Headlines

The Canadian economy appeared to lose its strength toward the end of this year even as the central bank cut interest rates at a rapid pace, Bloomberg News reported. Advance data suggested gross domestic product shrank 0.1% in November, the first monthly contraction this year, after a 0.3% expansion a month earlier, Statistics Canada said Monday. The October figure beat economist expectations of 0.2% in a Bloomberg survey.

German start-up Lilium, known for its innovative flying taxi technology, has successfully avoided bankruptcy by securing a new investor, The Munich Eye reported. The Mobile Uplift Corporation GmbH, a consortium of investors from Europe and North America, has agreed to take over the flight taxi developer. A purchase agreement has been signed for the operational assets of Lilium GmbH and its subsidiary, Lilium eAircraft GmbH.

Another well-known Dutch cycling manufacturer has filed for bankruptcy, the NL Times reported. Cargoroo, who sold electric shared cargo bikes, declared bankruptcy at the court in Amsterdam on Tuesday. It was reported last week that the e-bike brand Amslod was the last company to file for bankruptcy. The court in Amsterdam will declare Cargoroo bankrupt this week, Utrecht alderman Senna Maatoug (Mobility) expects. Bikes made by Cargoroo have been taken off the streets in Utrecht and cannot be booked anymore, she wrote in a letter to the municipal council.

China will ramp up fiscal support for consumption next year by raising pensions and medical insurance subsidies for residents as well as expanding consumer goods trade-ins, its finance ministry said on Tuesday, Reuters reported. The country will boost the basic pension for retirees and for urban and rural residents and raise financial subsidy standards for urban and rural residents' medical insurance to help "vigorously" boost consumption, the ministry said after concluding a two-day national fiscal work conference.

South Korea’s consumer confidence dropped by the most since the outbreak of COVID-19 this month, battered by the political turmoil triggered by President Yoon Suk Yeol’s declaration of martial law and his impeachment, Bloomberg News reported. The composite consumer sentiment index slipped 12.3 points to 88.4 in December, falling well below the threshold of 100 that divides optimism and pessimism, according to a Bank of Korea survey released Tuesday. That’s the biggest slide since the World Health Organization declared the pandemic in March 2020, sending global consumer sentiment tanking.

Singapore forged ahead with efforts to formulate a digital-assets hub in 2024, while rival financial center Hong Kong has struggled to gain traction, Bloomberg News reported. Singapore doled out 13 crypto licenses in 2024 to a range of crypto operators including top exchanges OKX and Upbit, as well as global heavyweights Anchorage, BitGo and GSR. That’s more than double the licenses awarded by the city-state the previous year. A similar licensing regime in Hong Kong has been slow to progress.

Mexico’s annual inflation slowed slightly less than expected in early December as services prices remained pressured, supporting the central bank’s cautious stance as it extends interest rate cuts, Bloomberg News reported. Official data released Monday showed that consumer prices rose 4.44% in the first two weeks of December from a year prior, just above the 4.4% median estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg and down from the 4.55% reading in late November. Services inflation was the main driver in the period.

Chinese authorities have agreed to issue 3 trillion yuan ($411 billion) worth of special treasury bonds next year, two sources said, which would be the highest on record, as Beijing ramps up fiscal stimulus to revive a faltering economy, Reuters reported. The plan for 2025 sovereign debt issuance would be a sharp increase from this year's 1 trillion yuan and comes as Beijing moves to soften the blow from an expected increase in U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports when Donald Trump takes office in January.

Expectations of a Turkish central bank rate cut strengthened on Wednesday after a less-than-requested minimum wage hike, economists said, as it showed the government's determination to reach disinflation targets, Reuters reported. The 30% rise will test the government's efforts to fight years of chronic high inflation as it could pressure prices. Turkey's net monthly minimum wage will be 22,104 Turkish lira ($627) in 2025. The government said the level was set to maintain fiscal discipline and continue the fight against inflation. The workers union had requested an increase of around 70%.