News from Around the World

Silicon Valley's role in shifting the education sector from access to outcomes

SAN FRANCISCO — There has been a growing emphasis on the need to frame success in education around learning rather than attendance. But if you ask some entrepreneurs and investors in Silicon Valley, there is still too much emphasis on butts in seats, and not enough attention paid to whether kids are learning.

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.

Saudi Aramco in talks to buy Reliance Industries stake

Saudi Arabia’s state energy group is in talks with Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries to buy a minority stake in the Indian company’s refining and petrochemicals business, according to three people familiar with the discussions.

Saudi Arabia Oil Pipeline Attacked by Drones

Saudi Arabia said Tuesday it halted pumping on a major oil pipeline after it was hit by armed drones, the latest attack on its energy infrastructure after two of its oil tankers were damaged near the Strait of Hormuz over the weekend.

Real Time Economics: Will the Economy Get Another Fiscal Boost?

One of the big unknowns for U.S. economic growth: federal spending. Lawmakers agreed to cap spending in 2011 as part of a bruising fight over raising the debt limit.

QE May Be Over, But the Fed’s U.S. Debt Hoard Is About to Soar

If you thought the Federal Reserve was done with quantitative easing, you might only be half right.

Prepare for a synchronised global economic slowdown in 2019

It is that time of year when, if you’ve behaved very well and eaten all your Brussels sprouts, elves deliver 2019 macro and markets outlooks to your inbox. Last year, most heralded 2018 as the year of synchronised global growth. The theme did not really pan out, as US expansion far outstripped that of most developed economies thanks to fiscal stimulus.

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.

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.

Populists fall short of expectations in the European elections

THAT RIGHT-WING populism has gained ground in Europe in recent years is a well-established fact.