San Francisco / AFP US oil services companies Halliburton and Baker Hughes announced they were calling off their massive multibillion-dollar proposed merger that had met strong resistance from regulators. The deal, announced in November 2014, foresaw a $34.6 billion takeover by Halliburton of its rival, creating a powerful competitor to global industry leader Schlumberger. “Challenges in obtaining remaining regulatory approvals …

  Bloomberg Puerto Rico will default on a $422 million bond payment for its Government Development Bank, escalating what is turning into the biggest crisis ever in the $3.7 trillion market that U.S. state and local entities use to access financing. Governor Alejandro Garcia Padilla invoked a debt moratorium law approved last month, saying during a televised address that the …

  Geneva / AFP Fresh air strikes pummelled the Syrian city of Aleppo on Monday as US Secretary of State John Kerry made a desperate bid to salvage a two-month ceasefire in the war-torn country. The top US diplomat gave some of his most downbeat comments yet after meeting the UN peace envoy on Syria, saying the conflict was “in …