News from Around the World

IDB appoints Brian O'Neill as new executive vice president and COO

WASHINGTON — The Inter-American Development Bank has named former U.S. Treasury official Brian O’Neill to serve as executive vice president and chief operating officer.

O’Neill was approved by the IDB Board of Directors on Dec. 14 and will begin his new role in January. He has over 40 years of experience in banking in Latin America, most recently as a senior advisor at Lazard, an international financial advisory and asset management firm. He served as acting U.S. director at the IDB for five months in 2008.

Humanitarian investing gathers speed at Davos

DAVOS, Switzerland — Finding ways to channel more private investment into humanitarian settings was a hot topic this year at Davos — the World Economic Forum’s 48th annual meeting in Switzerland — which included the tentative launch of a development impact bond to create jobs for Syrian refugees.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.