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☆ Here are Monday's biggest analyst calls: Nvidia, Apple, Amazon, U.S. Steel, Micron, Disney, Citi & more
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-06 | by ( Michael Bloom | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Here are the biggest calls on Wall Street on Monday: Morgan Stanley initiates EHang Holdings as overweight Morgan Stanley said it's bullish on shares of the Asia autonomous aerial vehicle company. Morgan Stanley downgrades Victoria's Secret to underweight from equal weight Morgan Stanley said it sees "underappreciated downside" for the lingerie company. Citi downgrades Peloton to neutral from buy Citi said in its downgrade of the stock that it has "limited visibility." Morgan Stanley upgrades U.S. Steel to overweight from equal weight Morgan Stanley said in its upgrade of U.S. Steel that it likes the company's "transformational investments." Morgan Stanley reiterates Apple as overweight Morgan Stanley said it's sticking with its overweight rating on Apple after analyzing the company's quarterly 10-Q report.

Persons: Morgan Stanley, it's, Baird, Morgan Stanley downgrades, Wells, Bausch, Lomb, Apple, Johnson, MLCO, Moffett, Melius, inferencing, JPMorgan Organizations: EHang Holdings, EH, Deutsche Bank, Disney, Deutsche, Micron, Citi, Comerica, CMA, Steel, U.S . Steel, Apple, Services, UBS, JCI, Barclays, Resorts, Nvidia, Broadcom, AMD, Microsoft, JPMorgan, Group, Bank of America, Santander Brasil, of America Locations: Asia, U.S

☆ Ex-CEO of Brazil's Americanas says he did not expect to lead bankrupt firm
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Aug 22 (Reuters) - The former head of Brazilian retailer Americanas (AMER3.SA) quit two weeks into the job because he had not expected to take over a bankrupt firm, he told Brazilian lawmakers probing its $5 billion accounting fraud on Tuesday. Former Chief Executive Sergio Rial, who testified in a congressional investigation, resigned on Jan. 11, the same day Americanas revealed accounting inconsistencies that were later found to be fraud. I did not buy into an insolvent project," he told lawmakers, saying he had not expected Americanas' debt to exceed its assets. Rial in March testified before senators saying Americanas' previous management had created difficulties in disclosing information about the company's situation and the succession process. Reporting by Carolina Pulice and Peter Frontini; Editing by Cynthia OstermanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Sergio Rial, Rial, Americanas, Carolina Pulice, Peter Frontini, Cynthia Osterman Organizations: SA, Jan, Santander Brasil, 3G, Thomson

☆ Brazil's Localiza launches $935.5 mln share offering to expand fleet
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SAO PAULO, June 16 (Reuters) - Brazilian car rental company Localiza (RENT3.SA) said on Friday it will launch a follow-on share offering aimed at raising as much as 4.5 billion reais ($935.51 million) to expand its car fleet and service network. The primary offering will initially comprise 60.02 million new shares, Localiza said in a securities filing, but could be increased by up to 12.5% if demand allows it. Considering its closing price of 66.64 reais per share on Thursday, the offering would total around 4 billion reais, the company said. Shares of Localiza slipped around 2% after the move was announced, making it one of the biggest fallers on Brazil's Bovespa stock index (.BVSP). ($1 = 4.8102 reais)Reporting by Gabriel Araujo; Editing by Steven Grattan, Louise Heavens and Conor HumphriesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Localiza, Bradesco, BTG Pactual, Gabriel Araujo, Steven Grattan, Louise Heavens, Conor Humphries Organizations: SAO PAULO, JPMorgan, UBS Brasil, Santander, Bank of America, Banco Safra, XP, Thomson Locations: Santander Brasil

☆ Brazil's Santander to sell 40% of WebMotors to Carsales.com for $240 mln
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SAO PAULO, March 7 (Reuters) - Brazilian lender Santander Brasil SA said on Tuesday it will sell 40% of car-selling platform WebMotors to Australia's Carsales.com (CAR.AX) for 1.24 billion reais ($238.87 million). Carsales will hold 70% of WebMotors after the deal is concluded, while Santander will own the remaining 30%. The lender will continue as a partner of the platform in providing credit, insurance and other financial solutions to its users. The deal will be accompanied by a capital increase of A$500 million ($329 million) in Carsales, Santander said. ($1 = 5.1910 reais)($1 = 1.5188 Australian dollars)Reporting by Fabricio de Castro; Writing by Peter Frontini; Editing by Isabel WoodfordOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ BTG Pactual joins Brazilian lenders hit by post-Americanas provisions
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( Gabriel Araujo | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SAO PAULO, Feb 13 (Reuters) - Banco BTG Pactual SA (BPAC3.SA) on Monday became the latest Brazilian lender to be affected by bad credit provisions due to what it called a "specific, widely publicized event," likely referring to the bankruptcy of Americanas SA (AMER3.SA). BTG reported a quarterly net profit of 1.64 billion reais ($314.5 million), slightly down from 1.74 billion a year earlier and below the market consensus of 2.27 billion, according to analysts polled by Refinitiv. BTG's "good cost discipline" in the quarter helped reduce the impact of the provisions, JPMorgan said. "Despite all the challenges, we expect higher returns in 2023, with greater operating leverage and possibly even higher capital and liquidity levels," BTG Chief Executive Officer Roberto Sallouti said. ($1 = 5.2151 reais)Reporting by Gabriel Araujo; Editing by David Holmes, Kirsten Donovan and Paul SimaoOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Santander Brasil's Q4 net profit slumps as loan-loss provisions bite
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SAO PAULO, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Banco Santander Brasil SA (SANB3.SA) on Thursday posted a slump in fourth-quarter net profit as loan-loss provisions rose against a backdrop of higher interest rates and deteriorating credit conditions. The bank's quarterly net profit reached 1.69 billion reais ($334.3 million), down 56% from the previous year, as provisions for bad credit nearly doubled amid higher interest rates. He said net interest income came under pressure from changes in the product mix and higher interest rates, a trend set to persist throughout this year. Santander Brasil's loan-loss provisions reached 7.36 billion reais, pressured by bad credit in loans to individuals, the bank said. In the full year of 2022, its net profit dropped 21.1% from the previous year to 12.9 billion reais, while full-year provisions rose 72.7% and net interest income fell 6.8%.

☆ Large Brazilian banks may set aside around $890 mln for Americanas losses in Q4
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Aluisio Alves | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SAO PAULO, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Brazilian banks may start setting aside provisions for losses with retailer Americanas already in the fourth quarter of 2022, analysts say. Banks such as BTG Pactual , Bradesco (BBDC4.SA), Santander Brasil , Itaú Unibanco Holding (ITUB4.SA) and Banco do Brasil (BBAS3.SA) have around 15 billion reais in loans with Americanas, according to analyst reports. Analysts estimate the banks may provision around 30% of their loans in the fourth quarter, which would be equivalent to 4.5 billion reais ($890 million), even with bankruptcy protection taking place in January, as a precautionary measure allowed by the Brazilian central bank. The first Brazilian bank to release fourth quarter earnings, on Thursday, is Banco Santander Brasil. ($1 = 5.0544 reais)Reporting by Aluisio Alves; Writing by Tatiana Bautzerd; Editing by Jonathan OatisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Bankrupt Brazilian retailer Americanas owes about $8 bln, court finds
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Gabriel Araujo | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SAO PAULO, Jan 25 (Reuters) - Brazilian retailer Americanas SA (AMER3.SA) owes a variety of creditors around $8 billion, a Rio de Janeiro court said on Wednesday, providing the most detailed picture yet of the banks and other groups exposed to the company's bankruptcy. The list provided on Wednesday includes roughly 41.2 billion reais ($8.1 billion) in debt, according to the court, which initially did not disclose the names of the creditors. Brazilian banks BTG Pactual (BPAC3.SA), Bradesco (BBDC4.SA) and Santander Brasil (SANB3.SA) - which analysts previously said were among the most exposed - were also listed, with debts of more than 3.5 billion reais each. Earlier this week, Capital International Investors also announced it had reduced its position in Americanas to 4.07% from 7.04%. Shares in Americanas were up 20% to 0.96 real on Wednesday, but still down roughly 90% year-to-date.

☆ Brazilian retailer Americanas reports 7,720 creditors, $8 bln in debt
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Gabriel Araujo | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SAO PAULO, Jan 25 (Reuters) - Brazilian retailer Americanas SA (AMER3.SA) reported 7,720 creditors and debt totaling nearly $8 billion within its restructuring process, a Rio de Janeiro court said on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE) topped the list of creditors initially revealed by Americanas, but the German lender later said it had no lending relationship or credit exposure to the Brazilian company. The list provided on Wednesday included roughly 41.2 billion reais ($8.1 billion) in debt, according to the court, which initially did not disclose the names of the creditors. Later, however, Americanas revealed the full list in a securities filing, ranging from small debts with individuals and cities to multibillion-reais debts with banks. Deutsche Bank appeared with a $1 billion debt, but said in an emailed statement that it had no direct exposure to the Brazilian firm.

☆ Brazilian lender Santander's Chairman Rial resigns
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SAO PAULO, Jan 20 (Reuters) - Brazilian lender Santander Brasil SA said on Friday its chairman and former chief executive, Sergio Rial, is resigning from his position at the firm. The resignation comes just days after Rial quit his short-lived job as chief executive of retailer Americanas SA after finding accounting "inconsistencies" that led the company to file for bankruptcy protection. Rial was Santander Brasil's CEO for six years, as well as the bank's regional head for South America, before transitioning to board chairman in early 2022. He is also chairman of the board at fuel distributor Vibra Energia SA (VBBR3.SA), vice chair at BRF SA (BRFS3.SA) and a board member at Delta Air Lines (DAL.N). Rial will be replaced on an interim basis by his vice chair, Deborah Stern Vieitas, until the bank's next general meeting on April 28.

Americanas on Tuesday disclosed that it did not pay interest due on Monday of more than 2 billion reais ($392 million) in local bonds. It made the disclosure in a filing responding to a question by securities regulator CVM, saying that it was allowed not to pay under the injunction. Fitch said that if Americanas formally announces a debt restructuring plan, its ratings will be downgraded to RD or D reflecting a default. Fitch said the retailer, backed by the billionaire founders of 3G Capital, has an unsustainable capital structure with the addition of an estimated 20 billion reais in previously undisclosed liabilities. The company last year paid 516.6 million reais in dividends related to the results in 2021, according to securities filings.

SAO PAULO, Jan 16 (Reuters) - Brazilian lenders BTG Pactual, Bradesco and Santander Brasil are among those most exposed to debt of Americanas SA (AMER3.SA), analysts' estimates showed on Monday, after the retailer obtained an injunction protecting it from creditors. Analysts at JPMorgan and Citi said in research notes that Banco Bradesco SA (BBDC4.SA) had the largest nominal exposure to the firm, while Banco BTG Pactual SA topped exposure as a proportion of loans. Considering JPMorgan's and Citi's estimates, BTG had a 1.9 billion-real exposure to Americanas, which was seen accounting for roughly 1.5% of its loans, while Bradesco had exposure of 4.7 billion reais, or 0.5% of loans. Banco Santander Brasil SA , the local unit of Spain's Banco Santander (SAN.MC), had 3.7 billion reais in exposure, or about 0.6% of loans. Sergio Rial, the outgoing Americanas chief executive who uncovered the accounting inconsistencies, is a former head of Santander Brasil, where he still serves as chairman of the board.

☆ Bigger loans help Brazil bank Itau's earnings outclass peers
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Latin America's largest bank reported a third-quarter recurring net income of 8.08 billion reais ($1.51 billion), landing just below the 8.11 billion reais estimate of analysts polled by Refinitiv. Itau hiked its provisions for bad loans by nearly 50% to 8.27 billion reais, though unlike its peers, it did not raise its 2022 forecast for loan-loss provisions. The size of its loan book surged 15.5% year-on-year to reach 1.11 trillion reais, fueled by more personal loans. The company also reported higher income from interest it earned on customer debt. Its customer net interest income (NII) jumped 33% from a year earlier to reach 23.38 billion reais.

☆ Brazilian lender Itau's higher profits slightly miss forecasts on bad loan provisions
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SAO PAULO, Nov 10 (Reuters) - Brazilian lender Itau Unibanco SA (ITUB4.SA) on Thursday posted a 19% jump in recurring net profit, which nevertheless landed slightly below expectations as it raised provisions for bad loans amid soaring interest rates. Latin America's largest bank reported a third-quarter recurring net income of 8.08 billion reais ($1.51 billion). Analysts polled by Refinitiv had expected profit of 8.11 billion reais. Net interest income (NII) from its customers jumped 33% from a year earlier to reach 23.38 billion reais. Itau reported a 90-day default ratio of 2.8% at the end of September, rising above the previous quarter's 2.7% albeit at a much slower pace than its peers.

☆ Banco do Brasil hikes 2022 outlook as surging profit tops forecasts
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SAO PAULO, Nov 9 (Reuters) - Brazilian state lender Banco do Brasil SA (BBAS3.SA) on Wednesday hiked its full-year profit outlook on the back of bigger-than-expected quarterly earnings, helped by higher interest income on a bigger loan book. Banco do Brasil now expects its 2022 profit to reach between 30.5 billion and 32.5 billion reais ($5.9-$6.3 billion), up from a previous range of 27 billion to 30 billion reais. Over the third quarter, its loan book grew 19% for the same period last year to 969.2 billion reais. The lender's quarterly adjusted net income meanwhile surged 63% from a year earlier, reaching 8.36 billion reais and surpassing the 7.36 billion estimate of analysts polled by Refinitiv. Banco do Brasil set aside 4.52 billion reais in provisions for possible loan defaults, up 15.1% from a year earlier.

☆ JPMorgan-backed digital bank C6 to open Brazil branch network
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( Aluisio Alves | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SÃO PAULO, Oct 19 (Reuters) - Brazilian lender C6 Bank is set to open its first five brick-and-mortar branches in the country in the next few weeks, an executive has revealed, enhancing the competition between the JPMorgan-backed digital bank and large retail lenders for high income clients in Latin America's largest economy. Similar units in Brazilian large cap lenders include Banco Bradesco SA's Prime (BBDC4.SA) and Banco Santander Brasil SA's Van Gogh . With the physical branches initiative, C6 aims to increase its share in the high income market, which it expects to cover some 5 million people in the country. In 2021, the purchase of a 40% stake in C6 marked JPMorgan Chase & Co's (JPM.N) debut in Brazil's retail banking. C6 was founded by former partners at Banco BTG Pactual SA , Latin America's largest independent investment bank.

☆ Analysis: Lula, Bolsonaro and market look to cure Brazil consumer debt hangover
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-17 | by ( Tatiana Bautzer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

With nearly 70 million Brazilians blacklisted by credit agency Serasa, owing 290 billion reais ($54.4 billion), debt relief is smart politics in a closely fought presidential campaign, ahead of an Oct. 30 runoff vote. Advisers say he would focus first on 95 billion reais of unpaid bills accumulated by families earning up to 3,600 reais ($676) per month. Later steps would focus on incentives to restructure bank debt, for this population. Looking to steal his thunder, right-wing incumbent Jair Bolsonaro announced a program offering a sharp discount on bank debts. But the scope is far more modest, applying to some 4 million borrowers from state bank Caixa Economica Federal, which estimated about 1 billion reais of restructuring.

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