Economy

The Palácio do Planalto, the seat of Brazil's federal government, in Brasília, in 2020. The critical minerals council was installed there.

Critical minerals

Brazil approves a list of 27 critical minerals, with rare earths, lithium and copper in the top priority tier

Inside the Tokyo Stock Exchange in December 2025. The Nikkei 225 closed this Friday down 5.96%.

Kospi triggers circuit breaker and closes 6% lower as the Nikkei loses the 60,000 mark in Asia's worst session since April 2025

The Duque de Caxias refinery (Reduc), in the background, seen from a neighbourhood of the Rio de Janeiro state municipality in 2018. Coke and petroleum products were the biggest drag on Brazilian industry in September 2026.

Brazil's industrial output falls 0.8% in September, the fourth drop in five months, and 2.5% in a year

The Banco de México building in downtown Mexico City, lit up at night, in 2026.

Monetary policy

Mexico's central bank surprises with a cut, leaving its benchmark rate at 6.25% — the lowest since March 2022

Data center infrastructure in the United States, in a 2025 photograph released by the Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

AI and the midterms

Voters went against data centers in 40 of 41 local ballot measures, and the AI industry is already rewriting its offer

The Bank of England's headquarters on Threadneedle Street, in the City of London, in September 2019.

Monetary policy

Bank of England raises Bank Rate to 4%, its first hike in more than three years, and projects inflation near 5% by mid-2027

The buildings of the Ministério do Trabalho e Emprego and the Ministério da Previdência Social in Brasília, pictured in January 2023.

Brazil added 121,300 formal jobs in September, 43.5% fewer than a year earlier

The headquarters building of the Banco Central do Brasil in Brasília, where the Copom meets, pictured in 2010.

Brazil's central bank holds the Selic rate at 13.75% and breaks a run of five cuts

An official ceremony for the avocado production and export programme in Uruapan, Michoacán, in March 2014.

Mexico resumes avocado shipments to the United States on Thursday after a two-week stoppage in Michoacán

The trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange on Wall Street, in an archive photograph from the Carol M. Highsmith collection at the Library of Congress.

The Dow jumps 1,569 points after the Democratic sweep, its best post-midterm session in 44 years

The seat of the European Central Bank and the Frankfurt skyline, in Germany, in 2015.

Eurozone inflation climbs to 4.0% in October, its highest in more than three years

Binance says a fake job interview opened the door to the $6.3 billion crypto heist

The Frances Perkins Building in Washington, headquarters of the US Department of Labor and home of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2017.

US job openings rose to 7.5 million in September, quits climbed by 321,000 and layoffs fell

The Esplanada dos Ministérios in Brasília, home to Brazil's finance ministry, in July 2019.

Brazil's finance ministry finishes the selective-tax decree and sets collection to start in February 2027

The facade of the Banco de México building in Mexico City's historic centre, in 2019.

Remittances to Mexico fall to US$5.36 billion in September, the lowest monthly total since April

The tail of a TAP Air Portugal aircraft, CS-TJR, at Lisbon airport in July 2026.

Portugal signs sale of up to 49.9% of TAP to Lufthansa for €1.201 billion

Unfinished Boeing 777X fuselages at the Boeing Everett Factory in Washington state, in September 2025.

US factory activity speeds up to 55.5% in October, with input prices rising for a 25th straight month

A Delhaize Shop and Go store at Brussels-Schuman station in Belgium, in September 2026. The photograph is from the archive and does not show one of the affected stores.

Cyberattacks tamper with supermarket freezers in five European countries, and stores throw food away

The facade of INEGI's main building in Aguascalientes, Mexico, in 2024.

Mexico's economy grows 0.9% in the third quarter and accelerates to 3.2% year on year, its best reading since 2023

Uruguay's foreign minister, Mario Lubetkin (left), greets Raffaele Fitto during a visit to the European Commission in October 2025.

The Mercosur-EFTA agreement takes effect for Uruguay with Norway and Iceland, covering about 97% of tariff lines