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| - We will move the following business and economics stories: + China farm region finds sex sells as 'lingerie capital' + Waiting for wifi: Italy's digital divide + New bloodletting hits Spanish banking sector + Computer chip shortage may leave auto sector idling + Fed set to hold the line as US economy recovers + New York looks to become America's next marijuana hub + Apple moving forward on app privacy, despite pushback China-clothing-lingerie,FOCUS GUANYUN, China Americans like their lingerie to be risque, Europeans prefer it more classy, and Chinese remain a bit shy but are opening up -- so goes the street-corner discussion in Guanyun, a sleepy coastal county that for generations followed the rhythms of wheat and rice cultivation, but today concerns itself with global preferences on sensual wear. 750 words by Dan Martin. Picture. Video Health-virus-Italy-economy-internet,FOCUS COLLE DI TORA, Italy The last time a customer tried to pay by card in Anna Rita Pani's grocery store in Colle di Tora, a small town outside Rome, things got a bit awkward. Her card reader works with wifi, but Colle di Tora is one of the least connected towns in Italy -- itself a digital laggard compared with the rest of the European Union. 600 words by Alvise Armellini. Picture Spain-banking-labour-layoffs,FOCUS MADRID In Spain where bank tellers were once legion, the sector is again reeling from thousands more job cuts as a 10-year trend gathers pace due to the ongoing pandemic. 650 words by Emmanuelle Michel Automobile-semiconductors,FOCUS PARIS What was initially downplayed as a brief hiccup in the supply of semiconductors looks more and more like a shortage that may last throughout the year in what would be a big blow to automakers. 700 words by Taimaz Szirniks US-economy-bank-rate WASHINGTON When the US Federal Reserve's policy-setting committee opens its two-day meeting on Tuesday, analysts do not expect officials to raise rates or otherwise signal any backing away from the easy money policies rolled out to aid the US bounceback, despite some fears of rising inflation. 600 words by Chris Stein and Julie Chabanas US-economy-agriculture-social-cannabis,FOCUS BINGHAMTON, New York Kaelan Castetter has plans for the unused offices next to his factory: dedicate all 35,000 square feet of it to growing marijuana, which just became legal for recreational use in New York state. 700 words by Daniel Hoffman. Picture. Video US-IT-lifestyle-privacy-Apple,FOCUS SAN FRANCISCO An update to the software powering some billion iPhones around the world kicks in Monday with an enhanced privacy feature critics fear will roil the internet advertising world. 675 words by Glenn Chapman afp
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