December tends to sneak up on us, asking the perennial question: where did the year go? The final month often seems like both a finish line and a mirror, reflecting the year’s highs, lows, and everything between.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Markets, meanwhile, are hoping for an early Christmas gift from the U.S. Federal Reserve as policymakers gather for their final meeting of the year next week.<\/p>\n
Traders are largely expecting a 25-basis-point cut according to the CME Fedwatch tool<\/a>, a move they hope will kickstart the “Santa Claus rally” that often nudges markets higher into the year-end.<\/p>\n However, the forecast isn’t entirely clear skies for Santa’s sleigh.<\/p>\n U.S. President Donald Trump’s increasingly bellicose rhetoric has raised the spectre of possible military action in Venezuela, while recent volatility over the AI theme has investors wondering whether uncertainty will build, or in a worst-case scenario, give way to a bubble that finally pops.<\/p>\n If time flies, then 2025 moved at supersonic speed, and December is its landing strip. So please fasten your seat belts, stow your tray tables, and put your seats in the upright position.<\/p>\n Happy December!<\/p>\n What you need to know today<\/p>\n China factory activity slows. Manufacturing activity <\/a>in the world’s second largest economy unexpectedly contracted in November, according to a private survey released Monday<\/a>, as soft domestic demand continued to cast a pall over China’s economic landscape.<\/p>\n India GDP accelerates. The Indian economy grew faster than expected <\/a>for the quarter ending September, expanding 8.2% year on year. The sharp improvement in GDP growth rate was on account of a pick up in manufacturing and construction activity and domestic consumption.<\/p>\n Wingtech-Nexperia war of words heats up. Dutch chipmaker Nexperia has publicly called<\/a> on its China unit to help restore supply chain operations, warning in an\u00a0open letter<\/a>\u00a0that customers across industries are reporting “imminent production outages.”<\/p>\n Markets climb in shortened Thanksgiving session. All three U.S. indexes gained in a shortened Friday session<\/a>, with the\u00a0Nasdaq Composite<\/a> scoring its fifth straight day of gains. In Asia, markets were mixed<\/a>, with Chinese markets higher, while Japan saw losses.\u00a0<\/p>\n [PRO] A bright outlook for silver. Buzz around gold has rippled through markets this year \u2014 but silver has been quietly going along for the ride,<\/a> culminating in a new record high that analysts say could double in the coming years.<\/p>\n And finally…<\/p>\n An American Airlines Airbus A321-231 airplane taxis to depart from San Diego International Airport to Dallas at sunset on November 22, 2024 in San Diego, California.<\/p>\n Kevin Carter | Getty Images News | Getty Images<\/p>\n Airbus A320 recall disrupts global travel after glitch linked to solar flares<\/a><\/p>\n Thousands of travelers worldwide were stranded after Airbus\u00a0ordered immediate software fixes<\/a>\u00a0for 6,000 A320-series aircraft, a move that affected more than half of the narrow-body fleet and forced airlines to ground jets during one of the busiest travel weekends of the year.<\/p>\n The\u00a0directive<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 among the largest in the 55-year history of\u00a0Airbus<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 quickly spilled into U.S. holiday travel and stretched to Australia. The disruption, linked to solar flares, hit especially hard in Asia, where the single-aisle A320 family anchors short-haul networks.<\/p>\n The European Union Aviation Safety Agency said in a directive on Friday that a JetBlue flight on Oct. 30 experienced an “uncommanded and limited pitch down event.”<\/p>\n \u2014 Victor Loh<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"December tends to sneak up on us, asking the perennial question: where did the year go? 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