Brazil’s Congress has voted to fix inflation-adjusted...

Brazil’s Congress has voted to fix inflation-adjusted interest rates at 12% a year under the country’s new constitution, despite protests from bankers and business leaders that the measure won’t work. The 559-member Congress passed the limit in vaguely worded legislation regarding “real” interest rates, which was interpreted to mean the level of interest charged above the inflation rate. Inflation in the past 12 months totaled 496%, but some banks and financial institutions currently charge more than 1,000% annually.