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Good morning.

From the newsroom of the Financial Times. Today is Wednesday

January 23rd and this is your FT news briefing. Today the FT reports that the

Trump administration has turned down an offer from China for preparatory trade talks

IBM records annual revenue growth for the first time since 2011 and pressure

mounts on Tori Eurosceptics and the Democratic Unionist Party to back Theresa May's Brexit deal.

Then the FT's Lindsay Frutato tells us why two activists hedge funds have taken an interest

in eBay. I'm Eric Krupky and here's the news you need to start your day.

The FT is reporting that the Trump administration rejected an offer from China for

preparatory trade talks.

Two Chinese vice ministers offered to travel to the US this week

to pave the way for a higher level meeting in Washington

on January 30th.

But according to two people briefed on the negotiations,

U.S. officials canceled the meetings because of a lack of progress on two key issues.

First, U.S. negotiators want an end to what they call forced technology transfers, transfers

from foreign companies to Chinese joint venture partners and other firms. China says companies

aren't forced to transfer technology.

U.S. negotiators also want President Xi Jin-Ping's administration

to scrap state subsidies and industrial policies they believe discriminate

...