
A group of nine leading retail broker-dealers, banks, financial services firms, and global market makers, have agreed to launch an equities exchange, MEMX, or Members Exchange. The new exchange will be owned entirely by its founding members and will seek to deliver benefits to retail and institutional investors by introducing greater competition to the marketplace. MEMX will file an application with the Securities and Exchange Commission in early 2019 for approval to operate as a national securities exchange.

Millions of US taxpayers will still receive refunds despite an ongoing partial government shutdown, the White House has said. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has previously delayed tax refunds during a government shutdown.

World Bank President, Jim Yong Kim has made the surprise announcement that he is stepping down after six years in the post. His resignation will take effect from 1 February. Mr Kim, 59, was not due to leave until 2022, after he was re-elected for a second five-year term in 2017.

Venezuela Supreme Court judge Christian Zerpa has fled to the United States to protest over President Nicolás Maduro's second term in office. Last year's election “was not free and competitive”, the former Maduro loyalist told a Florida radio station, and he accused President Maduro of systematically manipulating the affairs of the Supreme Court.

Brazil’s new President Jair Bolsonaro said that he would be open to the possibility of the United States operating a military base on his country’s soil, a move that would form a sharp shift in direction for Brazilian foreign policy.

A shooting with several victims has been recorded this Saturday morning in a bowling alley in the town of Torrance, in the county of Los Angeles (USA), police said.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Jay Powell took steps to reassure financial markets on Friday, saying that the US central bank would be patient about rate rises. He also defended his independence, saying he would not resign if requested by US President Donald Trump.

The US economy created many more jobs than expected in December, according to the latest government data. Employers added 312,000 jobs, far ahead of predictions of 177,000, the Labor Department said.

The US Supreme Court will hear this Friday an appeal against an intermediate court decision accepting jurisdiction over Argentina and its majority state-owned oil giant YPF, in a case relating to YPF’s 2012 re-nationalization by Argentina, then under the rule of ex-president Cristina Fernandez.

Three former Credit Suisse bankers have been arrested over their alleged role in a US$ 2bn fraud scheme connected to firms in Mozambique, according to US authorities. The men have been released on bail in London while the US seeks their extradition.