
As Brazil struggles with a corruption scandal in which executives and politicians face investigations of alleged bribery, Brazil’s state-run oil company Petrobras announced it will slash management jobs as part of an efficiency drive approved by its board of directors.

As anticipated by the Federal Reserve's report earlier this week, US economic growth braked sharply in the fourth quarter as businesses stepped up efforts to reduce an inventory glut and a strong dollar and tepid global demand weighed on exports.

Argentina's central bank said on Friday it had sealed a deal for a US$5 billion, one-year loan from international private banks, bolstering its low foreign reserves as the country heads into talks with creditors suing over unpaid debt. Argentina has been shut out of global credit markets because of its long-running legal dispute in U.S. courts with creditors over debt it defaulted on in 2002.

For the first six months of the 2015/16 financial year, the Falkland Islands Government is showing a Medium Term Financial Plan surplus of £4.355 million compared to a revised budget surplus of £30,000; a favorable performance of £4.325 million.(*)

Brazil posted a primary budget deficit in 2015 of 111.25 billion Reais (roughly $27.29 billion), the biggest since the data series began in 2001, the Central Bank said on Friday. The primary budget deficit (before interest payments), equivalent to 1.88% of GDP, was more than triple the primary budget gap in 2014 (32.5 billion reais, or 0.57% of GDP).

An indication of interest has been forthcoming from Chile's flag carrier LAN in relation to bringing in a larger aircraft to cope with the volume of passengers and freight to the Falkland Islands.

Argentina's energy minister on Friday announced new power rates on the back of subsidy cuts that could see the bills of some consumers jump five-fold, saying that a near total freeze on tariffs in parts of the country for years had left the power grid on the brink of collapse.

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said the United States economy is in a bubble he fears will burst and he does not want to deal with a financial collapse if he is elected to the White House.

Brazil will release 83 billion reais (US$20.4 billion) in new credit from state-run banks for farmers, builders and other businesses suffering in a shrinking economy, resuming stimulus efforts it had largely eschewed in last year's austerity drive.

Brazil’s Finance Minister Nelson Barbosa is expected to announce as much as 60bn Reais (US$15bn) in loans as the government seeks to revive growth amid the worst economic downturn in over a century.