Asia shares stumble on weak China data, U.S. dollar heavy
Asian shares were dragged lower by weakness in Chinese economic data on Thursday although investors seemed relieved that U.S. inflation data was not hot enough to force even faster monetary tightening by the Federal Reserve.
Global economy: Asian factories take Omicron risks in stride, for now
Asia’s factory activity grew in December as companies took rising global cases of the new Omicron coronavirus variant in stride, though persistent supply constraints and rising input costs clouded the outlook for some economies.
Swiss National Bank sticks to loose policy, diverging from Fed and others
The Swiss National Bank stuck to its ultra-loose monetary policy on Thursday, diverging from the tightening path being taken by a growing number of central banks and despite higher inflation and a surge in the value of the safe-haven Swiss franc.
U.S. marshals other nations, challenges OPEC+ with release of oil reserves
The administration of U.S. President Joe Biden announced on Tuesday it will release millions of barrels of oil from strategic reserves in coordination with China, India, South Korea, Japan and Britain, to try to cool prices after OPEC+ producers repeatedly ignored calls for more crude.
