News from Around the World

Hong Kong’s richest man Li Ka-shing weighs in on protests

Li Ka-shing, Hong Kong’s richest man, on Friday weighed in on the city’s anti-government protests after months of silence with front-page newspaper advertisements calling for an end to violence.

The 91-year-old property-to-infrastructure magnate — whose Midas touch has won him a reputation among Hong Kong investors as the city’s answer to Warren Buffett and Bill Gates combined — issued two different advertisements calling on his fellow citizens to love the territory and China.

Powell Likely to Use Jackson Hole to Suggest Fed Ready to Cut

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell will have no lack of material to choose from when he kicks off the central bank’s annual Jackson Hole symposium Friday with a speech on the challenges for monetary policy.

History Will Remember the Trade War’s Economic Impact, Not the Fed’s

Economists see recessions as complex phenomena with multiple causes. Historians and the public prefer simple narratives. So while a recession remains for now more risk than reality, the fight over the narrative is well under way.

Fears grow World Bank board could 'compromise' on accountability reforms

LONDON — Civil society groups have urged the World Bank’s board of directors to give its inspection panel tougher powers in order to effectively hold the institution to account, as a long-delayed review looks set to end in “compromise.”

After nearly two years of deliberations, insiders told Devex that the bank’s board plans to finalize a package of reforms to the panel ahead of the upcoming annual meetings in October.

International criticism mounts over Amazon fires

Ireland’s prime minister said there was “no way” his country could support a big trade pact involving Brazil if the South American nation did not honour its environmental commitments, deepening an angry international reaction to fires sweeping through the Amazon rainforest.

Leo Varadkar also accused Brazil’s president Jair Bolsonaro of an “Orwellian” attempt to blame the fires on environmental non-governmental organisations, after Mr Bolsonaro said he was suspicious that they could be involved.

Trump Softens Tone on China, Iran at G-7 Summit

BIARRITZ, France—President Trump struck a conciliatory tone on the final day of the Group of Seven summit, where he faced pressure from French President Emmanuel Macron to de-escalate the trade war with China and ease tensions with Iran.

At a joint news conference with Mr. Macron, Mr. Trump said he was open to meeting with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani. The remarks came hours after the Iranian leader signaled that he too was open to talks, and Mr. Macron said he hoped the two leaders would speak in the coming weeks.

IMF meets with Argentina opposition candidate

BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - A team from the International Monetary Fund met on Monday with opposition candidate Alberto Fernandez, the front-runner for October’s presidential election, according to a spokesman for Fernandez.

A three-man IMF team sat down with three representatives from Fernandez’s center-left “Frente de Todos” coalition as well as the candidate himself, according to a statement from Fernandez´s office.

Boris Johnson asks Queen to suspend UK Parliament ahead of Brexit

Parliament suspension: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has asked the Queen to suspend Parliament just days after it returns from summer recess next week, and only weeks before the Brexit deadline.

Why this is happening: Johnson is seeking to suspend Parliament so his government can deliver a Queen's Speech on October 14, which lays out the government's agenda for the parliamentary session.

China’s Potential New Trade Weapon: Corporate Social Credits

BEIJING—After five years, China is putting the finishing touches on a sweeping new system to punish and reward companies for their corporate behavior. But foreigners worry that, amid the continuing U.S.-China trade dispute, Beijing will use its new corporate “social credit” system as a weapon against international businesses.

World Bank to Investigate if China Loan Funded Muslim Detention Camps

WASHINGTON — The World Bank is investigating whether a $50 million loan it granted in 2015 for an education project in China’s Xinjiang region has been used to fund Muslim detention camps.

The review comes amid growing global concern that China has detained one million or more Muslim Uighurs and placed them in “re-education” camps where they are forced to renounce their religious beliefs and embrace the ideology of the Communist Party.