News from Around the World

Google suspends Huawei from Android services

Google has dealt a blow to Huawei’s fast-growing consumer smartphone business by suspending the delivery of key software and technical services to the Chinese company, according to two people familiar with the situation.

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.

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.

Greece plots return to debt market with new bond issue

Greece plans to tap the international bond market for the first time since emerging last August from its third bailout programme, it was announced on Monday. The country revealed plans to issue a five-year syndicated bond following a sharp fall in yields on the country’s debt.

The bullish performance has come after the minority Syriza government ratified a deal to change Macedonia’s name, ending a 28-year dispute with its Balkan neighbour.

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.

HK stock exchange CEO says ‘one country, two systems’ is flawed

The head of Hong Kong’s stock exchange has said the city’s “one country, two systems” relationship with China is flawed, weeks after concerns about his company's independence from Beijing helped scupper its £32bn bid for the London Stock Exchange.

Charles Li said in a speech in London that the “one country, two systems” model had “fundamental flaws” in how it was implemented from the outset, referring to the high degree of autonomy granted Hong Kong following the handover from British to Chinese rule in 1997.

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.

House Sets Vote on Plan to Double Funding for Global Infrastructure Projects

Must-pass FAA bill includes ‘Build Act,’ a bid to counter China’s influence by bolstering development financing

How bad is China's economic slump? It's impossible to tell

Hong Kong (CNN Business)- Companies and executives around the world are desperately trying to gauge the severity of China's economic slowdown. But getting a clear picture is very difficult.

How is the US government shutdown impacting development?

WASHINGTON — Catholic Relief Services received approval in early December from the U.S. Agency for International Development for an ongoing program in Malawi and submitted the necessary documents, but was then told by USAID it could not disburse the funds because of the partial U.S. government shutdown.