News from Around the World

Facing harsh realities, the global development community confronts another fraught year

EL PASO, Texas — On the U.S.-Mexico border, the dysfunctional politics of aid today are starkly apparent.

Bank of England’s gender diversity boosted by double appointment

The Bank of England’s gender diversity has been boosted by the appointment of two of the most senior women in British banking as external members of the committee that tries to spot and mitigate threats to UK financial stability.

Colette Bowe and Jayne-Anne Gadhia are to join the BoE’s Financial Policy Committee, the Treasury said on Thursday.

The central bank has come under parliamentary scrutiny recently for the dearth of women in its most senior ranks, partly because it currently has no female deputy governors.

What to watch in US Congress in 2019

WASHINGTON — On Capitol Hill, the new year brings with it new leadership of key committees, a divided Congress, a few development-related bills likely to be considered, and a fair amount of uncertainty about what’s in store after a period of bipartisan cooperation on development issues.

World Bank President Jim Yong Kim Announces He Is Stepping Down

World Bank President Jim Yong Kim announces he is stepping down at the end of January.

EU ready to offer limited support to Theresa May on Brexit deal

Leo Varadkar, Irish prime minister, has confirmed the EU is ready to provide new “written guarantees, explanations and assurances” to help Theresa May surmount huge opposition to her Brexit deal in the House of Commons next week.

Mr Varadkar’s comments will give Mrs May hope, but many MPs are demanding legal guarantees that the so-called Irish backstop— which would create a “temporary” EU/UK customs union to avoid a hard border in Ireland — will not be a permanent arrangement.

U.S.-China Trade Talks End. Now High-Level Talks Can Begin.

BEIJING — Three days of trade negotiations between midlevel American and Chinese officials ended in Beijing on Wednesday afternoon with progress in identifying and narrowing the two sides’ differences but little sense of when they might reach a deal.

The trade talks could help clear the way for higher-level talks later this month, when President Trump attends the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Vice Premier Liu He, China’s economic czar, is expected to come to Washington sometime after that.

India has a growing impact investing industry, but can it scale?

NEW DELHI — The growth in India’s mobile phone market has helped an unexpected sector — impact investing.

Government Shutdown Could End 99-Month Job Growth Streak

The partial government shutdown could cause the longest stretch of continuous job growth recorded in the U.S. to come to an end this month.

All Eyes on Corporate Guidance After Weak Economic Data

Tepid global economic data has triggered a razor-sharp focus among investors on corporate guidance.

Economic reports in emerging and developed markets have been broadly below expectations, causing Citigroup economic surprise indexes in the two groups to fall to near their lowest levels since June. That the Citi gauges are negative suggests data in aggregate are missing economic expectations.

Brexit Vote: Parliament to Decide on E.U. Withdrawal Plan

For Britain, the big vote is finally here.

After two and a half years of negotiation, argument, predictions and posturing, Parliament will finally decide on Tuesday on a bill that dictates the terms of Britain’s departure from the European Union, one of the most closely watched votes the lawmakers are likely to cast in their careers.