The Rio Times

Your Wednesday guide: Peru’s rate decision, Chile’s firmer peso and rent unit, and 18 days to Brazil’s runoff, with the day’s exchange rates.

Flamengo lead the Brasileirão by three points as round 29 returns.

São Paulo Daily Brief for Wednesday 7 October 2026: weather, museums, sport, transport and today's best pick for expats and digital nomads.

Your Rio de Janeiro daily brief for Wednesday, October 7: real weather, open cultural venues, the runoff election story and markets in words only.

Latin America Pulse: Brazil's right is euphoric after the first round, Argentina says goodbye to Messi, and Chile and Peru face slow growth and El Niño.

US stocks hit a record, oil holds near US$100 after the G7 reserve release, and Fed minutes arrive today.

Latin America opens after the Ibovespa fell 0.52% on Tuesday, with oil near US$90 a barrel, Fed minutes due at 2 pm ET and Peru's central bank deciding.

The Selic at 13.75%, Copom's 4 November decision, car sales and IGP-DI inflation set the tone for Brazil's open after Tuesday's 0.52% Ibovespa dip.

Grain funds rose on 6 October, with wheat supported by Black Sea disruption.

Latin American steel shares fell on 6 October as cheap Chinese imports and weak demand weigh on margins.

Zinc held near US$3,740 a tonne as Peru, the second-largest miner, produced 12% less zinc.

Iron ore proxies fell on 6 October as China's crude steel output dropped 3.7% in August.

Lithium shares rose on 6 October without a price signal from China, which was on holiday.

Copper edged up on 6 October as miners lagged the metal.

Gold and silver gained on 6 October as the US dollar index fell 0.22% and Treasury yields eased.

Oil edged up on 6 October as Saudi supply risk offset the G7 reserve release.

Colombia's peso swung between 3,172 and 3,244 per dollar before Wednesday's inflation data.

Argentina's Merval gained 1% for a second day as country risk fell to 573 points, from 655 on Friday.

Chile's IPSA added 0.36% to 11,164 after Monday's 1.9% jump, led by Copec and LATAM Airlines.

The S&P/BMV IPC closed above 65,000 for the first time in a week as the peso firmed.

The Ibovespa slipped 0.52% to 205,835 as Banco do Brasil fell 6.42% and Bradesco rose 4.40%.

Prosecutors in Panama arrested Enrique Lau Cortés, the former head of the social security fund, in a money-laundering and illicit-enrichment probe.

Uruguay's central bank says 72% of private deposits are still in foreign currency, and that dollar savers lost about 6% a year in local buying power.

Brazil's electoral prosecutors backed Anthony Garotinho's dropped appeal, so the Rio governor runoff may be cancelled and Douglas Ruas could win with 50.88%.

Paraguay's police caught the last fugitive in the abduction of two young women after a rodeo festival, one of whom was shot dead in a cemetery.

The Dominican police spokesman says there is no order to kill fugitives, after 55 of September's 125 homicides were deaths in alleged shootouts with officers.

Mexico's economy should grow 1.4% in 2026, the World Bank forecast on Tuesday, a small upgrade as policy uncertainty and trade friction weigh on investment.

Cáritas Cuba received 700 US-funded food kits and 700 hygiene kits on Tuesday 6 October, part of a US$100 million US aid fund run partly through the Church.

Guatemala promised to finish its press protection plan this year after a reporter was shot dead in Huehuetenango, a department the US says to avoid.

Consumer prices in Bolivia rose 0.85% in September, lifting 12-month inflation to 5.70% from 5.02%, as tomatoes jumped 38% and chicken fell 19%.

Costa Rica will probe the political ties of Guobin Tam Zhang, a drug suspect held for extradition to the US, after he appeared at the president's victory party.

Ecuador's main oil pipeline is pumping again four days after a fire, restoring crude for refineries and exports that bring US dollars into the economy.

Brazil's Senate began debating an end to the 6-day work week on Tuesday 6 October, two days after an election that left its conservative opponents stronger.

Fuerza Regida brings This Is Our Dream Tour to Mexico City's Palacio de los Deportes for eight nights from 31 January 2027.

Nigeria's voter register now tops 103 million, about 10 million more than in 2023, and 71% of voters are aged 35 or older, the electoral commission says.

The Rwanda IMF review found the programme on track despite inflation of 15.7%, but the payout of about US$35.7 million still needs IMF board approval.

The Bank of Ghana has named 20 more unlicensed loan apps, its third such list since August, and warned banks not to process their payments.

The first F-16 Block 72 fighter built for Morocco has made its maiden flight, Lockheed Martin said on Tuesday.

The OUTsurance buyout swaps new shares for a stake held by the founder, executives and staff, ending a two-layer structure before a vote on 24 November.

President William Ruto witnessed a US$3 billion electric vehicle memorandum with Endelevu, partner of China's Geely, aiming at 50,000 cars a year in Kenya.

Four development lenders, including a US agency, have completed their review of Gabon's Orinko gas power plant, which seeks about US$209 million from them.

At a partners’ roundtable in Dakar on Tuesday, Senegal’s finance minister asked for grants and soft loans to fund a US$686 million power plan.

A minister claims some Nigerian staple food prices have dropped by up to 50%, but official statistics show food cost about a fifth more than a year ago.

A Peruvian court sentenced a man to 15 years at first instance for aiding the Shining Path, whose leader carries a US reward of up to US$5 million.

Colombia producer prices rose 2.20% in September as mining prices jumped 12.21%, adding to inflation pressure weeks before the next central bank decision.

A late swing in Peru's official count puts Guillermo La Torre on course for the Piura runoff, and no ticket has 30% in Junín, Loreto or Pasco either.

Argentina is paying old public works debt with peso bonds, not cash, which keeps the cost out of the budget result it promised the IMF to balance.

Chile, the main supplier of refined copper to the US, will barely grow this year, the World Bank says, before a 3% rebound it now expects in 2027.

The UN mission investigating abuses in Venezuela will run until 2028 after a 25-to-5 vote in Geneva on Tuesday, though Caracas argued it should end.

Peru will charge up to US$14.30 extra on each Chinese one-piece toilet for five years, after its trade watchdog found they undercut local prices by about 40%.