News from Around the World

The Enduring Benefits of Trade

With large multilateral trade deals under the World Trade Organization having ground to a halt over the past decade, countries have turned to regional or preferential free trade agreements among smaller numbers of participants to inch liberalisation ahead.

The leader in this process has been the EU, concluding multifaceted deals with developed and developing countries since 2005. Its latest success was a series of agreements with Singapore signed last month.

OPIC Launches Billion Dollar Co-investment Platform

The Overseas Private Investment Corporation and Liberty Mutual Insurance announced a billion dollar co-investment platform that will invest in small- and medium-sized enterprises, a first for OPIC as it looks to try new tools and attract more institutional investors to the development finance arena.

OECD Calls for Overhaul of the Development Finance System

The development finance system needs overhauling, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, which gathers key economic data and aid spending figures from the world’s major economies.

Look at Issuing Digital Currency, IMF Head Tells Central Banks

Central banks should look seriously at issuing digital currency in order to “fill the void left by the decline of cash”, according to the head of the IMF.

Christine Lagarde said in Singapore on Wednesday that there could be a role for the state to supply money to the digital economy to aid financial inclusion and avoid a situation where “too much power could fall into the hands of a small number of outsized private payment providers”.

U.K.’s Brexit Deal in Jeopardy as Senior Ministers Resign

LONDON—U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May was fighting to save her Brexit deal just hours after it was sealed, after a series of ministers resigned amid deepening political turmoil over the terms of her plan to exit from the European Union.

Six government ministers, including Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab, one of the architects of the deal, quit Thursday as the prime minister faced a barrage of criticism over the plan in Parliament, raising the possibility that she could face an open challenge to her leadership.

China emerges as powerbroker in global climate talks

As nations jockey for position ahead of next month’s UN climate talks, the most significant of its kind since the Paris accord was sealed three years ago, negotiators are beating a path in a new direction: to Beijing.

China has emerged as the powerbroker in global climate talks, helping fill a leadership vacuum created by President Donald Trump’s decision last year to pull the US out of the international agreement.

Jordan's Parliament Passes IMF-backed Tax Law to Reduce Public Debt

AMMAN (Reuters) - Jordan’s parliament approved a new IMF-backed tax law on Sunday after introducing some changes in a move to push ahead with crucial fiscal reforms to lower record public debt needed to get the economy hit by regional conflict back on track.

A majority of deputies in the chamber approved a series of amendments in the 36-article bill that included raising family exemptions to mitigate its impact on middle class income earners.

Fed Official Quarles Poised to Lead Financial Stability Board

WASHINGTON—A top Federal Reserve official is poised to lead a global body overseeing financial regulations, according to people familiar with the matter, overcoming questions abroad about President Trump’s posture toward international institutions.

WTO to Set Up Panels to Rule on U.S. Tariff Disputes

GENEVA (Reuters) - The United States and opponents of President Donald Trump’s steel and aluminium tariffs both confirmed their wish to litigate on Wednesday, triggering the procedure for World Trade Organization dispute hearings, a Geneva trade official said.

China, the European Union, Canada, Mexico, Norway, and Russia all confirmed they would escalate their disputes by starting adjudication proceedings, while the United States confirmed its wish for dispute panels against Canada, China and the EU.

Theresa May Takes Her Brexit Deal to the People

Theresa May has one over-riding goal in the next two and a half weeks. She needs to get more than half of the MPs in the House of Commons to back her Brexit deal in the key vote on December 12.

But as she makes the case for the pact, the PM is not just focused on parliament. She is also taking her argument to a much wider constituency: the British people.