Global health experts are concerned about the spread of Covid in China. They are casting doubts over whether a sufficiently high proportion of the population is vaccinated (total population of China is about 1.4 billion) and whether the nation has medical equipment to fight a new wave of COVID-19.

According to BlackRock strategists, traders’ hope for a sharp slowdown in inflation is futile

On Tuesday the Chinese yuan rose against the U.S. dollar after declining initially.

The latest step by Bank of Japan Chair Haruhiko Kuroda shocked financial markets. The Central Bank has adjusted the program of managing the yield curve of government bonds. Thus, there was a jump in the yen and a bond yields’ decline just a few months before Kuroda’s resignation.

Business confidence in New Zealand dropped to a record low in December. Its decline occurred after the central bank drastically increased interest rates.

Higher mortgage rates and high building costs in 2022 caused a drop in sentiment among homebuilders in the U.S.

The United States has become a major crude oil exporter over the past few years. However, the country's exports have not exceeded its import share since World War II. This situation is likely to change in 2023.

US natural gas futures flopped 11% as investors expect milder weather over the next two weeks. As a result, milder conditions should allow utilities to leave more gas in storage and US residents to reduce the energy used for heating.

The Canadian dollar strengthened against the U.S. currency. Investors expect that the easing of COVID restrictions in China will increase demand for oil, which is one of the main exports of Canada.

According to Reuters, Japan is going to issue bonds for the annual budget for fiscal year 2023/24. As the government source said, the amount of bonds would be 35.5 trillion yen ($258.52 billion).