Good morning! Today, Congress could wade into the Americanas drama. Nursing unions plan strike. The rising problem of youth suicide in Brazil.
☕ If you like our work and want to give us an extra boost, you can fill up our reporters’ coffee mugs. Supporters get exclusive perks! Find out more.
House pushes for hearings on Americanas accounting scandal
More than 200 House members have signed a request to create a select committee to investigate the Americanas accounting scandal — the biggest ever seen in Brazil. Earlier this year, the retail giant reported “accounting inconsistencies” that turned out to be in the tens of billions of reais and led to a bitter battle with creditors.
Why it matters. The Americanas scandal is not just a business issue. As a Rio de Janeiro business court said, Americanas going under could lead to a “collapse of Brazil’s supply chains, with considerable losses to relevant economic sectors, affecting over 50 million consumers and putting at risk [45,000] workers.”
- The Central Bank’s Financial Stability Committee noted, without explicitly naming Americanas, that provisions related to “a specific event with a major player” affected the profitability of the financial system.
What they are saying. “The Americanas case...