News from Around the World

China Prepares Policy to Increase Access for Foreign Companies

China plans to replace an industrial policy savaged by the Trump administration as protectionist with a new program promising greater access for foreign companies, according to people briefed on the matter, in a move to resolve trade tensions with the U.S.

IMF warns storm clouds are gathering for next financial crisis

The storm clouds of the next global financial crisis are gathering despite the world financial system being unprepared for the next downturn, the deputy head of the International Monetary Fund has warned.

David Lipton, the first deputy managing director of the IMF, said that “crisis prevention is incomplete” more than a decade on from the last meltdown in the global banking system.

GPE to stay under World Bank but with more independence and 'new capabilities'

LONDON — The board of the Global Partnership for Education has decided to remain a World Bank trust fund until at least 2021, despite offers from France and Switzerland to host the organization.

The announcement, which came Friday at the end of a two-day board meeting in Dublin, Ireland, follows months of speculation about whether GPE should continue to be administered as a trust fund within the World Bank or set up independently. The decision is set to be reviewed in 2021.

Brazil’s Inflation Rate Slows More Than Forecast in November

Brazil’s inflation rate slowed in November, according to new data which sharpen market expectations that the central bank will hold rates steady at next week’s meeting.

Annual consumer price inflation in Brazil — as measured by the IPCA index — eased to 4.05 per cent in the 12 months through November, according to figures released on Friday by the IBGE, the country’s statistics agency.

Post-Brexit Trade: A Missed Opportunity for Development?

BERLIN — During a visit to South Africa in August, British Prime Minister Theresa May announced that her government had secured its first post-Brexit trade deal: an agreement between the United Kingdom and six southern African countries, which she said would “build a closer trade and investment partnership in the future that brings even greater benefits for both sides.”

But the deal is actually a replication of an existing European Union arrangement with those six countries, known as an Economic Partnership Agreement, or EPA.

Second Jobs and Tightened Belts: The Arab Middle Class Cuts Back

CAIRO—A wave of economic austerity is squeezing the Arab world’s middle class, pushing a segment of society that is key to growth and stability into making painful cutbacks and fueling discontent.

Egyptians say they are taking second jobs and dining out less often. Jordanians trying to make ends meet are pulling children from private schools. In Tunisia, hundreds of thousands of civil servants staged a one-day strike last month to demand a pay increase.

U.N. Climate Summit Kicks Off With $200 Billion Pledge From World Bank

Katowice, Poland, has coal in its blood. Situated in the industrial region of Silesia, it transformed from a village to a bustling city 150 years ago when vast coal reserves were found in the area. Today it still supplies most of Poland’s coal – on which the country is 80% dependent for its electricity.

U.S., China Face Thorny Obstacles to Lasting Trade Peace

BUENOS AIRES—The trade truce between the U.S. and China calms their economic battle and opens a brief window for the two nations to explore whether they can bridge deep divides on a range of difficult disputes.

After a weekend dinner between President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping at a Group of 20 summit here, the U.S. postponed its threat to increase tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese goods to 25% from 10%. But it set a timeline of only about three months for the two sides to negotiate several issues that have proved largely intractable in the past.

World Leaders Set to Convene Argentina Summit Clouded by Disputes

BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - A summit of the world’s top economies will open on Friday with leaders struggling over fallout from a U.S.-China trade war that has roiled global markets and bracing for the kind of divisive geopolitical drama that President Donald Trump often brings to the international stage.

'No country is untouched': Global Nutrition Report highlights compounding malnutrition

WASHINGTON — Every country in the world experiences the burden of malnutrition and many nations now see a compounding of different forms including stunting, wasting, anemia, and obesity, according to the “2018 Global Nutrition Report.”

Child stunting, anemia in women of reproductive age, and overweight in women were examined in 141 countries that had consistent data on those malnutrition indicators. Findings show 88 percent (124 countries) have high levels of at least two different types of malnutrition, while 29 percent have high levels of all three.