Pinnacle Entertainment, Inc. announced last week its initial assessment of the damage caused by Hurricane Katrina, which struck the Gulf Coast area on Monday, August 29. Preliminary reports indicate that no employees or guests were injured at the Company´s Boomtown New Orleans casino in Harvey, La., or at its Casino Magic Biloxi property, which is located in the particularly hard-hit area of Biloxi, Miss.

Brazil´s economy expanded more than expected in the second quarter as a surge in exports of products such as iron, sugar and trucks more than offset a slump in domestic demand. Stocks, bonds and the currency gained. Gross domestic product grew 3.9 percent from a year earlier, faster than the 2.8 percent growth in the first quarter and above the 3.4 percent median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of 24 economists, a government report showed.

Currency markets drifted earlier this week, letting waves of data largely wash over them as London traders prepared for Monday´s holiday. The euro climbed to $1.2323 against the dollar in early European trade, but eased after an unexpected fall in Germany´s IFO index of business sentiment.

Crude oil futures spiked to more than $70 (U.S.) a barrel for the first time as Hurricane Katrina took dead aim on U.S. oil and refinery operations Monday, shutting down an estimated one million barrels of refining capacity and sharply curbing offshore production in the region. Light, sweet crude for October delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange climbed as much as $4.67 a barrel in electronic after-hours trading in Singapore to hit a high of $70.80 a barrel. The price had slipped back to $68.95 by midday in Europe. That was still up $2.08 from its close on Friday in New York.

Mexico´s central bank cut its benchmark overnight rate for the first time ever, reducing it from a 29-month high after core inflation fell to a record as the economy slowed. The Bank of Mexico, which normally adjusts rates by changing the amount it lends overnight at higher rates, did so last week by saying by how much it would allow banks to drive down the overnight rate. In a statement, the bank´s board said it would “allow an easing of monetary conditions of no more than 25 basis points.” A basis point is 0.01 percentage point.

Chile, the world´s biggest copper producer, will probably post growth of about 6 percent for a third straight year in 2006 as the country´s exports and investment climb, Deputy Finance Minister Maria Eugenia Wagner said. The economy next year is on course to grow at a similar to this year´s expected expansion of about 6 percent, Wagner said in an interview. Gross domestic product expanded 6.1 percent last year, the fastest pace since 1997. The government will make its official forecast for 2006 later this year.