A Corruption Investigation Clouds Brazil's Prospects for Economic Reprieve

The past few years have been difficult for Brazil's economy. But after two straight years of recession, things are looking up. By mid-January, the country's inflation rate had fallen to just below 6 percent, its lowest level since March 2014. Reduced inflation prompted the central bank to start cutting interest rates, which now stand at 13 percent. (Economists expect the rate to be under 10 percent by the end of the year.) Confidence in Brazil's manufacturing sector is on the rise, meanwhile, and its current account deficit dropped to $23 billion in 2016, down from $104 billion two years earlier. The Brazilian economy could even start growing again this year -- so long as its domestic political affairs don't get in the way....