Washington / Reuters U.S. consumer spending rose marginally in February and overall inflation retreated, suggesting the Federal Reserve could take its time in raising interest rates this year despite a tightening labour market. The Commerce Department said on Monday that consumer spending edged up 0.1 percent as households cut back on goods purchases after a downwardly revised 0.1 percent gain ...

Bloomberg Brazil analysts trimmed their 2016 inflation forecast after price increases slowed more than all analysts expected in March and the economy showed signs of a deeper contraction. Economists lowered their 2016 inflation forecast to 7.31 percent, from 7.43 percent previously, according to the weekly Focus survey conducted March 24. They also pared their 2016 economic outlook to a recession ...

Toronto / Reuters Canada’s Liberal government believes the federal budget will be balanced in “about” five years due to higher growth spurred by deficit spending, Finance Minister Bill Morneau said. Speaking on CTV’s “Question Period” political news show, Morneau said the budget unveiled on March 22 will bring economic growth that the government hopes will eventually cancel out the C$17.7 ...

Bloomberg Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco President John Williams said the global economy, particularly China and Brazil, was having a significant impact on measures that U.S. policy makers watch to determine interest rates. The world’s largest economy is doing “quite well,” Williams said on Monday in an interview on CNBC, citing stable inflation and strong employment growth. The U.S. ...

Bloomberg Mariele Santarosa limits her social outings and shopping now that business at her Sao Paulo dental practice has dropped 80 percent in a year, a victim of Brazil’s longest recession in at least a century. “Many people lost their jobs and go to the dentist only when in pain,” said Santarosa, 35, who spent a recent Saturday morning browsing ...

BRUSSELS / AFP The Brussels attacks have pushed security to the forefront of Britain’s EU referendum campaign this week, as intelligence experts came out of the shadows to press the benefits and disadvantages of membership. A claim by the former head of foreign spy agency MI6, Richard Dearlove, that leaving the bloc would have few security implications sparked interventions from ...

Bloomberg Terrorism probes advanced across Europe in the wake of last week’s deadly bombings in Brussels, with suspects arrested in Italy and the Netherlands, and Belgium carrying out police raids in several areas. Belgian prosecutors said late Sunday that an Algerian man being held in Italy is suspected of participating in a ring that produced falsified documents for some of ...

Rio De Janeiro / AFP Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff could see her coalition disintegrate this week amid a political crisis that threatens to topple her government, as a congressional committee ponders impeachment proceedings against her. Already the Brazilian bar association was expected to file a new request on Monday to Congress for her impeachment. But Rousseff’s real troubles begin on ...

Paris / AFP Tens of thousands of homes were without power in northwestern France early on Monday after the region was pounded overnight by winds gusting to hurricane force that also triggered flight cancellations and outages in southern England. Seven counties, in Normandy and Brittany were placed on “orange” alert, the second highest in Meteo-France’s three-stage warning system. At least ...

Seoul / AFP South Korea and Japan offered muted reactions on Monday to Donald Trump’s suggestion that, as president, he would withdraw troops from both countries and allow them to develop their own nuclear arsenal. There are nearly 30,000 US troops permanently stationed in South Korea and 47,000 in Japan, with little appetite for nuclear weapons in either nation. Asked ...