Finance : BCBS finalises Basel III/IV reforms   (Chakravarthi Raghavan, Geneva) (PRIV)
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After a long period of consultations and efforts to bridge mainly trans-Atlantic differences, top international central bankers and regulators have struck a deal on bank capital rules, and made public the global regulatory framework of the banking sector, enhancing capital requirements for banks to ensure a resilient banking system to support the real economy through the economic cycle.

Trade : US NO to improving PSH peace clause, MC11 inching to collapse   (D. Ravi Kanth, Buenos Aires) (PRIV)
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The World Trade Organization's Buenos Aires ministerial meeting (MC11) is inching towards collapse after the United States refused to concede any improvements in the existing peace clause for public stockholding programs for food security that was agreed in November 2014, according to people familiar with the development.

Trade : WTO, from negotiating to "litigation-centered" body, complains US   (D. Ravi Kanth, Buenos Aires) (PRIV)
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The United States on Monday (11 December) remained isolated at the World Trade Organization's eleventh ministerial conference (MC11) in Buenos Aires, as it voiced its unilateral stance that the WTO is transformed from a negotiating body to "a litigation-centered organization" where members think they can win concessions through lawsuits which they can never get at the negotiating table.

Climate : Are rising seas, coastal erosion, powerful storms a wave of the future?   (IPS, New York) (PRIV)
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The 44-member Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) represents some of the world's most vulnerable island nations fighting a virtually losing battle against rising sea levels triggered by global warming and climate change.