Moody's warns on Brazil as Tupi misses bond payment

Rating agency Moody's warned that Brazilian corporates are facing increased liquidity risk after Cimento Tupi missed a bond payment this week.

A deterioration in growth, lower commodity prices and tighter access to capital markets have hit the results of several companies, said Moody's.

Lower economic activity and high debt have spelled trouble for Tupi, which missed a coupon payment on May 11 just eight months after issuing $35 of debt.

That debt sale in September showed at least that the company had access to some investors, but it had been looking for $50m and had to pay a yield of 9.75%.

"The Brazilian macroeconomic environment has severely eroded since 2014, with inflation accelerating and [the] employment rate looking more fragile," said Moody's analyst Erick Rodrigues in a research note.

"Along with a sharp drop in the confidence of...