x     Brazil's Central Bank's (BCB) Monetary Policy Committee (Copom) decided on Wednesday to maintain the basic Selic interest rate at 15% per annum, which drew long faces among the country's industry, commerce, and trade sectors. For the National Confederation of Industry (CNI), high interest rates stifle economic activity and isolate Brazil on the international stage, where most countries have already begun cycles of reduction. In a statement, CNI President Ricardo Alban said that the