Bloomberg French bonds fell as investors awaited the government’s sale of ultra-long securities. The planned issue of 20- and 50- year debt, which will be conducted via banks and may price on Tuesday, was announced by the French Treasury. The nation is looking to raise longer-term funds to benefit from the euro zone’s low interest rates, while investors will likely …

Bloomberg The agriculture slump is getting so bad in the U.S. that farmers are about to get more government aid than at any time in the past decade, signaling the rising public cost of crop surpluses and cheap food. About $13.9 billion of net farm income this year will be federal payments, or about 25 percent of total profit estimated …

Bloomberg The top stock in one of the world’s best-performing equity markets this year is a star no analyst saw rising. Cia. Siderurgica Nacional SA, or CSN, Brazil’s biggest steelmaker by market value, has more than doubled in the 100 days since trading began in 2016. The rally came as a shock to analysts who recommended selling the stock at …

Bloomberg Treasury 10-year note yields held near the lowest in two months as investors weigh the Federal Reserve’s aim to raise U.S. interest rates against signs of slow global economic growth. The benchmark notes were little changed before the U.S. sells $20 billion of the debt on April 13, the second of three coupon-security auctions this week totaling $56 billion. …

Bloomberg Mexico will use $13.6 billion from a central bank surplus to pay down debt and boost its rainy day fund, shoring up finances as it prepares a support plan for the beleaguered state oil company Petroleos Mexicanos. The Finance Ministry will spend 167 billion pesos of the transfer to buy back debt and reduce bond issuance this year, while …

Bloomberg Canadian utility owner Emera Inc. has reached an agreement with groups in New Mexico, including the state’s attorney general, on its $6.5 billion takeover of utility Teco Energy Inc., bringing the deal one step closer to completion. Under the agreement, filed with the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission on Monday, Emera said it wouldn’t seek a base rate increase …

Bloomberg Carnival Corp.’s maiden voyage to Cuba next month will be filled with almost 700 cruisers looking to spend time assisting in economic, environmental and community development there. The one thing the boat won’t be carrying, however, is any Cubans. Raul Castro’s government prohibits native-born Cubans from returning by sea, and makes other forms of travel difficult for them as …

Kabul / AFP The Afghan Taliban announced on Tuesday the start of their “spring offensive” even as the government in Kabul tries to bring the insurgents back to the negotiating table to end their drawn-out conflict. The Taliban said in a statement they would “employ large-scale attacks on enemy positions across the country” during the offensive they have dubbed “Operation …

TRIOPLI / AP Italy’s foreign minister has arrived in Tripoli, marking the first visit by a European official to Libya since a UN-backed government convened in the capital. Libyan officials say Paolo Gentiloni was received at Matiga airport on Tuesday by deputies of Fayez Serraj, the head of a unity government that Western countries hope can unite Libya and combat …

Tehran / AFP UN Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura arrived in Tehran on Tuesday for talks with a key backer of President Bashar Al Assad on the eve of fresh peace negotiations in Geneva. De Mistura will meet Iran’s deputy foreign minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian, Iranian media reported, ahead of the latest effort to end five years of fighting that …