Finance

Dollar holds below COP 3,200, with budget and Fed as key drivers
The dollar in Colombia remains below COP 3,200, according to El Espectador. Local factors include the 2027 General Budget, whose amount stands at COP 634.9 trillion after the first-debate text was applied, and the Banco de la República's rate decision on October 30, with the rate at 12.25%. Abroad, September US inflation (3.7% annual), expectations around the Fed and oil prices weigh in. The currency closed at COP 3,183.80 after touching COP 3,214.
FinanceColombiaEl EspectadorOct 23AI
Peru unveils power auction rules with contracts of up to 15 years
Peru's Ministry of Energy and Mines presented the new Electricity Procurement Regulation for Regulated Users, under Law No. 32249. The proposal includes long-term auctions with contracts of 10 to 15 years, procurement by time blocks and separate purchase of energy and capacity. The sector warns that auctions must be accelerated given contract expirations between 2026 and 2030 and rising demand.
FinanceInternationalEnergía EstratégicaOct 23AI
Guyana tenders 165 MW hydropower plant and expands solar as it tops one million barrels per day
Guyana expects to exceed one million barrels of oil per day by late 2026 and will channel part of those revenues into diversifying its power mix. The government is tendering the 165 MW Amaila Falls hydropower plant, with bids between 415 and 800 million dollars, and is expanding solar generation, especially in interior communities. The goal is to reach 80% renewable electricity by 2040, in a system that currently relies almost entirely on heavy fuel oil and records losses near 26%.
FinanceInternationalEnergía EstratégicaOct 23AI
Stocks fall as France awaits Moody's verdict on its debt
Global stock markets traded lower on Friday after a week of volatility marked by renewed pressure on tech stocks, high energy prices and persistent inflation concerns, amid an earnings season in which many companies are struggling with a difficult economic environment. In Europe, Paris fell 0.79%, Frankfurt 0.92%, London 0.53% and Milan 0.47%, while Wall Street futures pointed to a negative open. French debt stabilized at 5.07% on the ten-year yield ahead of Moody's decision on the country's rating.
FinanceInternationalRFIOct 23AI
France's debt crisis takes center stage ahead of the ECB meeting
The ECB meets next Thursday and is widely expected to keep rates unchanged, while the selloff in French bonds is raising financing costs across the eurozone. The yield on the 10-year French bond topped 5%, a level not seen since 2002, and the spread over the German bond exceeded 170 basis points. Christine Lagarde says the solution to France's debt must come from Paris. Moody's issues its verdict on the country's Aa3 rating with a negative outlook.
FinanceInternationalEuronewsOct 23AI
Caribe BIZ Forum 2026: Colombia's Caribbean region seeks to become the axis of business development
The 12th edition of Caribe BIZ Forum, organized by the Barranquilla Chamber of Commerce and held on October 15, concluded that Barranquilla and the Caribbean should leverage their location to attract foreign investment. The CCB's executive president, Efraín Cepeda Tarud, presented his priorities: an energy hub, logistics and technological development, and tourism. Vice President José Manuel Restrepo said 26 of the 85 Misión Crecer projects are in the Caribbean region.
FinanceColombiaELHERALDO.COOct 23AI
Findeter has $243.5 billion ready to lend in areas hit by emergencies
Findeter president María Paula Tejada Bustos announced the Territorios Milagro credit line, with 243.5 billion pesos aimed at subsidizing interest rates and financing recovery projects in areas affected by emergencies and natural disasters. Eligible borrowers include governorships, municipalities, regional decentralized institutes or companies, and affected private companies. As a second-tier bank, Findeter disburses funds through rediscounting via supervised financial intermediaries.
FinanceColombiaLas2OrillasOct 23AI
Dollar opens in Colombia with a TRM of $3,185.01 after falling $6.46
The dollar starts the October 23, 2026 session in Colombia with a Representative Market Rate of $3,185.01, according to the Banco de la República, a drop of $6.46 from the previous day's $3,191.47. The TRM is down 18.35% from October 23, 2025 and 0.74% from the same day of the previous month. At exchange houses, buying ranges from $3,081 in Medellín to $3,200 in Cúcuta.
FinanceColombiaCaracol RadioOct 23AI
European luxury stocks slump: Kering falls 12% after another sales decline
European stock markets ended the week lower, with the CAC 40 down about 1.1% and the DAX around 0.85%. The luxury sector led the selloff: Kering, owner of Gucci, plunged 12% after reporting another drop in sales and announcing it would accelerate store closures to 125 locations by year-end. Gucci posted a 6% decline in sales. LVMH and Hermès fell as much as 2%, amid concerns over AI valuations, oil prices and the political and fiscal crisis in France.
FinanceInternationalXTB.comOct 23AI
Oil rises, silver falls and Brazil braces for presidential runoff
US futures are trading more steadily after heavy selling in the tech sector, with semiconductors attempting to recover part of their recent losses, in a context shaped by rising oil prices and uncertainty over the sustainability of high AI spending. Brent keeps its upward trend amid geopolitical escalation in the Middle East, while silver deepens its losses and trades near 54. The Brazilian stock market faces Sunday's presidential runoff between Flávio Bolsonaro and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
FinanceInternationalXTB.comOct 23AI
Adriana Cisneros: in a year there will be "mature conditions" to start investing her US$1 billion fund
Adriana Cisneros, CEO of the Cisneros group, estimates that in a year "conditions will be mature" to begin investing the US$1 billion "Intrépida" fund in Venezuelan projects at the intersection of infrastructure and technology. She said about two-thirds of the capital has already been raised, more than US$600 million, and that she will not deploy resources until the necessary framework of certainty is in place. She spoke at the Startup Venezuela Summit 2026.
FinanceInternationalBanca y NegociosOct 23AI
Banco Ciudad cuts rate to 7.5% on its mortgage loans for home upgrades
Banco Ciudad cut the fixed rate (TNA) on its UVA mortgage loans for home upgrades from 9.5% to 7.5%, aimed at existing owners seeking a larger home. The line offers terms of up to 25 years and a maximum amount of AR$200 million, and now allows financing simultaneous buy-sell transactions. According to the bank, the cut is backed by new funding obtained through its participation in FGS Anses tenders.
FinanceInternationalInfobaeOct 23AI
Brent tops $114 and WTI rises 1.66% amid Middle East tensions
Brent and WTI prices rose more than 1% in the session, with intraday gains of 1.1% and 1.66% respectively, amid instability in the Strait of Hormuz and Houthi attacks on energy infrastructure in Saudi Arabia. Brent broke through $114 a barrel. Donald Trump invoked the Defense Production Act to classify crude extraction and refining as essential and mobilize $1 billion in energy projects.
FinanceInternationalXTB.comOct 23AI
Welspun suspends meeting with Tubos Reunidos works council to assess €150 million debt issue with SEPI
Indian group Welspun has postponed the meeting scheduled for Monday with the Tubos Reunidos works council in Trapagaran (Bizkaia) to discuss the company's roughly €150 million debt with SEPI. According to union sources, the company maintains its interest in remaining in the sale process and will call the unions again. Welspun is one of five bids selected for the next phase. SEPI wants that liability to be assumed by the productive units being acquired.
FinanceInternationalORAINOct 23AI
Ownership changes at Rosario companies, falling consumption and a government push to formalize savings
Navicam, owned by the Picone family group, acquired all of Beta, an Iveco truck dealership, and Swiss firm SGS bought Laboratorio Litoral. Indec reported a 3.7% year-on-year drop in supermarket sales in August, the eighth consecutive month of decline. The executive branch regulated Inocencia Fiscal II through Decree 1253/2026, and Daniel González left the Secretariat of Energy and Mining Coordination, which will not be replaced. The 2026 Argentine Fintech Map counted 1,108 companies and 91% expect consolidation.
FinanceInternationalRosario3Oct 23AI
Kering slumps up to 11% on stock market after Gucci sales miss expectations
Kering fell as much as 11% on the stock market after sales at Gucci, which accounts for about half of the group's profit, dropped 6% at constant exchange rates to 1.29 billion euros in the third quarter, below expectations. Group revenue fell 1%. The result frustrates hopes of a rapid recovery under CEO Luca de Meo's five-year plan. Rival Hermès also disappointed: its sales in Asia-Pacific excluding Japan were flat and its shares fell 4.9% in Paris.
FinanceInternationalCinco DíasOct 23AI
Finans Norge warns of a scam that convinces clients to bury gold in the forest
Norwegian financial organization Finans Norge reported cases of clients tricked into buying large amounts of gold and hiding it in the forest, with the promise that someone would guard it while its value rose; the buried batch ended up being stolen. The first episode was reported in spring and cases have already appeared in Oslo, Bergen, Drammen and Lillestrøm, with no total figure for victims or losses. In 2025, Norwegian banks and clients lost 962 million kroner to fraud.
FinanceInternationalEl ConfidencialOct 23AI
BBVA tops one million customers in Italy with its digital bank
BBVA has surpassed one million customers in Italy after five years operating in the country with a digital banking model, the lender said. The bank thus meets the target it set for this year, after stating in December 2025 that it would exceed that figure in 2026 once it passed 800,000 customers. Its chairman, Carlos Torres, said the bank is starting a new stage focused on becoming its customers' main bank. In Germany, its other major digital bank outside Spain, it passed 100,000 customers in April.
FinanceInternationalValencia PlazaOct 23AI
Argentina's Central Bank to require banks and digital wallets to disclose money market fund rates
Argentina's Central Bank ruled, through Communication A 8497, that from November 1 banks and payment service providers offering payment accounts must disclose on all their digital channels the yield on money market fund deposits using the 7-day nominal annual rate. The figure must appear mandatorily and visibly on every home banking platform and financial app, next to the button to invest. Money market fund rates currently range from a floor of 14% to 24% nominal annual.
FinanceInternationalClarin.comOct 23AI
Brokers recommend Argentine assets to shield against 2027 election uncertainty
Electoral uncertainty in Argentina is weighing on local financial assets, with country risk at 700 points and a spread between bonds maturing before and after the elections. Local brokers shared their recommendations with Bloomberg Línea: Vector Investments suggests dollar-denominated corporate bonds maturing around 2030 plus 10% liquidity in AO27; Mills Capital notes that instruments maturing before the vote offer a natural refuge; and PPI sees Neuquén bonds and Vaca Muerta-linked equities as options amid the volatility.
FinanceInternationalBloomberg LíneaOct 23AI