Frankfurt / AFP German business confidence soared to its highest level in more than two years in September, the Ifo economic institute said on Monday, recovering from a post-Brexit slump and signalling a rosier outlook for Europe’s largest economy. The closely-watched index unexpectedly jumped to 109.5 points from 106.3 points in August to reach its highest reading since May …

  Bloomberg Traders are growing increasingly pessimistic about Mexico’s ability to stave off a credit-rating downgrade. It costs 0.23 percentage point more to insure Mexico’s bonds against nonpayment than debt from lower-rated Panama, based on trading in credit-default swaps. That’s the most in six years. Mexico is also more costly to protect against default than Peru, which shares the same …

  As President Vladimir Putin further tightens his grip on power after dubious elections that gave his party an absolute majority, Russia is sliding into protracted stagnation. The Economics Ministry has adjusted downward its forecast through 2019 and Russia is now expected to underperform the global economy even more than previously anticipated. That is the background against which Putin’s continued …