* BM&FBOVESPA SA – Bolsa de Valores Mercadorias eFuturos said it acquired an additional equity of about 2% in the Santiago stockexchange for 1.7 billion Chilean pesos, raising the company's total stake inthe Chilean bourse to approximately 10.4%. BM&FBOVESPA recently acquired a9.9% stake in the Colombian stock exchange.

MEXICO AND CENTRALAMERICA

* Chilean retail group and Mexican retailerOrganización Soriana SA deCV signed contracts to jointly develop home improvement stores andfinancial services inMexico. They have agreed to create two companies in these sectors with equalparticipation and initial capital of $300 million each in the next five years.

* Fitch Ratings downgradedthe insurer financial strength ratings of Seguros e Inversiones SA and toBB- from BB. The move follows the two companies being acquired by fromCitigroup Inc.

* Carlos López Moctezuma, director of innovation andfinancial inclusion at BBVABancomer SA Institucion de Banca Múltiple Grupo Financiero BBVABancomer, said the bank does not consider financial technologyfirms as competition,but rather as complementary to its operations, El Economista reported. The bank has been working closely withfintechs to study their business and value propositions.

CARIBBEAN

* To address a decline in the availability of newfunds, the Cuban government announced that it will reduce its electricityconsumption by up to 28% and restrictcertain payments in hard currency, among other measures, El Financiero reported.

BRAZIL

* CaixaEconômica Federal plans to generate up to 4 billion Brazilian reaisof asset-backed securitiesfor an FIDC fund the bank manages, Bloomberg News reported, citing a regulatoryfiling. Proceeds will be used to support payroll loans granted by Banco BMG SA.

* Brazil's recently announced 2017 primary deficit target of139 billion Brazlian reais is not sufficientto halt the country's negative debt trends and is higher than Moody's hadexpected in both absolute and relative terms, Samar Maziad, a senior analyst atthe rating agency, said in a note to Reuters.

* Moody's América Latina withdrewall of its global and national scale ratings assigned to for the rating agency's own business reasons. Thenegative outlook was withdrawn as well.

* Major retail banks in Brazil have increasedthe tariffs they charge for certain basic services by more than 30% in the 12months through June 2016, according to a study by Valor Econômico. Some banks have also raised the minimum investmentlevel clients would need to make to avoid paying tariffs, the publicationreported separately.

* Banco BTGPactual SA is in preliminary discussionsto acquire the Brazilian operations of Portugal-based , Valor Econômicoreported. Banif operates in Brazil through Banif - Banco Internacional do Funchal (Brasil) SA.

* Leo Trombka, the president of Brazilian credit unionassociation Unicred, said political and economic uncertaintyin the country could have a negative impact on local credit unions, Diário Comércio Indústria & Serviçosreported. Loan delinquencies in the sector have reached 2.5% in 2016, comparedto an expected level of 2%.

* The presidents of Banco do Brasil SA, Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social andCaixa Econômica Federal met with Brazilian government representatives July 7 todiscusscommon interests, BNDES said in a statement. The topics included financialsolutions for infrastructure projects and other sectors.

ANDEAN

* The International Monetary Fund said it approvedabout $364 million in financial support to Ecuador to help the country recoverfrom an earthquake in April that caused considerable damage to infrastructure,housing and agriculture.

SOUTHERN CONE

* Bancode Galicia y Buenos Aires SA approved the of class II subordinated notesfor a total value of up to $300 million, or the equivalent thereof in othercurrencies. The notes will be issued under a global program for short-, medium-or long-term notes for a maximum outstanding face value of up to $600 million.

* BancoContinental SAECA commenced a cash to purchase all of its8.875% senior notes due 2017. As of July 7, there was $176.5 million inaggregate principal amount of the notes outstanding. The offer is set to expireJuly 14.

* Banco deChile said its Banchile Trade Services Ltd. unit, which supportsforeign trade in the Asian markets, has been formally .

* Argentine President Mauricio Macri will launcha new mortgage loan program called Procrear ABC on July 11, Cronista reported. The move is aimed atreducing a house shortage in the country and reviving the local economy.

PAN LATIN AMERICA

* Spanish insurer MAPFRE SA plans to start insurance online in Colombia,Mexico and Peru as part of its multi-channel sales strategy, El Economista reported, citing MAPFRE'shead for Latin America, Rafael Casas. The company aims for digital sales toaccount for 2% of its new business in certain markets within five years.

IN OTHER PARTS OF THEWORLD

* Asia-Pacific: Cathay General to acquire Bank SinoPac's US biz; Japan's Abe winsupper house poll

* Middle East & Africa:

* Europe: €150B EU bank rescue program proposed; BoE rate cut likely; DeutscheBörse, LSE move for merger

* North America: Thomson Reuters selling intellectual property, science biz for$3.55B; First Hawaiian registers for IPO

Paula Mejiacontributed to this article.

The Daily Dose has aneditorial deadline of 8 a.m. São Paulo time, and scans news sources published inEnglish, Portuguese and Spanish. Some external links may require a subscription.