Chilean retail sales jump 7.9% on early onset of winter

  Bloomberg Chilean retail sales rose at the fastest pace in two-and-a-half years in April as early rains and cold weather encouraged consumers to shop for winter clothes earlier than last year. Sales leaped 7.9 percent from the year earlier, the national statistics agency said on its website, compared with the 4.5 percent median forecast of 13 analysts surveyed by ...

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Brazil’s April primary budget surplus exceeds all estimates

  Bloomberg Brazil’s central government posted a higher-than-expected primary fiscal surplus in April due to a seasonal windfall, a week after the government of Acting President Michel Temer obtained permission to close the year with the widest budget gap on record. The surplus before interest payments, which excludes results of states, municipalities and state-owned companies, reached 9.8 billion reais ($2.7 ...

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Big airline LATAM suspends flights to Venezuela

  Santiago, Chile / AFP Latin America’s biggest airline LATAM said it will suspend its flights to crisis-hit Venezuela for an indefinite period, following a similar move by German carrier Lufthansa. Chile-based LATAM Airlines group and its Peruvian and Brazilian subsidiaries decided to cut the flights “due to the complex macroeconomic situation that the region is currently going through,” it said ...

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Brazil Selic call raised for 1st time since December

  Bloomberg Brazil economists raised their forecast for the benchmark interest rate at year-end following inflation surprises that reinforced the challenge facing Brazil’s prospective central bank chief to rein in prices. Economists’ median forecast for the Selic at year-end rose to 12.88 percent from 12.75 percent the prior week, marking the first increase in the weekly Focus survey conducted May ...

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Trump’s energy plan would distort global market

  Donald Trump gave a well-timed speech on Thursday, laying out his policies on energy. That day, for the first time in six months, oil hit $50 a barrel, and he was in North Dakota, which produces more oil than any other state but Texas. The audience there welcomed his calls for greater production of fossil fuels, an end to ...

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South Korea, THAAD, and the China problem

  Many questions have yet to be answered regarding the deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system in South Korea. It has been widely reported that discussions regarding deployment have been underway since early March 2016 but after initial hopes of a quick resolution, no end to the discussions seems to be in sight. What will South ...

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Bonds fall on Fed outlook as US stocks swing; crude climbs

  BLOOMBERG Bonds fell as the Federal Reserve seems intent to raise interest rates this summer amid signs inflation is picking up, while oil headed for its longest run of monthly gains in five years and stocks in the U.S. were little changed. Treasuries retreated in the first full day of trading since Fed Chair Janet Yellen said late Friday ...

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Risky reprise of debt binge stars USA firms, not consumers

  Bloomberg Consumers were the Achilles’ heel of the U.S. economy in the run-up to the last recession. This time, companies may play that role. Among the warning signs: rising debt, lagging profits and mounting defaults. While the financial vulnerabilities aren’t likely to lead to another downturn soon, economists say they point to potential potholes down the road for an ...

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Indexes diverge but end the month at a loss

  Dubai / Reuters Share market indexes in the Middle East diverged on Tuesday, with Saudi Arabia’s index outperforming peers as some positive news lifted shares, but all markets ended with losses for the month. Riyadh’s index rebounded 1.4 percent, ending three sessions of declines, although volumes were the lowest since last October. The index was down 5.3 percent in ...

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Deutsche under radar in Treasury rigging probe

  Bloomberg Deutsche Bank AG has emerged as a focus of a probe into whether traders rigged auctions for USA government debt, the New York Post reported, citing unidentified people familiar with the matter. No bank has been accused of wrongdoing, but investigators are narrowing their focus after requesting documents and communications from all of the 22 primary dealers in ...

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