Brazil posted a higher-than-expected $4.9 billion trade surplus in May, official data showed on Monday, boosting exports to the European Union amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Reuters reported. The result represented a sharp decline from the $8.5 billion surplus posted in May 2021, on the back of a surge in imports while exports grew at a slower pace. Exports were up 8% from the same month last year to $29.6 billion, a record for any month, the Economy Ministry said.

Ukraine's central bank said the situation in the war with Russia will determine whether its key interest rate can be cut from the current level of 25% or whether further hikes will be necessary, Reuters reported. On June 2, the central bank sharply raised its main interest rate to 25% from 10%, tightening monetary policy for the first time since the Feb. 24 Russian invasion to tackle double-digit inflation and protect incomes and savings during the war.

The German government is preparing to lend billions to rescue a former arm of Gazprom PJSC now under the control of the country’s energy regulator, Bloomberg News reported. A bailout for Gazprom Germania GmbH could come as early as this week, with state-owned bank KfW Group expected to issue a loan in the range of 5 billion euros ($5.2 billion) to 10 billion euros, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is private. Talks are still ongoing and plans could change.

The UK's Financial Conduct Authority has put Credit Suisse on a watchlist of institutions in need of stricter supervision, the Financial Times reported late on Sunday, citing a letter sent in May, Reuters reported. The regulator told the Swiss bank last month the step had been taken because of concern the bank had not made enough improvements to its culture, governance and risk controls, the report said.

The Treasury Department said on Friday that it was concerned that some of America’s trading partners were taking actions to weaken their currencies and gain unfair trade advantages against the United States — but declined to label any country a currency manipulator, the New York Times reported. In its semiannual foreign exchange report, the department singled out Switzerland, which in 2020 was deemed a manipulator, as a worst offender and said it was closely watching the foreign exchange practices of Taiwan and Vietnam.

The US and European real estate markets are experiencing a downwards shift in prices as buyers fall away, according to the global chief investment officer of Hines, one of the largest closely held real estate investors in the world, Bloomberg News reported. Prices have fallen by about 5% to 10% compared to a year earlier in some areas, according to David L. Steinbach, with Europe following a trajectory set in the US. “I think we’re in for a rough few months,” he said.

Britain's economy faces stagnation next year and could easily fall into recession, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) warned on Monday after it slashed its outlook for growth due to surging inflation, Reuters reported. The CBI is the third major body to cut its growth forecasts for Britain in the past week, following a downgrade from the British Chambers of Commerce and a warning from the OECD that Britain had the weakest outlook of any major economy bar Russia. "Let me be clear – we're expecting the economy to be pretty much stagnant. It won't take much to tip us into a recession.

German Economy Minister Robert Habeck plans to present concrete proposals to tighten the nation's antitrust laws and give the Federal Cartel Office more powers, according to a position paper circulated by his ministry on Sunday, Reuters reported. The move comes amid his concerns that energy companies are not passing on to consumers a recent cut in tax on fuel that was enacted to help offset soaring inflation. The ministry foresees reducing hurdles to confiscate profits and giving the cartel office additional powers to intervene, according to the document dated June 11.

Credit Suisse Group AG won the green light to pursue its court battle against companies controlled by Sanjeev Gupta’s GFG Alliance, in a dispute over more than a billion dollars in debts to the bank, Bloomberg News reported. A London judge said that the Swiss lender’s attempt to wind up three of Gupta’s firms can proceed, saying the GFG companies couldn’t rely on rules designed to protect companies during the coronavirus pandemic. “The demands made on the companies over a year ago have not been met,” Judge Nicholas Briggs said in his ruling.

The European Central Bank will enter a new era on Thursday, as policymakers are set to confirm just how soon its bond-buying program will end and reaffirm plans to raise interest rates over the summer for the first time in more than a decade, the New York Times reported. Across the eurozone, inflation has outpaced economists’ expectations: The annual rate of price increases climbed to 8.1 percent in May, the highest since the creation of the euro currency in 1999.