UK finance minister hopeful on deal with EU

DAVOS: The latest developments from the final day of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where top executives and world leaders are meeting this week.
George Osborne, Britain's economic and finance minister, thinks a deal between his government and the European Union on a series of reforms to Britain's membership of the 28-country bloc is possible in February.
The British government is looking to eke out four reforms to the country's membership from EU partners that will then be put to the British people in a referendum.
A deal in February would pave the way for a vote on British membership of the EU to take place in June.
If one isn't forged in time, Prime Minister David Cameron says he can hang on until the end of 2017. However that would only add to uncertainty and could weigh on British economic activity.
Osborne told a panel at the World Economic Forum that he's "optimistic" about getting a good deal and that the people will then vote to stay in. A potential British exit from the EU has been one of the main talking points at Davos this year.

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Michael Froman, the US trade tepresentative, says progress on a trans-Atlantic free trade pact has "accelerated" over the past few months despite growing reticence in many parts of Europe, notably in Germany.
Speaking at the World Economic Forum on Friday, Froman heaped praise on his counterpart at the European Union, Cecilia Malmstrom, for traveling widely to "address misinformation and mythologies" over the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership.
Concerns over an agreement between the world's two biggest economies are widespread, from fears of a lowering in food safety standards and the undermining of local regulation by giving international arbitration panels the power to rule over disputes. The most visible opposition to the deal was seen in Berlin last October, when some 150,000 demonstrated against the deal.
Froman said neither side has any interest in lowering standards, whether it be in regulatory protections, safety or the environment.

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Tidjane Thiam, chief executive of Swiss bank Credit Suisse, says financial markets have had their worst start to a year "ever."
Still, he thinks the markets have been "over-reacting" in the first three weeks of the year, which has seen many stock markets around the world plunge and oil prices strike fresh multi-year lows.
Addressing a panel at the World Economic Forum, Thiam says he's not overly concerned about a hard landing of the Chinese economy.
Christine Lagarde, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund, said global growth this year faces "downside risks" related to China, lower commodity prices and disparate central bank policies around the world. Still, she said the Fund expects global growth this year to be 3.4 percent, up from 3.1 percent in 2015.