin American, according to Thomas McDonald, Jaguar managing partner. Prior to joining Jaguar, Klotz co-founded UJAY Capital. Read More »

As Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff tried to reassure investors, the National Industry Confederation said that the entrepreneurs' confidence index had hit its lowest level since the organization began monitoring the indicator in 1999. The indexes fell 0.7 percent in October, declining for a second consecutive time and accumulating a loss of 2.1 points over two months. Read More »

The recent acquisition is expected to expand BlackRock’s capabilities in Mexico and enhance the company’s ability to offer infrastructure investment opportunities to clients around the world. Through its global platform, BlackRock currently manages $23 billion in assets for Mexican clients and delivers the firm’s comprehensive range of local and international investment solutions. Read More »

If initiatives in Brazil toward an impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff succeed, the country would enter an “uncharted territory,” Shelly Shetty, the primary analyst for Brazil at Fitch Ratings, said today during a teleconference to discuss a rating downgrade. There are “considerable uncertainties regarding the impeachment and the feasibility of the impeachment.” Read More »

Spanish-language newspapers in the U.S. are going through a rich period and have an even better outlook though challenges remain, Reinaldo Escobar, a Colombian-born journalist and owner of The Spanish Times in Utah, recently told Latin Business Daily. The importance of Spanish-language media has grown along with the U.S. Hispanic community's political importance, Escobar said. Read More »

Juan Carlos Varela, president of Panama, recently announced that the country will make a $1 billion (USD) investment on a 500 MW of utility-scale solar-energy and a $50 million world-class solar and environmental research center, which will be designed to focus on various research studies regarding photovoltaic (PV) innovation and environmental sciences. Read More »

Fitch Ratings has promoted Alejandro Garcia, its current managing director, to analytical head of Latin American financial institutions. Read More »

Morgan Stanley Capital gave Peruvian officials nine months to raise trading volumes in the Lima stock exchange or else it will move the exchange out of the emerging markets category. The initial reaction in the Lima stock exchange after the Morgan Stanley announcement on Thursday was a “shy” 0.84 percent increase of the stock exchange main index to 10,114.65 points. Read More »

JetBlue has expanded its Latin American footprint by adding daily flights to Mexico City from both Orlando and Fort Lauderdale. Travelers flying JetBlue will now be able to aboard a spacious A320 aircraft from either Orlando International Airport (MCO) or Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL) and land at Mexico City International Airport (MEX). Read More »

Sutherland Global Services will open a new facility in Itajai, in the state of Santa Catarina, Brazil, and, with an area over 1.518 square-meter, the new center will initially hire 75 employees; the facility exists with the purpose of strengthening and improving the Sutherland iBPO network capacity, in addition to enabling the company to offer its clients end-to-end BPO services. Read More »