Japan’s economic landscape continues to reflect contrasting fortunes between its manufacturing and services sectors, with December marking the sixth consecutive month of factory contraction, according to the au Jibun Bank Flash Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI). While manufacturing shrank further, the services sector showed resilience, pointing to an economy increasingly dependent on service-driven growth. Manufacturing PMI […]

The European Central Bank (ECB) is poised to continue its monetary easing trajectory into 2025 as the eurozone grapples with persistent economic headwinds. Francois Villeroy de Galhau, Governor of the Banque de France and an influential ECB policymaker, has reaffirmed this stance, suggesting that the ECB remains aligned with market expectations for further interest rate […]

South Korea’s travel and tourism industry, a key driver of its economy generating $59.1 billion in 2023 (approximately 3.8% of its GDP), now finds itself at a crossroads. The sector has weathered several past challenges, including North Korean tensions and a presidential impeachment in 2016, but the recent political crisis, marked by a brief episode […]

The global economy faces mounting risks from soaring government debt levels, with the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) cautioning that an impending debt glut could disrupt financial markets in 2025. Claudio Borio, the BIS’s head of monetary and economic research, highlighted the potential for destabilizing bond market reactions that might spill over into other asset […]