Colombia's Congress approves $80 billion budget

Colombia's congress approved an $80 billion budget for 2018 on Wednesday, a 1 percent increase over this year's spending, as the government seeks to retain the country's 'BBB' credit rating.

Policymakers have been grappling for over two years with the twin pressures of a weak economy, caused by the global drop in oil prices, and inflation that at one point last year was more than double the bank's 2 percent to 4 percent target range.

Source: Nasdaq