Bloomberg Brazil’s consumer inflation slowed more than expected in February as a prolonged recession eats into Brazilians’ purchasing power. The benchmark IPCA consumer price index rose 0.9 percent from the previous month, following a 1.27 percent jump in January. That was lower than the median forecast for a 0.98 percent increase from 43 economists surveyed by Bloomberg. Twelve-month inflation slowed ...

Bloomberg Freeman’s, the oldest U.S. auction house, is changing ownership for the first time after more than two centuries in business. Three senior managers, who have led the company’s turnaround since 1999, are buying out the family that has owned the auction house since founding it in 1805, according to a statement from the company. Terms weren’t disclosed. The Freeman ...

U.S. Special Operations Forces working with a widening array of partners are slowly tightening their squeeze on IS fighters in eastern Syria — moving toward an eventual assault on the extremists’ self-declared capital of Raqqa. The Pentagon’s top priority in the campaign against the IS remains disrupting external operations against potential targets in the U.S. or elsewhere. Sources say that ...