Global News
US-China “phase one” trade deal signed – After 3 years of negotiation, Chinese Vice Premier, Lui He, travelled to Washington to sign the first phase of an agreement between the US and China, which both sides hope will help their economic relationship. The “phase one” agreement outlined that China must make improved efforts to crack down on theft of US technology and corporate secrets by its companies and state entities. The agreement also outlined a $200 billion Chinese spending plan, to try and bridge the gap in the trade imbalance with the US, as well as putting a stop to Beijing’s currency manipulation.
Russian Parliament shake up – Vladimir Putin has started a sweeping plan of reform of Russia’s constitution, even accepting the resignation of his long-serving Prime Minister, Dmitry Medvedev. In a state of the nation address, he proposed a referendum to make big changes to the countries current political system, which included plans to reduce the powers of the future president, and boost those of the future parliament. These reforms could allow President Putin to prolong his reign of Russia, after his current presidential term which ends in 2024.
Bank of England interest rate – UK interest rates look set to be cut in 2020, as growth data backed up the Bank of England’s (BoE) fears that the UK economy will be in need of boost in 2020. In November, the UK economy declined by a worse than expected -0.3% due to weakness in the manufacturing sector. A BoE official, Gertjan Vlieghe, stated to the Financial Times that he would vote for a cut, while two other BoE policymakers have already voted for rate cuts in previous committee meetings.
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