International News

  Bloomberg In Portugal, where pessimism has become a national characteristic, the Socialist government may be too optimistic about the economic outlook. Finance Minister Mario Centeno predicts expansion of 1.8 percent this year and next and an acceleration to 2.1 percent in 2020 — which would be the fastest in a decade. That makes the government an outlier, with a ...

  Bloomberg Daimler AG Mercedes-Benz is investing about €500 million ($574 million) to build an engine plant in Poland as the luxury-car brand expands to overtake rival BMW. The factory in Jawor in Poland’s southwest will be Daimler’s second engine plant outside Germany. The facility, with a workforce of several hundred employees in its initial phase, will make four-cylinder gasoline ...

  Bloomberg Low interest rates are helping to reduce euro-area public debt, but rigorous enforcement of European Union fiscal rules is also needed to bring the burden down by a “sizable” amount, the European Central Bank said. Since the end of the financial crisis, euro-area countries have struggled to unwind a debt ratio that stood at around 93 percent of ...

  Bloomberg The U.S. may be the lone bright spot in an otherwise sluggish global economy as American consumers continue to buy expensive new vehicles at record levels. The U.S. industry sold 1.51 million cars and light trucks in April, according to researcher Autodata Corp. That broke an 11-year-old record, according to Edmunds.com. Sales skewed toward more expensive sport utility ...

  Bloomberg Petrobras has agreed to sell assets in Argentina and Chile for about $1.4 billion as Brazil’s state-controlled oil producer looks to raise cash and focus on deep-water projects in Brazil. The Rio de Janeiro-based producer has completed negotiations to sell its 67.2 percent stake in Petrobras Argentina SA to Pampa Energia SA for $892 million, it said Tuesday ...

  Bloomberg Brazilian prosecutors filed a 155 billion reais ($44 billion) civil suit against Vale SA, BHP Billiton Ltd. and their iron-ore venture over a November dam rupture that killed as many as 19 people and caused severe environmental damage. The prosecuting task force is demanding the two companies and Samarco Mineracao SA provide initial payment of 7.8 billion reais ...

  Bloomberg The best rally for corn prices in 10 months meant U.S. farmers were frantic to sell from the mountain of grain they’d been hoarding. Growers have been stockpiling supplies following a string of bumper harvests, waiting patiently for a rebound in prices. Their hopes have finally been answered after dry weather threatened crops in Brazil, sending futures traded ...

Bloomberg Located just 30 miles east of Rio de Janeiro’s bustling Copacabana beach, Itaborai looks like many oil boomtowns after the bust — except the deserted stores and empty glass towers that loom over this town of 220,000 speak of some bigger cataclysm than the collapse of crude prices. “They said this would be the new oil city,” says Jefferson ...

  Canberra / AFP Australia’s government on Tuesday unveiled an election-focused budget to shore up economic growth amid a rocky transition from dependence on mining, doling out tax cuts for individuals and businesses. The annual announcement came as the central bank slashed interest rates to a new record low of 1.75 percent, following recent unexpectedly weak consumer prices, in order ...

  Bandar Seri Begawan / The Diplomat On April 20, the Bank of China Hong Kong Limited (BOCHK) was granted regulatory approval by Brunei’s Monetary Authority to open a branch in the sultanate, making it the first Chinese financial institution to do so. While China’s penetration into Brunei’s economy is not new, the move will be read as a sign ...