Washington / AFP The US economy grew faster than originally thought in the second quarter of this year, with Commerce Department figures released on Thursday showing a 1.4 percent annual rate. The previous estimate had been a gloomier 1.1 percent. Thursday’s figures surpassed an analyst consensus, which had called for a revision to 1.3 percent. In releasing the new …

  Frankfurt / AFP German inflation in September jumped to its highest level since May 2015, data showed Thursday, in welcome news for the European Central Bank’s efforts to boost prices with a massive stimulus programme. Inflation rose by 0.7 percent this month compared to the year before, according to preliminary figures from Germany’s federal statistics office Destatis. The figure …

  Bloomberg Bond investors are giving Chile’s Masisa SA a vote of confidence as the wood-panel maker unloads assets, pays debt and becomes less reliant on Venezuela. Its $200 million of notes due in 2019 have returned 27 percent in 2016, almost twice the average for emerging-market corporate debt. The junk-rated securities sank to a record low last year on …