International News

  Bloomberg Brexit campaigners sought to seize back the initiative in the referendum battle as eight high-profile economists declared Britain would do better outside the European Union. Analysis published by the Treasury on the consequences of leaving the EU is a “misleading piece of propaganda,” according to the group, which includes Patrick Minford, a professor at Cardiff University, Gerard Lyons, …

  Bloomberg Tata Steel Ltd. said that while it has no fixed deadline to sell its ailing U.K. steel operations, it must act quickly to stem losses. “Urgency is important,” Bimlendra Jha, chief executive officer of the company’s U.K. business, told a committee of U.K. lawmakers on Thursday. “We cannot continue to bleed.” Tata Steel said last month that it …

  Bloomberg Exxon Mobil Corp., Dow Chemical Co. and OMV AG lost a court challenge to a European Union decision to cut the number of free emission permits they receive under the region’s carbon market, the bloc’s highest court ruled on Thursday. But the EU Court of Justice in Luxembourg delayed the implementation of its ruling by 10 months so …

  Bloomberg Federal Reserve policy makers left open the door to raising interest rates in June by nodding to improvement in global financial markets and downplaying recent weakness in the U.S. economy. The Federal Open Market Committee omitted previous language that “global economic and financial developments continue to pose risks,” instead saying officials will “closely monitor” the world situation, according …

  Bloomberg Mexican corporate profits are exceeding analyst estimates by the most in at least two years as consumer spending buoys Latin America’s second-biggest economy. Grupo Bimbo SAB, the world’s largest bread maker, and Wal-Mart de Mexico SAB, the nation’s biggest retailer, were among the companies that posted first-quarter earnings that beat forecasts as local shoppers boost revenue. Companies in …

  Bloomberg Anyone who’s ventured into Latin American equity markets in the past year knows that doing so during times of political turmoil requires a healthy appetite for risk. Stock indexes in Peru and Brazil are posting the world’s biggest gains this year, but they’re also among the most volatile. There’s another way to ride the rally, minus the whiplash: …

  Bloomberg Few countries need oil’s rally to last more than Venezuela, where the economy’s expected to shrink 8 percent this year and a lack of petrodollars has seen shops run short of consumer goods. The Latin American nation with the world’s largest oil reserves relies on crude shipments for 95 percent of export revenue. It will default this year …

  Bloomberg Oil climbed above $45 a barrel in New York for the first time since November after U.S. industry data showed a decline in crude stockpiles. West Texas Intermediate futures climbed as much as 2.5 percent, extending a gain of 3.3 percent Tuesday. Inventories dropped by 1.07 million barrels last week, the industry-funded American Petroleum Institute was said to …

  Bloomberg Brazil’s Real advanced as the central bank refrained from intervening to weaken the currency for the third straight session and amid speculation former bank chief Henrique Meirelles would become finance minister if President Dilma Rousseff is ousted. The currency gained 0.4 percent to 3.5165 per dollar as of 9:02 a.m. in Sao Paulo, extending its gain this year …

  Bloomberg Brazilian banks will write fewer mortgages this year as delinquency rates climb amid the country’s worst recession in more than a century, according to Moody’s Investors Service. State-owned lender Caixa Economica Federal, which issues almost three-fourths of housing loans in Brazil, also faces higher financing costs, imperiling its ability to write new mortgages, Moody’s said in a report. …