US, China trade talks conclude on positive note

European stock indexes climbed on Wednesday, as optimism over ongoing U.S./China trade talks helped investors shrug off worries about an economic slowdown in Germany.

Stoxx Europe 600 adding 1% to 349.15. The German DAX jumped by 1% to 10,910.90 and France’s CAC 40 gained 1.2% to 4,829.12. U.K.’s FTSE 100 rose by 1% to 6,926.11.

U.S. stocks extended their strong run on Wednesday, booking gains for a fourth straight session, after reports suggesting Washington and Beijing had made some headway in resolving differences over trade.

The S&P 500 ended higher by 0.4% to around 2,585. The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 0.4%, to end near 23,878. The Nasdaq Composite logged a 0.9% gain to end near 6,957

Vodafone's marketing head joins Facebook

Former HUL hand, Siddharth Banerjee who was associated with Vodafone as EVP Marketing has moved on to join Facebook India as director- Global Sales Organization.

The senior executive updated his professional profile on social media platform LinkedIn to announce the development. A source in Vodafone said he was seen last in the Mumbai office in the first week of January and will now move to Delhi to start is new role.

Banerjee joined Vodafone in 2015 and before that worked for 12 years with Hindustan Unilever. Prior to joining HUL in 2003 he worked with General Mills and Reckitt Benckiser.

China-US trade talks lay foundation for future deal

The just-concluded trade discussions between the United States and China have laid a foundation for both sides to reach a future deal, Beijing said on Thursday

And while thorny differences remain, experts are optimistic that both sides will be able to reach an agreement over trade.

A statement released by China’s Commerce Ministry on Thursday morning said both sides carried out “extensive, in-depth and detailed exchanges” on trade and structural issues of mutual concern.

The three-day closed-door talks which ended on Wednesday “enhanced mutual understanding, and established a foundation for solving each other’s concerns”, the statement said.

Beijing stressed that both sides agreed to maintain close communication.

The negotiations now pave the way for discussions between both countries’ top negotiators – US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Vice-Premier Liu He.

Mr Liu is expected to travel to Washington later this month for further trade talks.

A statement released earlier by the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) said the talks were held with “a view to achieving needed structural changes in China with respect to forced technology transfer, intellectual property protection, non-tariff barriers, cyber intrusions and cyber theft of trade secrets for commercial purposes, services, and agriculture”.