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       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, January 16, 2024, Vol. 25, No. 12

                           Headlines



A R G E N T I N A

ARGENTINA: IMF Staff Show Support for Milei's 'Stabilization Plan'
ARGENTINA: Luis Caputo Brokers Deal With IMF He Once Battled
ARGENTINA: Reaches Deal with IMF Staff to Unlock US$4.7 Billion
YPF SA: Sells US$800-Million Bond to Fund Debt Buyback


B R A Z I L

BRAZIL: Growing Household Debt Remains Below U.S. Ratios
BRAZIL: Weighs Bailout for Troubled Airlines as Fares Skyrocket
PETROBRAS: S&P Affirms 'BB' ICR on New M&G Criteria


J A M A I C A

JAMAICA: Earns Less From Manufacturing Exports for Jan-Aug 2023


T R I N I D A D   A N D   T O B A G O

TRINIDAD & TOBAGO: Farmers Brace for Harsh Dry Season

                           - - - - -


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A R G E N T I N A
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ARGENTINA: IMF Staff Show Support for Milei's 'Stabilization Plan'
------------------------------------------------------------------
Buenos Aires Times reports that Economy Minister Luis Caputo
confirmed in a press conference that Argentina and the
International Monetary Fund had reached an agreement over the
nation's US$44-billion loan program, the first of the Javier Milei
government.

The staff-level agreement paves the way for a new disbursement of
US$4.7 billion in funds from Argentina's program, which had
collapsed "due to the failure to meet targets" by the previous
government, said the minister, according to Buenos Aires Times.

The announcement comes as part of the seventh review of Argentina's
credit agreement with the Fund, the report relays.

Stressing that the deal was "not a new agreement," Caputo said the
loan program is now "refloated" after missed targets during former
president Alberto Fernandez's government, the report relays.
"Refloating the agreement required a greater commitment to
compensate for the loss of credibility in the last two quarters,"
said the government official, the report notes.

In a statement issued prior to the press conference at the Economy
Ministry headquarters, the IMF confirmed that a staff-level
agreement had been reached between the two parties, the report
discloses.  The accord is pending approval of the IMF's Executive
Board, which is likely to take a few weeks, the report relays.

"IMF staff and the Argentine authorities have reached staff-level
agreement on the seventh review under Argentina's EFF (extended
fund facility) arrangement, the report says.  Subject to approval
by the IMF Executive Board, Argentina would have access to about
US$4.7 billion," the multilateral lender said in a statement, the
report discloses.

                                Praise

The statement - which the IMF stressed represented the views of its
staff who had visited Buenos Aires for talks and not necessarily
those of its Executive Board – was full of praise for the
government, the report relays.

President Milei has taken steps to fulfill his campaign promise to
slash public spending and shake up an economy riddled with
inflation and other woes, the report notes.  The libertarian leader
has presented to Congress last month a decree and bill to amend
laws and allow the privatization of more than 40 public companies
and limit the right to assembly and demonstration, the report
relays.

"The new administration is already implementing an ambitious
stabilization plan, anchored on a major upfront fiscal
consolidation, along with actions to rebuild reserves, correct
relative price misalignment, strengthen the Central Bank's balance
sheet and create a simpler, rules-based, and market-oriented
economy," it read, the report relays.

Citing "understandings" on new policies to "restore macroeconomic
stability and bring the current program back on track," the IMF
also criticized the previous government which it said missed "key
program targets" by "large margins," the report says.

It blamed the problems on "severe policy setbacks."

Declaring that Argentina's programme went "severely off track," the
IMF criticised "continued reliance on Central Bank financing and
interventionist measures" by the Fernandez administration, the
report notes.

                               Targets

News of the agreement comes exactly one month after Milei assumed
office, the report relays.  The IMF had reached an impasse with the
Fernandez administration after previous quarterly reviews required
a number of waivers for missed targets, the report relays.

The IMF team, led by Luis Cubeddu, IMF Deputy Director of the
Western Hemisphere Department, and Ashvin Ahuja, Mission Chief for
Argentina, met with Caputo and Central Bank Governor Santiago
Bausili, along with other officials, during their visit to Buenos
Aires, the report discloses.

"IMF staff and the Argentine authorities reached understandings on
a set of economic policies to restore macroeconomic stability in
Argentina and bring the current program back on track," the IMF
said in its statement, the report relays.

"Upon completion of the review, Argentina would have access to
about US$4.7 billion, consistent with some rephasing within the
envelope of the program," it added.

Under the new understanding, Milei's government aims to "achieve a
primary (fiscal) surplus" before debt interest payments "of two
percent of gross domestic product this year," the IMF statement
revealed, the report notes.

Confirming a figure later cited by Caputo in his press conference,
it also noted that the Milei administration's attempts at reserve
accumulation "are expected to lead to a US$10-billion build-up in
net reserves by the end of 2024," the report says.

The multilateral lender went on to highlight the Milei government's
commitment to "expenditure rationalization" which will be
implemented via "reductions in administrative costs, energy and
transport subsidies, discretionary transfers to provinces and
state-owned enterprises, and lower-priority infrastructure
spending," the report notes.

                      Decree, 'Omnibus Law'

The IMF noted Milei's emergency decree and 'Ley Omnibus' bill had
been submitted to Congress and said the government is building
"social and political support."  It praised the libertarian
administration for acting "quickly and decisively" to implement its
policies, the report relays.

During his press conference, Caputo warned lawmakers that if the
bill is not approved by Congress, tougher economic measures would
follow, the report discloses.  He said that would be "very bad news
for all Argentines."

"This does not imply that we will return to the previous
administration's goal.  Even if it does not pass, we will make
every effort to meet it.  In Argentina that is the root of the
problem, our commitment to the people was to solve the problem and
not to continue deceiving ourselves," he argued, the report
relays.

Caputo, who was joined by Bausili for the press conference, also
revealed that IMF staff had indicated they were willing to
negotiate a new agreement in the future, the report notes.

"If we eventually want to ask for new loans, the Fund is open, but
we believe that it is time for the country to solve its financial
problems by solving its underlying structural problems, which is
its addiction to excessive public spending, to the fiscal deficit,
which is ultimately what ends up generating all the problems,"
declared the minister, the report notes.

"We have full confidence that the measures we are taking will lead
us down the right path," he concluded.

In a press conference, IMF Spokesperson Julie Kozack said the
Omnibus "bill has important fiscal implications, and as such, we
hope that the authorities will continue to generate political
support to move key aspects of this bill forward," the report
adds.

                        About Argentina

Argentina is a country located mostly in the southern half of South
America. Its capital is Buenos Aires. Javier Milei is the current
president of Argentina after winning the November 19, 2023 general
election. He succeeded Alberto Angel Fernandez 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.

The IMF's executive board completed on August 23, 2023, the fifth
and six reviews of Argentina's 30-month Extended Fund Facility
(EFF), and approved a US$7.5-billion disbursement to Argentina as
part of the larger program, which refinances payments Argentina
owes the institution from a previous bailout that failed to
stabilize the economy in 2018. Argentina would receive another IMF
disbursement in November of about US$2.75 billion pending another
staff-level agreement and board approval.

S&P Global Ratings, on June 13, 2023, raised its local currency
sovereign credit ratings on Argentina to 'CCC-/C' from 'SD/SD' and
0its national scale rating to 'raCCC+' from 'SD'. S&P also affirmed
its 'CCC-/C' foreign currency sovereign credit ratings on
Argentina. The outlook on the long-term ratings is negative. S&P's
'CCC-' transfer and convertibility assessment is unchanged. None of
its rated bond issues are affected.

S&P said the negative outlook on the long-term ratings is based on
the risks surrounding pronounced economic imbalances and policy
uncertainties before and after the 2023 national elections.
Divisions within the government coalition, and infighting among the
opposition, constrain the sovereign's ability to implement timely
changes in economic policy.

Fitch Ratings also upgraded on June 13, 2023, Argentina's Long-Term
Foreign Currency (FC) Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to 'CC' from
'C'and affirmed the Long-Term Local Currency (LC) IDR at 'CCC-'.
Fitch typically does not assign Outlooks to sovereigns with a
rating of 'CCC+' or below.

The upgrade of the FC IDR reflects that Fitch no longer deems a
default-like process to have begun, as the authorities have not
signaled a clear intention to follow through with an intra-public
debt swap announced in March. The new 'CC' rating signals a default
event of some sort appears probable in the coming years, regardless
of the outcome of upcoming elections. The affirmation of the LC IDR
at 'CCC-' follows the peso debt swap in June that Fitch did not
deem to be a "distressed debt exchange" (DDE).

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.


ARGENTINA: Luis Caputo Brokers Deal With IMF He Once Battled
------------------------------------------------------------
Patrick Gillespie at Bloomberg News reports that the last time Luis
Caputo negotiated with the International Monetary Fund, fierce
disagreements over how to manage Argentina's struggling currency
caused him to quit his job as the country's Central Bank chief.

A little more than five years later, Caputo is back for a second
act, and the IMF that forced his exit during those 2018 talks is
cheering his initial efforts to salvage an economy that plunged
further into crisis, according to Bloomberg News.

Tapped by libertarian President Javier Milei to lead the economy
ministry, Caputo reached a staff-level agreement with the
Washington-based lender over how to save a US$44-billion aid
programme that the IMF said "went severely off track" with the
previous government, Bloomberg News relays.

The pact is key to unlocking a US$4.7-billion IMF disbursement
Argentina needs to repay debts owed to the Fund itself, and will
also provide breathing room until the next IMF review in May,
Bloomberg News notes.   By then, Caputo and Milei can decide
whether to negotiate a completely new deal or seek more funding. In
the near term, Caputo only saw one option, Bloomberg News says.

"What we've done was the most viable alternative," Caputo told
reporters at a press conference. "If I would like to go to a new
programme and eventually seek new funds, the IMF is open to that
possibility. But we honestly believe that it's time for the country
to resolve its financial problems, or as I've said, its structural
root problems," he added.

Bloomberg News discloses that press offices at the IMF and Economy
Ministry didn't respond to multiple requests for comment, nor
written questions.  In a statement, the IMF praised Caputo's
"strong policy package" but acknowledged "the path to stability
will be a challenging one, with conditions worsening before they
get better," Bloomberg News relays.

Bloomberg News notes that the deal marks a striking turnaround for
Caputo and the IMF, one precipitated by Argentina's continued
decline and Milei's prescription of "shock therapy" to reverse it.
His ability to win an agreement with an institution that once drove
him out of government, meanwhile, may help bolster market optimism
that he may be able to navigate the litany of problems ailing South
America's second-largest economy, Bloomberg News says.

"It'll be a more politically-savvy Caputo, he has more experience
in government," said Gustavo Flores-Macias, a Cornell University
public policy professor.  The government and IMF "are more aligned
now than they were in 2018, and Milei has the advantage of riding
this honeymoon in international financial markets,"  Bloomberg News
relays.

                           'I Had to Go'

The problems between Caputo and the IMF began almost immediately
after former president Mauricio Macri appointed him to lead the
Central Bank in June 2018 after previously serving as finance
chief, Bloomberg News notes.

Caputo, a veteran of Wall Street, had opposed Argentina's initial
approach to the lender earlier that year, a position that along
with his lack of monetary policy experience caused IMF staff to see
his appointment as "another big mistake by Macri," former
negotiator Alejandro Werner wrote in a book published last year,
Bloomberg News relays.

Werner added that Caputo would call IMF officials with "urgent
calls and 'life and death' demands" to make it seem a full-blown
crisis was imminent - an effort to pressure the IMF into
concessions, Bloomberg News says.

The primary source of tension, however, was over how to manage
Argentina's limping currency, Bloomberg News notes.  Caputo wanted
the right to freely intervene in foreign exchange markets to prop
up the peso, which at the time operated under a floating exchange
rate without any controls, Bloomberg News relays.  But the IMF
baulked at using its money that way, Bloomberg News discloses.

In September 2018, former IMF managing director Christine Lagarde
criticized the Argentine Central Bank's communications with markets
in an interview with the Financial Times, Bloomberg News relays.
Caputo quit soon after, sensing a clear message had been sent.

"I had to go," he recounted at an event in 2019, adding that IMF
officials had said they couldn't stand him anymore, Bloomberg News
notes.

The two sides have since moved closer to the same page.

By April 2019, the IMF had reversed course, allowing Caputo's
successor to intervene as he'd wanted to, Bloomberg News relays.
It fully eased its approach under former president Alberto
Fernandez, letting his government maintain an artificially strong
exchange rate through various interventions and an ever-growing web
of currency controls that swelled into a problem for the economy,
Bloomberg News notes.

Caputo, by contrast, returned to the government with a mandate to
unwind those controls, Bloomberg News discloses.  In December, he
announced a series of sharp spending cuts and a 54 percent
devaluation of the peso - a move IMF Managing Director Kristalina
Georgieva hailed as "an important step toward restoring stability
and rebuilding the country's economic potential" in a social media
post, Bloomberg News says.

Still, numerous potential pitfalls remain, Bloomberg News notes.
It is unclear how fast Caputo and Milei will be able to end the
currency controls, or whether the IMF will maintain its lax
approach to intervention as the peso faces losses that could revive
the debates that caused friction in the past, Bloomberg News
relays.

For now, Caputo has maintained the crawling peg currency framework
he inherited in order to prioritise fiscal austerity, Bloomberg
News discloses.  The Central Bank, meanwhile, has also let the peso
devalue at two percent per month, a pace investors see as
insufficient with prices increasing at far higher rates, Bloomberg
News says.

In the face of looming labor strikes and signs that market optimism
is beginning to fade, Caputo's ability to communicate with both
investors and the public will be crucial, Bloomberg News relays.

"The communication aspect will be fundamental," Flores-Macias said.
"The framing of the negotiations will be very important if this
programme is successful or not," he added.

                                 About Argentina

Argentina is a country located mostly in the southern half of South
America. Its capital is Buenos Aires. Javier Milei is the current
president of Argentina after winning the November 19, 2023 general
election. He succeeded Alberto Angel Fernandez 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.

The IMF's executive board completed on August 23, 2023, the fifth
and six reviews of Argentina's 30-month Extended Fund Facility
(EFF), and approved a US$7.5-billion disbursement to Argentina as
part of the larger program, which refinances payments Argentina
owes the institution from a previous bailout that failed to
stabilize the economy in 2018. Argentina would receive another IMF
disbursement in November of about US$2.75 billion pending another
staff-level agreement and board approval.

S&P Global Ratings, on June 13, 2023, raised its local currency
sovereign credit ratings on Argentina to 'CCC-/C' from 'SD/SD' and
0its national scale rating to 'raCCC+' from 'SD'. S&P also affirmed
its 'CCC-/C' foreign currency sovereign credit ratings on
Argentina. The outlook on the long-term ratings is negative. S&P's
'CCC-' transfer and convertibility assessment is unchanged. None of
its rated bond issues are affected.

S&P said the negative outlook on the long-term ratings is based on
the risks surrounding pronounced economic imbalances and policy
uncertainties before and after the 2023 national elections.
Divisions within the government coalition, and infighting among the
opposition, constrain the sovereign's ability to implement timely
changes in economic policy.

Fitch Ratings also upgraded on June 13, 2023, Argentina's Long-Term
Foreign Currency (FC) Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to 'CC' from
'C'and affirmed the Long-Term Local Currency (LC) IDR at 'CCC-'.
Fitch typically does not assign Outlooks to sovereigns with a
rating of 'CCC+' or below.

The upgrade of the FC IDR reflects that Fitch no longer deems a
default-like process to have begun, as the authorities have not
signaled a clear intention to follow through with an intra-public
debt swap announced in March. The new 'CC' rating signals a default
event of some sort appears probable in the coming years, regardless
of the outcome of upcoming elections. The affirmation of the LC IDR
at 'CCC-' follows the peso debt swap in June that Fitch did not
deem to be a "distressed debt exchange" (DDE).

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.


ARGENTINA: Reaches Deal with IMF Staff to Unlock US$4.7 Billion
---------------------------------------------------------------
Patrick Gillespie & Manuela Tobias at Bloomberg News report that
Argentina reached an agreement with staff from the International
Monetary Fund (IMF) on the seventh review of the country's
US$44-billion programme, likely unlocking a larger-than-expected
loan disbursement from the Washington-based lender.

Pending approval by its executive board, the IMF would make
available US$4.7 billion to President Javier Milei's government, it
said in a statement, according to Bloomberg News.  That's more than
the US$3.3 billion initially expected, which will be used to pay
down previous IMF debts due at the end of the month and beyond,
Bloomberg News relays.

Among the conditions agreed upon with the Fund, Argentina will
target this year a primary fiscal surplus of two percent of gross
domestic product, Bloomberg News discloses.  Milei's "ambitious
stabilization plan" is expected to boost net foreign reserves to
US$10 billion by year-end, including US$2.7 billion accumulated in
the final weeks of 2023, according to the statement, Bloomberg News
relays.

More broadly, the staff-level deal buys Milei time to decide
whether to continue with the current program brokered by his
predecessor or negotiate a new one, Bloomberg News notes.

"We have plenty of confidence that the measures we are adopting
will take us on the right path," Economy Minister Luis Caputo said
in a press conference following the announcement.  He added that
the IMF was open to exploring a new program but it was too early on
in the presidency for that, Bloomberg News relays.

The staff-level agreement comes after senior IMF officials visited
Argentina for negotiations, a symbolically positive development
after talks were held almost entirely outside the country for years
as tensions flared between President Alberto Fernández and the
Fund's leadership, Bloomberg News discloses.

Before this round of IMF talks, Milei's team, led by Economy
Minister Luis Caputo, proposed sharp austerity measures, mass
deregulation and implemented a 54 percent currency devaluation with
an aim of resetting the crisis-prone economy, Bloomberg News says.
Still, monetary policy remains a point of contention: IMF officials
have long insisted interest rates remain above inflation; the
Central Bank changed its benchmark instrument last month, leading
to a sharp rate cut despite galloping prices, Bloomberg News
notes.

Central Bank officials continue to maintain a crawling peg currency
system inherited from the previous government, letting the peso
slowly devalue only two percent a month, Bloomberg News relays.
Analysts say that pace won't last long with inflation at current
levels and the parallel peso beginning to sell off again in
January, Bloomberg News notes.

Milei's first IMF pact would mark a new chapter in the president's
most recent saga in Argentina where, by the Fund's own reckoning,
it faces major reputational risks, Bloomberg News notes.  A record
bailout in 2018 - where Caputo was ousted as Central Bank governor
at the time - failed to rescue the economy from a currency crisis
and was eventually replaced in 2022 with another agreement with
which the previous government routinely failed to comply, Bloomberg
News relays.

But so far, Milei and the fund are in a honeymoon phase, Bloomberg
News discloses.  IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva
applauded his first moves and top members of the president's
economic team even met with senior US Treasury officials in the
president's first month in office, Bloomberg News says.  Milei went
as far to say that the IMF "sees us as heroes" because of his
austerity-driven program, Bloomberg News notes.

While Milei enjoys support from Washington, his market-friendly
measures to fix Argentina's economy imply severe pain ahead, and
public pushback has already flared up, Bloomberg News relays.  A
general strike organised by labour unions is scheduled for January
24, while scenes of Buenos Aires residents banging pots and pans in
defiance of his austerity campaign are becoming routine, Bloomberg
News discloses.  Inflation likely surpassed 200 percent in
December, according to private estimates, as Milei dismantled price
controls amid the peso devaluation, Bloomberg News adds.

                      About Argentina

Argentina is a country located mostly in the southern half of South
America. Its capital is Buenos Aires. Javier Milei is the current
president of Argentina after winning the November 19, 2023 general
election. He succeeded Alberto Angel Fernandez 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.

The IMF's executive board completed on August 23, 2023, the fifth
and six reviews of Argentina's 30-month Extended Fund Facility
(EFF), and approved a US$7.5-billion disbursement to Argentina as
part of the larger program, which refinances payments Argentina
owes the institution from a previous bailout that failed to
stabilize the economy in 2018. Argentina would receive another IMF
disbursement in November of about US$2.75 billion pending another
staff-level agreement and board approval.

S&P Global Ratings, on June 13, 2023, raised its local currency
sovereign credit ratings on Argentina to 'CCC-/C' from 'SD/SD' and
0its national scale rating to 'raCCC+' from 'SD'. S&P also affirmed
its 'CCC-/C' foreign currency sovereign credit ratings on
Argentina. The outlook on the long-term ratings is negative. S&P's
'CCC-' transfer and convertibility assessment is unchanged. None of
its rated bond issues are affected.

S&P said the negative outlook on the long-term ratings is based on
the risks surrounding pronounced economic imbalances and policy
uncertainties before and after the 2023 national elections.
Divisions within the government coalition, and infighting among the
opposition, constrain the sovereign's ability to implement timely
changes in economic policy.

Fitch Ratings also upgraded on June 13, 2023, Argentina's Long-Term
Foreign Currency (FC) Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to 'CC' from
'C'and affirmed the Long-Term Local Currency (LC) IDR at 'CCC-'.
Fitch typically does not assign Outlooks to sovereigns with a
rating of 'CCC+' or below.

The upgrade of the FC IDR reflects that Fitch no longer deems a
default-like process to have begun, as the authorities have not
signaled a clear intention to follow through with an intra-public
debt swap announced in March. The new 'CC' rating signals a default
event of some sort appears probable in the coming years, regardless
of the outcome of upcoming elections. The affirmation of the LC IDR
at 'CCC-' follows the peso debt swap in June that Fitch did not
deem to be a "distressed debt exchange" (DDE).

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.


YPF SA: Sells US$800-Million Bond to Fund Debt Buyback
------------------------------------------------------
Kevin Simauchi & Maria Elena Vizcaino at Bloomberg News report that
Argentina's state-owned oil driller YPF SA tapped international
investors with a new dollar bond to help finance a buyback of
existing debt, according to people familiar with the matter.

The firm sold US$800 million in fixed-rate debt due 2031, according
to people familiar with the matter, according to Bloomberg News.
The notes priced at 99.083 cents on the dollar with a 9.75 percent
yield, down from initial price talk in the low 10%-range, said the
people, who asked not to be identified because they're not
authorized to speak about it, Bloomberg News relays.

The energy giant will start paying back principal on the debt in
July 2026, the people added, giving the bond a weighted average
life of about 4.75 years, Bloomberg News discloses.

The offering comes as YPF plans to repurchase as much as US$346
million in outstanding dollar bonds due in April,Bloomberg News
says.  The company said it would pay cash for the bonds and is
offering a premium for investors who tender before Jan. 19,
Bloomberg News relays.

Some investors questioned whether the bond provides a high enough
yield to compensate for risks as President Javier Milei attempts to
turn some of his economic campaign promises into reality, Bloomberg
News notes.  "It's hard to take a look at this ahead of Milei's
battle that looms with Congress," said Omotunde Lawal, head of EM
corporate debt at Baring Investment Services in London, Bloomberg
News says.

Bloomberg News notes that Milei has said he wants to privatise
state-run companies, pointing to YPF as an eventual target during
his campaign.  While the president can seek to privatise companies
by decree, he is expected to require support in Congress, where his
party has a minority,Bloomberg News relays.

Analysts at S&P Global Ratings said the focus remains on YPF's
ability to manage its liabilities.  "We view this transaction as
opportunistic," analysts Diego Ocampo and Amalia Bulacios wrote,
referring to the company's buyback plan.  "YPF's liquidity profile
remains healthy with sizeable cash reserves, ample access to
domestic markets, and manageable short-term debt maturities,"
Bloomberg News says.

The company had cash reserves of roughly US$1.3 billion at the end
of September, according to S&P. The analysts affirmed YPF's credit
rating at CCC-, deep in junk territory, with a negative outlook,
Bloomberg News notes.  Fitch Ratings has assigned YPF a CCC- score,
three notches above default, while Moody's Investors Service grades
the company at Caa3.

Citigroup Inc, JPMorgan Chase & Co and Santander are managing the
bond deal. A spokesperson for YPF didn't immediately respond to a
request for comment.

                           About YPF SA
       
YPF S.A. is a vertically integrated, majority state-owned Argentine
energy company, engaged in oil and gas exploration and production,
and the transportation, refining, and marketing of gas and
petroleum products.

Founded in 1922, YPF was an oil company established as a state
enterprise.  YPF was later privatized under president Carlos Menem
and was bought by the Spanish firm Repsol in 1999, and the
resulting merged company was call Repsol YPF.  

In 2012, about 51% of the firm was renationalized and this was
initiated by President Cristina Fernandez se Kirchner.  The
government of Argentina agreed to pay $5 billion compensation to
Repsol.

In April 2023, S&P Global Ratings lowered its local and foreign
currency ratings on YPF SA to 'CCC-' from 'CCC+'.  The outlook on
these ratings is now negative.  The downgrade follows a similar
action on S&P's long-term foreign currency ratings and T&C on
Argentina, following announced plans that, if implemented, would
oblige some nonfinancial public-sector entities to exchange or
sell their holdings of global-and local-law dollar-denominated
bonds issued during the 2020 restructuring for other locally issued
peso debt, likely dollar-and/or inflation-linked bonds. In S&P's
view, the lack of clarity and the apparent motivation for the
potential transaction underscore heightened credit vulnerabilities,
in particular given the increasing pressures from the severe
drought that Argentina is facing, which further constrains the
already disrupted FX market. This expected greater pressure on the
FX markets also explains S&P's downward revision of the T&C
assessment to 'CCC-'.




===========
B R A Z I L
===========

BRAZIL: Growing Household Debt Remains Below U.S. Ratios
--------------------------------------------------------
Richard Mann at Rio Times Online reports that the National
Confederation of Trade in Goods, Services, and Tourism (CNC)
reports an increase in Brazilian household debt from November to
December 2023.

However, there was a small decrease in the number of late payments,
according to Rio Times Online.  2023 was the first year since 2019
to see a drop in yearly debt, the report relays.

Still, as the CNC's Consumer Indebtedness and Delinquency Survey
shows, the delinquency rate almost reached one-third of the
population, the report discloses.

In December 2023, 77.6% of families had bills due, up from 76.6% in
November, the report relays.  This rate is lower than December
2022's 78.0%, 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.

S&P Global Ratings raised on Dec. 19, 2023, its long-term global
scale ratings on Brazil to 'BB' from 'BB-'. The outlook on the
long-term ratings is stable. S&P affirmed Brazil's global scale
short-term ratings at 'B' and its national scale long-term rating
at 'brAAA'. S&P also raised the transfer and convertibility
assessment on the country to 'BBB-' from 'BB+'. S&P said, "The
stable outlook reflects our expectation that Brazil will maintain a
strong external position, thanks to strong commodity output and
limited external financing needs. We also believe Brazil's
institutional framework can sustain stable and pragmatic
policymaking based on extensive checks and balances across the
executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government. We
expect a very gradual fiscal correction but anticipate fiscal
deficits will remain large."

Fitch Ratings affirmed on Dec. 15, 2023, Brazil's Long-Term
Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at 'BB' with a Stable
Outlook. Fitch said Brazil's ratings are supported by its large and
diverse economy, high per-capita income, and deep domestic markets
and a large cash cushion that support the sovereign's financing
flexibility and its high local-currency debt share. Strong external
finances support resilience to shocks, underpinned by a flexible
exchange rate, robust international reserves and a sovereign net
external creditor position. The ratings are constrained by weak
economic growth potential, relatively low governance scores, high
and rising government debt/GDP, and budgetary rigidities. A new
fiscal framework introduced this year aims to anchor a gradual
consolidation process and address these fiscal weaknesses, but its
effectiveness is increasingly unclear.

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 Inc., on August 15, 2023, upgraded Brazil's Long-Term
Foreign and Local Currency - Issuer Ratings to BB from BB (low).
At the same time, DBRS Morningstar confirmed Brazil's
Short-term Foreign and Local Currency - Issuer Ratings at R-4.
The trend on all ratings is Stable (March 2018).


BRAZIL: Weighs Bailout for Troubled Airlines as Fares Skyrocket
---------------------------------------------------------------
globalinsolvency.com, citing Bloomberg News, reports that Brazil's
development bank is considering granting loans to the country's
airlines as part of a government plan aimed at alleviating
financial pressures at Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes SA, Azul SA
and other carriers that have caused sharp increases in fares.

BNDES, as the bank is known, is looking for options to help the
airlines come up with sufficient collateral, according to three
people with knowledge of the matter, according to
globalinsolvency.com.

One idea is to turn a public aviation fund into a guarantee fund
for those loans, which still needs congressional approval, the
people said, asking not to be named because the discussions are
private, the report notes.

Azul and Gol need roughly 4 billion reais (US$817 million), but
BNDES is unlikely to provide the full amount due to how much
collateral the airlines can offer, said one of the people, the
report relays.

The companies, which weathered the pandemic without filing for
chapter 11 or government aid, are finding themselves in a more
challenging position than Latam Airlines Group, which went through
bankruptcy, 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.

S&P Global Ratings raised on Dec. 19, 2023, its long-term global
scale ratings on Brazil to 'BB' from 'BB-'. The outlook on the
long-term ratings is stable. S&P affirmed Brazil's global scale
short-term ratings at 'B' and its national scale long-term rating
at 'brAAA'. S&P also raised the transfer and convertibility
assessment on the country to 'BBB-' from 'BB+'. S&P said, "The
stable outlook reflects our expectation that Brazil will maintain a
strong external position, thanks to strong commodity output and
limited external financing needs. We also believe Brazil's
institutional framework can sustain stable and pragmatic
policymaking based on extensive checks and balances across the
executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government. We
expect a very gradual fiscal correction but anticipate fiscal
deficits will remain large."

Fitch Ratings affirmed on Dec. 15, 2023, Brazil's Long-Term
Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at 'BB' with a Stable
Outlook. Fitch said Brazil's ratings are supported by its large and
diverse economy, high per-capita income, and deep domestic markets
and a large cash cushion that support the sovereign's financing
flexibility and its high local-currency debt share. Strong external
finances support resilience to shocks, underpinned by a flexible
exchange rate, robust international reserves and a sovereign net
external creditor position. The ratings are constrained by weak
economic growth potential, relatively low governance scores, high
and rising government debt/GDP, and budgetary rigidities. A new
fiscal framework introduced this year aims to anchor a gradual
consolidation process and address these fiscal weaknesses, but its
effectiveness is increasingly unclear.

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 Inc., on August 15, 2023, upgraded Brazil's Long-Term
Foreign and Local Currency - Issuer Ratings to BB from BB (low).
At the same time, DBRS Morningstar confirmed Brazil's
Short-term Foreign and Local Currency - Issuer Ratings at R-4.
The trend on all ratings is Stable (March 2018).


PETROBRAS: S&P Affirms 'BB' ICR on New M&G Criteria
---------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings has assigned a new management & governance (M&G)
assessment of moderately negative to Brazil-based Petroleo
Brasileiro S.A. - Petrobras. At the same time, S&P has affirmed its
issuer credit ratings on Petrobras at 'BB' on the global scale and
'brAAA' on the Brazilian national scale. S&P has also affirmed its
issue-level ratings on the company, and removed all its ratings
from under criteria observation (UCO).

S&P said, "Our stable outlook on our ratings on Petrobras mirrors
that on Brazil, because the sovereign rating currently caps our
ratings on Petrobras.

"The affirmation follows the revision to our criteria for
evaluating the credit risks presented by an entity's M&G framework.
The terms management and governance encompass the broad range of
oversight and direction conducted by an entity's owners, board
representatives, and executive managers. These activities and
practices can impact an entity's creditworthiness and, as such, the
M&G modifier is an important component of our analysis.

"Our M&G assessment of moderately negative points to certain
management and governance weaknesses that weigh on Petrobras'
creditworthiness. This is because of some concerns about the
board's effectiveness and ability to protect interests of all the
company's stakeholders. This includes risks of potential government
interference in Petrobras' fuel pricing policy, which could harm
its profitability and cash flow, as has occurred in the past.
There's also a history of high turnover rates at Petrobras' board
of directors, which also results in executive management
departures.

"By assigning the new M&G assessment--and applying a one-notch
downward revision of the 'bbb-' anchor due to governance
weaknesses--we have also revised our comparable rating analysis
modifier from negative to neutral. The previous negative modifier
used to reflect Petrobras' still limited track record of solid
profitability and low leverage under various administrations, given
governance risks resulting from the controlling shareholder's (the
government's) appointments of the majority of the company's board
of directors."




=============
J A M A I C A
=============

JAMAICA: Earns Less From Manufacturing Exports for Jan-Aug 2023
---------------------------------------------------------------
RJR News reports that Jamaica earned 9.6 per cent less money from
the export of goods in the manufacturing industry.

Earnings from goods going overseas in the industry was valued at
US$591.7 million for January to August 2023, according to RJR
News.

STATIN says this was due to lower income from the Other
Manufactured Products sub-category, the report notes.

Earnings from goods in this grouping was valued at US$335.7
million, 22.4 per cent lower than for the previous year, the report
relays.

This was due to lower exports of Refined Petroleum Products, which
decreased by 22.9 per cent to US$300 million, the report adds.

                      About Jamaica

Jamaica is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea.
Jamaica is an upper-middle income country with an economy heavily
dependent on tourism.  Other major sectors of the Jamaican economy
include agriculture, mining, manufacturing, petroleum refining,
financial and insurance services.

In October 2023, Moody's upgraded the Government of Jamaica's
long-term issuer and senior unsecured ratings to B1 from B2, and
senior unsecured shelf rating to (P)B1 from (P)B2. The outlook has
been changed to positive from stable.  The upgrade of Jamaica's
rating to B1 reflects the government's sustained commitment to
fiscal consolidation and debt reduction.  The positive outlook
reflects Moody's assessment that a continuation of the favorable
fiscal trajectory will further increase Jamaica's credit
resilience.

S&P Global Ratings raised on September 13, 2023, its long-term
foreign and local currency sovereign credit ratings on Jamaica to
'BB-' from 'B+', and affirmed its short-term foreign and local
currency sovereign credit ratings at 'B'.  The stable outlook
reflects S&P's expectation that the government will remain
committed to prudent fiscal policies and reducing debt, as well as
supportive economic policies including a flexible exchange rate
regime and effective monetary policy.  

In March 2022, Fitch Ratings affirmed Jamaica's Long-Term Foreign
Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at 'B+'. The Rating Outlook is
Stable.




=====================================
T R I N I D A D   A N D   T O B A G O
=====================================

TRINIDAD & TOBAGO: Farmers Brace for Harsh Dry Season
-----------------------------------------------------
Kim Boodram at Trinidad Express reports that farmers countrywide
are calling on the Trinidad and Tobago Government to prioritise
agriculture during what is expected to be a harsh 2024 dry season.

Shiraz Khan, head of the Sheep and Goat Farmers Association, was
among those expressing concern that crops and livestock could be
impacted again this year by lack of access to sufficient water,
according to Trinidad Express.

In a telephone interview, Khan recalled that agriculture was hit
hard between April and August 2023 when intermittent dry spells and
heat waves caused crop and animal losses, the report notes.

Khan said any repeat during this dry season would cause consecutive
losses for farmers and would spark higher food prices for
consumers, the report relays.

He said higher prices seen at fresh markets since Divali 2023 have
been linked mostly to excessively hot temperatures in the months
before, the report discloses.

Khan said in the event of heatwaves, farmers were mostly at the
mercy of the climate as fruiting trees and short-term crops were
losing their flowers before producing, the report says.

However, he claimed some losses, including among livestock, could
have been prevented with better access to water, the report
relays.

Khan said some Central Trinidad areas, such as Carlsen Field, were
"suffering" for adequate water supplies, the report says.

"Sometimes two to four days, we don't have water," Khan said,
adding that farmers were forced to buy water at a cost of sometimes
thousands per week, the report notes.

However, water wasn't always available for purchase, he said.

Khan further said the Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA) built a
water distribution plant in Carlsen Field which farmers and
residents were told would have alleviated their woes, the report
notes.

But he said the water from the plant was being diverted to supply
increased Government housing projects in that district, the report
discloses.

Khan said among those impacted were dairy farmers, whose overall
annual production has dropped in recent years, the report relays.

Khan said farmers who sold to Nestle last year received complaints
about the quality of their milk, which was affected by lack of
water, the report notes.

Complaints about inconsistent or no water supply were also made by
farmers, including poultry farmers, in the Warrenville area, as
well as in Felicity, the report relays.

Trinidad Express says that Public Utilities Minister Marvin
Gonzales has, however, called on farmers to secure some water ahead
of the dry season and move away from traditional methods of
irrigation.

Gonzales said that WASA could only provide water that it has and
that is available, as he noted that surface water levels decline
significantly during the dry season, the report relays.

He reiterated that surface and aquifer levels depend on rainfall
and climatic conditions, during a telephone interview with Express,
the report notes.

Gonzales said these conditions were directly related to the
authority's ability to provide water, noting that WASA was
"willing" to provide to the agriculture industry, the report says.

The minister went on to tell farmers that they have "a role to
play" and should "move away from traditional ways of irrigation,"
the report relays.

Gonzales said healthy crops could be produced using "drip"
irrigation and called on farmers to "utilise new technologies" that
consume less water, the report discloses.

Gonzales at the weekend called on people to conserve water from
now, as the Trinidad and Tobago Meteorological Service (TTMS) has
forecast a hotter and drier dry season, 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
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Chapman, Editors.

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