Bloomberg Brazil held its benchmark interest rate unchanged and signalled that Congress needed to approve cost-cutting measures before borrowing costs can fall. The bank board, led by its President Ilan Goldfajn, kept the Selic rate at 6.50 percent for a seventh straight meeting in a decision expected by all 42 economists in a Bloomberg survey. It was likely the last ...

Bloomberg Call it the Masayoshi Son mathematical distortion field. The founder of SoftBank Group Corp. added about 1.94 trillion yen ($17.6 billion) to the market value of his company— by unveiling a plan to buy back shares worth less than a third of that amount. Based on his own stake, Son’s net worth rose by about $5 billion. His fortune ...

Bloomberg The Philippine Congress approved the 3.76 trillion-peso ($72 billion) budget for 2019, ending an impasse that put on hold funding for new government projects. Lawmakers ratified the spending plan in Manila, just before a three-month recess until May 20. The Philippines missed the year-end deadline to approve the 2019 budget — the first time in almost a decade — ...