The trade war is over, trade peace is here. At least for now.

President Donald Trump signed off on a so-called phase-one trade deal with China, averting the Dec. 15 introduction of a new wave of U.S. tariffs on about $160 billion of consumer goods from the Asian nation, according to people familiar with the matter. 

The deal presented to Trump by trade advisers Thursday included a promise by the Chinese to buy more U.S. agricultural goods, according to the people. Officials also discussed possible reductions of existing duties on Chinese products, they said. The terms have been agreed but the legal text has not yet been finalized, the people said. A White House spokesperson declined to comment.

The administration has reached out to allies on Capitol Hill and in the business community to issue statements of support once the announcement is made, they said.

U.S. stocks rose to records earlier Thursday as optimism grew that there would be a deal. Trump tweeted that the U.S. and China are “VERY close” to signing a “BIG” trade deal, also sending equities higher.

“They want it, and so do we!” he tweeted five minutes after equity markets opened in New York, sending stocks to new records.

This is great news for the global community and the world economy,

There is no doubt that the outcome of the UK General Election yesterday has removed some of the uncertainty around Brexit.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has once again proved to be a very strong campaign politician.

The Conservatives won a ‘landslide victory’ in the election and reach their best result since Margaret Thatcher’s days.

The results:

Conservatives 364, Labour 203, Scottish National Party (SNP), 48 and Leiberal democrats 11, DUP 8, Sinn Fein (NI) 7, Plaid Cymru (Wales) 4, Green Party 1.

With a huge majority for the Conservatives in the House of Commons, Brexit will now happen.

Boris Johnson promised in his victory speech “to get Brexit done”. He also said: “I will put an end to all that nonsense and we will get Brexit done on time by the January 31 – no ifs, no buts, no maybes”.

Priti Patel, Home Secretary of Johnson’s government, promised in the Sky News election studio that the government will start the Brexit process on Monday. She promised that both Houses of Parliament will work over the holiday season to get Brexit legislation in place, “UK leaves EU on 31/1”.

The result is also a disaster for the opposition, especially for the Labour Party that delivered the worst result since 1935. Further more the Liberal Democrats had a bad election.

The Brexit Party and Nigel Farage have also played out their part and Farage is on his way to United States to help Donald Trump in the Presidential election.

Jeremy Corbyn announced that “he would not resign as Labor leader immediately and would instead oversee a reflection process in the party”.

A number of well-known politicians lost their seats in Parliament; including Dominique Grieve, the former Tory minister (and Johnson’s biggest detractor) that did not get re-elected and the same situation was the case for the Liberal Democrats party leader Jo Swinson who lost her seat in Parliament. Also Nigel Dodds, the DUP’s leader in Westminister – lost his place in Parliament.

The British newspapers this morning announced the general election as a fundamental victory for Boris Johnson.

Now Brexit will move on. Brexit is on the way.

Today Sweden and some of the Other Scandinavian countries celebrates Lucia.

Lucia is a festival celebrated on December 13, as well as the name of the main character.

In Sweden, Lucia, together with the advent, marks the beginning of the Christmas celebration.

The Swedish Lucia is a mixture of both pre-Christian and Christian figures and this tradition has spread to other Nordic countries, and to some extent also outside the Nordic countries.

Lucia is a historical person who was born in Syracuse in Sicily in the 280s. It is also historically proven that she became a martyr for her faith. In the Catholic tradition, she is the patron saint of the blind.

The legends about Lucia are many and the details are probably more or less true. She was born into a wealthy family and it is said that, as a child, she decided to never marry and give everything she owned to the poor.

Lucia comes with light and hope when it is the darkest period of the year up North.

All schools and workplaces have their Lucia. The Lucia and her followers sing specific songs and serves specific food, typical for the event.