US pledges $5.8B aid for CentAm, $4.8B for southern Mexico

MEXICO CITY (AP) — The United States pledged $5.8 billion in aid Tuesday for strengthening government and economic development in Central America, and another $4.8 billion in development aid for southern Mexico.

The U.S aid aims to promote better security conditions and job opportunities as part of a regional plan to allow Central Americans to remain in their countries and not have to emigrate.

The plan was announced in a joint U.S.-Mexican statement released by the State Department and read aloud by Mexican Foreign Relations Secretary Marcelo Ebrard in the Mexican capital.

“In sum I think this is good news, very good news for Mexico,” Ebrard said.

“The commitments established here signify more than doubling foreign investment in southern Mexico starting in 2019,” he added.

Southern states like Chiapas and Oaxaca are home to many of Mexico’s poorest communities. President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who took office Dec. 1, has sought to make development in that region a priority, including plans for a “Mayan train” stretching from touristy parts of the Yucatan Peninsula down to Chiapas.

It was unclear if Mexico would give anything in return. A planned announcement about Mexico’s migration policy was postponed until Wednesday.

The United States has reportedly wanted Mexico to allow migrants seeking asylum in the United States to remain in Mexico while their applications are processed.

https://apnews.com/0fcda32812024680ad98676379c47233

>>4363488

My thoughts exactly!

Gary Cohn: ‘I Am a Globalist — I Believe We Live in a Globalized World’

Former President Donald Trump economic adviser and former Goldman Sachs COO Gary Cohn, when asked Tuesday on CBS’s “This Morning” about Trump calling him a “globalist” and if it was an anti-Semitic remark, proudly proclaimed himself as a globalist.

“I’m absolutely not offended by the term ‘globalist’ as I am a globalist,” Cohn stated. “I believe we live in a globalized world. I think the United States is an integral part of a globalized world. And we have to figure out how to live as a good citizen in a globalized earth — so do the Chinese, so do the Russians, so do the Middle Eastern countries.”

“We are globalized. We cannot change that fact,” he concluded.

https://www.breitbart.com/video/2018/12/18/gary-cohn-i-am-a-globalist-i-believe-we-live-in-a-globalized-world/

Trump to attend World Economic Forum in Davos for second straight year

President Trump will travel to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, next month, the White House said Tuesday, making it the second consecutive year Trump will attend the event.

Trump and roughly a dozen other White House officials will head to Switzerland for the conference, which will bring together powerful political and business leaders from Jan. 22-25.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin will lead the U.S. delegation, which will also include Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, Labor Secretary Alex Acosta, Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, Small Business Administrator Linda McMahon and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer.

White House advisers Jared Kushner, Ivanka Trump and Chris Liddell will also attend.

Trump attended the forum last year, becoming just the second sitting U.S. president to do so. The U.S. does typically send a delegation of high-ranking officials.

The White House last year pushed back against criticism that the forum is a gathering for wealthy elites, arguing that it was an opportunity to tout American economic policies.

https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/421919-trump-to-attend-world-economic-forum-in-switzerland-for-second

Top Amazon exec who was large shareholder is leaving after two-year hiatus, adding to exodus

Diego Piacentini, one of the most senior executives at Amazon who had previously led its international business, has left the company.

He went on a two-year leave in 2016 to work with the Italian government, but has decided not to return to Amazon after his project came to an end in October, according to a person familiar with the matter.

His departure is particularly notable given that he’s the second person to leave this year out of Amazon's "S-Team," a tight-knit group of senior leaders that see very little turnover.

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/12/18/amazon-exec-diego-piacentini-has-left-after-two-year-leave.html

>>4363755

Top Amazon exec who was large shareholder is leaving after two-year hiatus, adding to exodus

>>4363698