According to latest estimates, over 600,000 people will be visiting Brazil during the upcoming FIFA World Cup, the once-every-four years football extravaganza due to be held between 12 June and 13 July. Some US$11bn has been spent on preparations for the event. The matches will be held in 12 different cities across the country. The vast majority of the visitors – perhaps over 90% – will get to the country and to the different venues by air. On paper, this should mean a bonanza for Latin American and international airlines. In reality, apparently not: airline executives are decidedly down in…

In spite of patchy economic growth in much of the region, and rising interest rates in Brazil, premiums and profits at Latin America’s leading insurance companies surged in 2013. The good times should continue in 2014 and beyond. One of the largest corporate deals to take place in Latin America in 2013 was the formation of BB Seguridade Participações SA, the holding company for Banco do Brasil’s various insurance businesses. Aside from massive economies of scale, the combination of the insurance operations of Banco do Brasil with the Brazilian business of Spanish giant MAPFRE sought to exploit various advantages. In…

Rampant inflation, crimped household budgets, lacklustre economic growth, volatile financial markets and limited access to foreign currency had little adverse impact on the fortunes of Argentina’s retailers over the last year or so. This year should be a fairly good period for them as well. According to the national statistics institute (INDEC), total sales through the country’s supermarkets rose from ARS104bn (US$13bn) in 2012 to ARS131.7bn (US$16.5bn) in 2013 – an increase of 26.7%. Supermarket sales in the first two months of 2014 were up 32.9% year-on-year over the corresponding period of 2013. Of course, these numbers need to be…