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NEW YORK / Bloomberg The U.S. is a nation divided — divided between zip codes where economic times are good and zip codes where they really aren’t. This map was compiled by the Economic Innovation Group, a new Washington think tank with Silicon Valley backing. It’s based on a variety of economic indicators, most for the years 2010 to 2014, ...

NEW YORK / Bloomberg If the U.S. enters a recession this year, it may end up a lot like a boring conversation at a cocktail party: painfully long and shallow. The world’s largest economy has a host of strengths, from well-capitalized banks to financially-stable households, which should help limit the depth of a downturn should one happen. Yet with interest ...

Rio De Janeiro /Bloomberg A letter from the prosecutor-general’s office made public on Monday confirms that the federal task force in charge of Brazil’s sweeping corruption probe known as Carwash has been investigating former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva since late last year. The federal task force is probing Lula’s involvement during his time as president with construction companies ...

Buenos Aires / Bloomberg Argentina’s deal to put a bitter 15-year creditor saga behind it won’t come cheap. The country agreed to terms with bondholders led by hedge fund billionaire Paul Singer over unpaid debts from its record $95 billion default in 2001. The settlement, which will let Argentina regain access to overseas bond markets, is the biggest, and arguably ...

Bloomberg Mexico’s state-owned oil company is taking deepwater development off its plate for now. Driven to rip $5.5 billion out of its budget this year to cope with a lengthening market downturn, it makes sense that Petroleos Mexicanos would look first to its riskiest and most expensive operations. The company reported its 13th quarterly loss, bringing its total losses for ...

BLOOMBERG Brazil’s economic and political crises are proving to be a boon to one of the nation’s most embattled sectors: ethanol producers. Drivers, who used to switch between ethanol and gas depending on the price gap, are now just going for the cheaper, less-efficient ethanol as they try to cut short-term spending amid a battle with inflation as high as ...

BEIJING / Bloomberg China’s political leaders identified aerospace as one of 10 key industries in the country’s quest to become an advanced industrialised nation. Ahead of this weekend’s annual legislative session, Western planemakers — their future competitors — are helping them toward that goal. Airbus Group SE will break ground on Wednesday on a finishing center for its wide-body A330 ...

Frankfurt / AFP German retail sales, a closely watched measure of household confidence, rose in January, suggesting consumer sentiment in Europe’s top economy remains robust, official data showed on Monday. Retailers’ sales expanded by 0.7 percent in January compared with December, the federal statistics office Destatis said in a statement. The previous month, retail sales had risen by 0.6 percent. ...

Auckland / Bloomberg A Boeing Co. 777-200LR will touch down in Auckland, New Zealand, on Wednesday after journeying 8,824 miles from Dubai, grabbing the title of world’s longest scheduled airline flight for Gulf carrier Emirates. Not to be outdone, Qatar Airways will this year offer services to Santiago in Chile, some 140 miles further again, as well as its own ...

Bloomberg Amazon chose “leap day” to announce its tie-up with British supermarket chain Wm Morrison. Internet delivery specialist Ocado would no doubt prefer to wipe this particular date from the calendar. The arrival of Amazon on the scene isn’t great for British grocers Tesco, Sainsbury and Wal-Mart’s Asda, who are doing battle with German price-slashers Aldi and Lidl. For Ocado, ...