WTO Leadership Race, Shipping Crisis, Canada Deputy: Eco Day

(Bloomberg) -- Welcome to Friday, Americas. Here’s the latest news and analysis from Bloomberg Economics to help you start the day:

• World Trade Organization members eliminated three candidates from the race to be the next director general of the trade body and plan to narrow the field to two final candidates in the coming weeks
• The Bank of England’s preparations for the aftermath of a potentially messy Brexit could include a new weapon, with policy makers giving the strongest signal yet that they’re considering using negative interest rates
• The worst shipping crisis in decades is putting lives and trade at risk
• Russia’s central bank put its monetary easing cycle on pause after ruble weakness contributed to a surprise uptick in inflation last month
• The Bank of Canada’s top deputy Carolyn Wilkins said she won’t be seeking a second term, four months after she was passed over for the role of governor
• A leading legal organization told Mexico’s Finance Ministry in a letter that the country’s hardball tactics to fight tax evasion are a threat to the rule of law, in another chapter of the increasingly frosty relationship between government and business

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