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Beyond the common challenges like currency fluctuations and supply shocks that keep the world's central bankers up at night, in Mexico there is an additional foe for those conjuring monetary policy: protection rackets. Extortion has become a massive problem in Mexico, with powerful drug cartels exerting deep influence over swathes of the country. Keen to establish new revenue streams, these groups have been turning to extorting businesses by forcing them to pay protection money.

(Bloomberg) -- Brazil’s annual inflation cooled roughly in line with expectations in early August, providing limited relief to a central bank that’s under sustained pressure to raise interest rates.Most Read from BloombergNazi Bunker’s Leafy Makeover Turns Ugly Past Into Urban EyecatcherChicago Overcomes DNC Skeptics With Calm, Parties and SunHow the Cortiços of São Paulo Helped Shelter South America’s Largest CityOfficial data released Tuesday showed prices increased 4.35% in the first two week

(Bloomberg) -- Home-price gains in the U.S. slowed in June as buyers pulled back from the market while listings started to climb. Most Read from BloombergNazi Bunker’s Leafy Makeover Turns Ugly Past Into Urban EyecatcherChicago Overcomes DNC Skeptics With Calm, Parties and SunHow the Cortiços of São Paulo Helped Shelter South America’s Largest CityA national measure of prices rose 5.4% from a year earlier, according to data from S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller. That compares with a 5.9% annual increa

(Bloomberg) -- A spread that shows the difference in oil prices in Europe and Asia surged to the widest in 10 months on concern that swaths of supply from Libya are about to get halted. Most Read from BloombergNazi Bunker’s Leafy Makeover Turns Ugly Past Into Urban EyecatcherSydney Central Train Station Is Now an Architectural DestinationChicago Overcomes DNC Skeptics With Calm, Parties and SunHow the Cortiços of São Paulo Helped Shelter South America’s Largest CityWith Housing Costs High, Democ

(Bloomberg) -- Gold snapped two days of gains, with traders looking ahead to US inflation data that will offer clues on the Federal Reserve’s rate-cutting path.Most Read from BloombergNazi Bunker’s Leafy Makeover Turns Ugly Past Into Urban EyecatcherSydney Central Train Station Is Now an Architectural DestinationChicago Overcomes DNC Skeptics With Calm, Parties and SunHow the Cortiços of São Paulo Helped Shelter South America’s Largest CityWith Housing Costs High, Democrats Hone YIMBY MessageBul

(Bloomberg) -- Libyan oil output dropped as authorities in the OPEC member’s east enforced a shutdown, escalating a crisis the United Nations warned runs the risk of collapsing the economy.Most Read from BloombergNazi Bunker’s Leafy Makeover Turns Ugly Past Into Urban EyecatcherSydney Central Train Station Is Now an Architectural DestinationChicago Overcomes DNC Skeptics With Calm, Parties and SunHow the Cortiços of São Paulo Helped Shelter South America’s Largest CityWith Housing Costs High, De

BEIJING (Reuters) -Oil prices paused recent advances to trade in a range on Tuesday, after a surge of more than 7% in the previous three sessions, on supply concerns prompted by fears of a wider Middle East conflict and the potential shutdown of Libyan oil fields. Brent crude futures was up 3 cents at $81.46 a barrel by 0630 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures dropped 6 cents to $77.36 a barrel. "Losses in oil prices may seem contained in today's session, which suggest prices taking a breather following a sharp rally over the past few days," said Yeap Jun Rong, market strategist at IG.