Brazil slashes lending rate to 10.25 percent

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
The Brazilian Central Bank slashed its benchmark interest rate to 10.25 percent - its lowest ever - Wednesday amid a downturn in key economic indicators in Latin America's largest economy. Policymakers slashed the so-called Selic rate by 1 percentage point. It was the third straight interest-rate cut in as many months. The cut is aimed at reviving the country's sluggish economy, which has been battered by the global economic slowdown. Just last week, the government's IBGE statistics agency said the jobless rate stood at 9 percent in March, equal to about 141,000 people, up from 8.5 percent in February and the highest level since September 2007. There are currently 2.1 million people seeking work.