In brief

Obama open to ‘big deal’ on budget

LEESBURG, Va. — US President Barack Obama told congressional Democrats yesterday he is willing to agree to a “big deal” with Congress on spending cuts and tax reforms to end the fiscal uncertainty over the US deficit, but insisted that new revenues be part of the package. “I am prepared, eager and anxious to do a big deal, a big package, that ends this governance by crisis where every two weeks, or every two months, or every six months, we are threatening this hard-won recovery,” said Obama. See also page 10

Carney sets high bar

LONDON — Mark Carney, who will be the first foreigner to run the Bank of England in its 318-year history, cooled expectations yesterday that he would push for sweeping changes in British monetary policy. In his first detailed comments on Britain’s near-stagnant economy, Carney said that committing to keeping monetary stimulus unchanged for a set period might be needed to help restore confidence among firms and households. That is something that Carney introduced at the Bank of Canada. He was also quick to note Britain’s policy of focusing on inflation but not at the expense of choking the economy. “In my view, flexible inflation targeting — as practised in both Canada and the UK — has proven itself to be the most effective monetary policy framework implemented thus far,” he said, adding “As a result, the bar for alteration is very high.”

Political scandal, economy costs Spain at bond auction

MADRID — Spain’s funding costs climbed at a bond auction yestersday after a corruption scandal touching Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy’s party and concerns over the country’s weak economy tempered investor enthusiasm. The costs remained far from crisis levels, however, and demand was solid. The Treasury paid almost half a percentage point more for its shorter-dated debt at a triple bond sale from just four weeks ago. But at around 2.8 percent, two-year yields were a shadow of last summer’s euro-era highs above seven percent.

Buyers eye multibillion deal for Brazilian drugmaker

LONDON — International drug companies are considering bidding for Ache Laboratorios Farmacéuticos, one of Brazil’s biggest drugmakers, in a deal valuing it at several billion dollars, according to people involved in the process. Buying privately-owned Ache could appeal to a number of drug firms looking to increase their footprint in Latin America. Sources said the Brazilian arm of investment bank Lazard had been mandated by key shareholders to investigate a sale of Ache — and several European and US drugmakers had shown interest.