U.S. construction spending rises unexpectedly in March

WASHINGTON, May 4 (Xinhua) -- U.S. construction spending rose unexpectedly in March, marking the first increase in six months, the Commerce Department reported Monday.

The 0.3 percent gain was much better than the 1.5 percent decrease expected by analysts. It followed a revised 1 percent drop in the previous month.

For March, construction spending was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 969.7 billion U.S. dollars, 11.1 percent below year-ago levels, reflecting the country's steep recession.

Spending on private construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 661.1 billion dollars, 0.1 percent below the revised February estimate of 661.6 billion dollars.

Meanwhile, construction spending by the government increased by1.1 percent to an annual rate of 308.7 billion dollars.

Brazil cuts annual basic interest rate to 10.25%

Special Report:Global Financial Crisis

RIO DE JANEIRO, April 29 (Xinhua) -- Brazilian Central Bank decided to cut the country's annual basic interest rate Selic from 11.25 to 10.25 percent, the bank's Monetary Policy Committee (Copom) said in a statement on Wednesday.

The new rate, the lowest since the Central Bank started the measurements in 1996, was the third consecutive cut in the Selic rate this year. The country cut the rate from 13.75 to 12.75 percent in January, and from 12.75 to 11.25 in March.

The cut, a unanimous decision by the members of the (Copom), matched the expectation of most economists, who considered that the Central Bank was unlikely to repeat the previous 1.5 percentage point reduction, due to the latest signs of economic recovery.

With the cut, Brazil is no longer the country with the highest real interest rate (interest rate minus inflation rate) in the world. The country's real interest rate of 5.8 percent is now the third highest, after China (6.6 percent) and Turkey (6.4 percent).