Brazil central bank expected to keep rate at 14.25%

Brasília (AFP) - Brazil's central bank was expected to maintain its benchmark interest rate at 14.25 percent Wednesday for a seventh consecutive time, amid the worst recession in decades and political instability. Despite the flailing economy -- with a 3.8 percent shrink in GDP last year forecast to persist through 2016 -- the latest consensus of 100 economists and analysts in a weekly survey by the Central Bank's Focus magazine is for no change. This month, the bank is also expected to w