Brazilian mega-giant Odebrecht granted bankruptcy protection

In Brazil, Reuters reports that corporate giant Odebrecht filed for bankruptcy protection last week which was approved the next day by a judge so it could start restructuring $13 billion in debt, one of the largest in-court bankruptcies in all of Latin America. The company won’t be letting go of its stakes in ethanol producer Atvos nor in Braskem that produces bioplastic from sugarcane ethanol, among other products, as they have been held as collateral for the legal proceedings.