Finance

Wärtsilä to convert Brazil's Termocabo plant to gas and secures 10-year, 50 MW contract
Wärtsilä will carry out the natural gas conversion of the Termocabo power plant in Cabo de Santo Agostinho (Pernambuco, Brazil), which will stop using heavy fuel oil. The solution allowed Termocabo S.A. to take part in Brazil's 2026 Capacity Auction and win a 10-year PPA to supply 50 MW. The order was booked in the third quarter and operation is expected in July 2028. The EPC contract includes converting three Wärtsilä 46 engines to the 50SG configuration and upgrading electrical and automation systems.
FinanceInternationalInspenetOct 26AI
IPSA closes at nearly five-month low as Latam shares plunge after Brazil's electoral upset
The Chilean stock market closed lower on Monday: the MSCI IPSA fell 1.6% to 10,575.69 points, its third straight losing session and its lowest level since June 10, after Lula da Silva's presidential victory in Brazil. Enel Américas (-8.6%) and Latam (-5.8%) led the declines. The airline traded more than 106 billion pesos, nearly half of national equity flow. The Bovespa plunged 13.9% in Sao Paulo and Colombia's Colcap fell 1.9%, while Wall Street rose.
FinanceInternationalDiario FinancieroOct 26AI
Brent tops $117 and gas approaches €100 on geopolitical tension
The Brent benchmark in Europe has climbed above $117 a barrel, while West Texas trades around $102 and natural gas moves toward €100. The rise reflects concern over possible supply disruptions from the Persian Gulf, where Iranian attacks on ships around the Strait of Hormuz persist. The week is also marked by meetings of the Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank and the Bank of Japan, with no rate moves expected in November.
FinanceInternationalRTVE.esOct 26AI
Brazil's Finance Minister targets a more ambitious primary surplus for next year
Brazil's Finance Minister Dario Durigan said in an interview with local agency Broadcast that the government will set a goal of achieving a higher effective primary surplus next year, without specifying a figure. The remarks came after a broad decline in Brazilian markets following the re-election of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Durigan also said the government plans to submit to Congress a bill requiring policymakers to formally set the midpoint of the primary balance target as the goal.
FinanceInternationalEl Nuevo HeraldOct 26AI
US grain cart sales fall nearly 40%
The US self-unloading grain cart market is going through a sharp contraction after the high-demand cycle of 2021 to 2023. According to an analysis by Tractor Zoom, retail sales fell about 40% year on year and time spent in inventory rose around 33%, to nearly 400 days. Lower farm profitability, slower combine sales and the durability of the equipment explain the weakness, while average grain cart capacity grew about 40% between 2021 and 2026.
FinanceInternationalMaquinacOct 26AI
Dollar closed at 3,130 pesos on October 26, 25 pesos below its opening price
The dollar in Colombia opened this Monday, October 26, 2026, at 3,155 pesos and closed at 3,130 pesos, a drop of 25 pesos, according to Banco de la República monitoring. The Market Average Rate stood at 3,157.567 pesos, with a movement of around 1,197.737 million dollars. The Representative Market Rate started the session at 3,158.43 pesos, below Friday, October 23.
FinanceColombiaNoticias RCNOct 26AI
AIFI26 Colombia will gather banking and fintech leaders in Bogotá to discuss AI
AIFI26 Colombia will take place on October 27 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Bogotá, with the participation of executives from banking, fintech and technology companies. The agenda includes autonomous artificial intelligence agents, instant payments and interoperability with Bre-B as a reference, and the evolution of the financial system toward 2030. It will also address the challenges of scaling AI: security, technology architecture, data management and specialized talent.
FinanceColombiaRevista SemanaOct 26AI
Masdar acquires a solar project of more than 550 MW in Greece from Lightsource bp
Masdar, headquartered in Abu Dhabi, closed an agreement with Lightsource bp to acquire and develop a photovoltaic complex of more than 550 MW in Greece, which will include a battery storage system. The facility is expected to begin commercial operations at the end of 2026 and to supply electricity equivalent to the annual consumption of more than 200,000 Greek households. The project requires two privately owned electrical substations to connect to the country's transmission system. It is the Emirati group's first strategic investment through TERNA ENERGY.
FinanceInternationalInspenetOct 26AI
Air-e electricity rate rises to $936 per kilowatt in Barranquilla starting in November
Air-e users in Barranquilla face a new increase in their electricity bills: since November the kilowatt has gone from $873 to $936, a 7% rise that exceeds the country's annual inflation. The adjustment is already reflected in November bills and, according to the Public Utilities Users League, equals a full year of inflation. Users also point to CREG fines for exceeding the established consumption.
FinanceColombiaNoticias RCNOct 26AI
Credicorp projects the dollar at 3,250 pesos at year-end and between 3,519 and 3,600 for 2027
Credicorp estimates the dollar will close the year at 3,250 pesos, near the market consensus of 3,258, and that in 2027 it will range between 3,519 and 3,600. The Colombian peso has accumulated an 18% appreciation so far this year, compared with 8.6% for the Brazilian real. The firm attributes the behavior to external factors, such as the Fed's rate hike, and local ones, such as the reduction in the risk premium and the risk of the El Niño phenomenon.
FinanceColombiaRevista SemanaOct 26AI
Sergio Jadue challenges $1.852 billion tax claim before Chilean tax court
The defense of former Chilean ANFP president Sergio Jadue filed a claim before the Tax and Customs Court to void two assessments from the Internal Revenue Service (SII) over underreported global complementary income tax for 2015 and 2016. The SII calculates an owed amount of $1,852,938,597 including adjustments, interest and fines. Lawyers argue the agency acted out of time, without valid notifications and without proving that transfers to a foreign company were personal income. A conciliation hearing is set for November 5.
FinanceInternationalLa TerceraOct 26AI
Jakson Solar to invest $525 million in cell, ingot and wafer plants in India
India's Jakson Solar plans an investment of up to 50 billion rupees, about $525.2 million, to expand its photovoltaic component manufacturing. The plan includes new facilities to produce 3 GW of solar cells and another 3 GW of ingots and wafers. Managing director Ivan Saha announced it at the Renewable Energy India Expo. Output will go mainly to the open market and aims to meet local demand and reduce reliance on imported materials.
FinanceInternationalInspenetOct 26AI
Cashea adds Cantv to its platform for bill payment and financing
The installment-purchase platform Cashea announced the addition of state-owned Cantv to its payments ecosystem. Users will be able to pay and finance their landline and internet bills (ABA and ABA Ultra) from the app, with the option to defer the amount in interest-free installments when the accumulated debt is equal to or greater than 2 dollars. Each transaction adds points in Club Cashea, and the interface allows accounts to be registered with aliases and the outstanding balance to be checked.
FinanceInternationalEL UNIVERSALOct 26AI
Dollar closed at COP 3,130 in Colombia, COP 28 below the day's TRM
The U.S. dollar closed the October 26 session in Colombia at COP 3,130, a COP 28 reduction from the COP 3,158 TRM set by the Financial Superintendency. The session opened at COP 3,155, with a high of COP 3,179 and a low of COP 3,130, and an average price near COP 3,157. About USD 1.197 billion was traded, with an average transaction volume of USD 771 million.
FinanceColombiaRevista SemanaOct 26AI
Brazil's richest bankers lose USD 10 billion after Lula's victory
Brazil's richest bankers lost about 10 billion dollars on Monday, after Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's election victory triggered a slump in local markets that forced the stock exchange to suspend trading. The 10 Brazilians on Bloomberg's billionaire index lost a combined 15 billion by midday in New York, the largest single-day drop since 2012. André Esteves of BTG Pactual lost 4.4 billion; David Vélez of Nu Holdings, about 2.6 billion.
FinanceInternationalInfobaeOct 26AI
Colombian peso opens weaker above 3,170 as markets eye Fed and Banco de la República
The dollar in Colombia opened Monday at 3,171.30 pesos, up 19.92 pesos (0.63%) from Friday's close and above the TRM of 3,158.43, though it pared part of the gain toward 3,163. The week is marked by the Fed's decision on Wednesday, with about a 90% probability of keeping rates between 3.75% and 4.00%, and by Banco de la República's decision on Friday, with a policy rate of 12.25% and annual inflation of 6.29%. The government announced it will present the Fiscal Rescue Law.
FinanceColombiaXTB.comOct 26AI
Mortgage lending grows in August despite more expensive mortgages
Mortgage lending grew in August, according to the latest INE data, amid more expensive financing conditions: interest rates are higher and borrowers request more money because housing prices keep rising. RNE's Fin de mes programme discusses the data with María Matos, spokesperson for Fotocasa, and analyses the European Central Bank's options amid high inflation and doubts over France's debt.
FinanceInternationalRTVE.esOct 26AI
36% of the S&P 500 reports earnings this week, with Microsoft, Alphabet and Amazon in focus
A total of 179 S&P 500 companies will report quarterly results between October 26 and 30, about 36% of the index. Microsoft and Alphabet report on Wednesday the 28th and Amazon on Thursday the 29th, alongside Visa, Coca-Cola, Boeing and Eli Lilly. As of October 23, 24% of companies had reported and 83% of them beat earnings-per-share estimates. Year-on-year earnings growth for the index is projected at 29.5%.
FinanceInternationalXTB.comOct 26AI
Markets lift the penalty on French spread with biggest daily drop since 2020
French markets recovered on Monday after a black week, following Moody's decision to keep France's credit rating at AA3 instead of downgrading it. The risk premium fell from 167 to 154 points, a 13-point drop, the largest since 2020. The yield on the French 10-year bond fell 11 points and returned below 5%. Moody's expects the government to approve a 2027 budget aimed at reducing the deficit. Société Générale and BNP rose more than 2% and the Cac 40 gained 0.8%.
FinanceInternationalCinco DíasOct 26AI
CoreWeave's slump raises contagion alarms on Wall Street
Wall Street warns that declines among AI cloud computing providers could spread to the rest of the tech sector and drag the S&P 500 down to June lows. CoreWeave is down 41% since Oct. 6, Iren 40% and Nebius 36%. Investors are worried about the debt taken on by AI companies and financing costs. The Philadelphia semiconductor index has fallen 15% in October.
FinanceInternationalBloomberg LíneaOct 26AI