
A divided Federal Reserve held the line on interest rates Wednesday and indicated formally that no cuts are coming in 2019. The decision came amid divisions over what is ahead and still leaves open the possibility that policy loosening could happen before the end of the year depending on how conditions unfold.

Brazil’s central bank held its benchmark interest rate at a record-low 6.50% on Wednesday, as expected, holding back from signalling looser policy because of doubts on economic reforms. The scenario outlined by policymakers was one of anaemic economic growth and high levels of economic slack putting downward pressure on inflation at home, plus the prospect of interest rates coming down in major developed economies.

Argentine politician Sergio Massa, who recently pledged his support to the main opposition challengers to President Mauricio Macri, is in line to play a key role in the country's Congress if his new allies win national elections later this year.

A court in Sao Paulo on Tuesday accepted a request by Brazilian conglomerate Odebrecht to begin a corporate recovery procedure aimed at fending off bankruptcy at the scandal-tainted group.

Brazil’s Senate on Tuesday overturned a decree signed last month by right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro that drastically expanded the number of people allowed to carry weapons in public.

The Brazilian government’s plans to overhaul its pension system can still be saved if lawmakers reverse changes to transition rules and concessions to legislative aides, according to Economy Minister Paulo Guedes.

President Donald Trump formally launched his 2020 re-election campaign on Tuesday by presenting himself as the same political insurgent who shook up the Washington establishment four years ago and who is now a victim of an attempted ouster by Democrats.

The five contenders left in the race to replace Theresa May as Britain's prime minister will face off in a third-round ballot on Wednesday of the 313 Conservative MPs. The one with the lowest tally will get eliminated ahead of more votes on Thursday.

United States President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he had spoken to Chinese President Xi Jinping and that the two leaders’ teams would restart trade talks after a long lull in order to prepare for a meeting at the Group of 20 summit later this month.

United States President Donald Trump said on Monday that US authorities would begin next week removing millions of immigrants who are in the United States illegally. There are an estimated 12 million immigrants who are in the United States illegally, mainly from Mexico and Central America.