French Prime Minister Barnier on Tuesday took to the airwaves in a last-ditch attempt to convince lawmakers to grant his government a reprieve ahead of a Wednesday no-confidence vote that appears likely to pass. 

“The moment is serious and difficult, but the challenge is not impossible,” Barnier said in an interview with journalists from French broadcasters TF1 and France 2. Lawmakers are set to begin debating the measure, which would torpedo Barnier’s government and potentially send France into twin political and financial crises, on Wednesday at 4 p.m.  

The far-right National Rally has pledged to support a no-confidence motion brought by the pan-left New Popular Front, giving it enough votes to pass barring any last-minute surprises. Barnier’s ouster would make him the shortest-serving prime minister in modern French history. (Politico – Continue Reading) 

Australia’s economic growth remained sluggish last quarter as a surge in government spending underpinned the expansion, highlighting the Reserve Bank’s policy challenge as inflation is still stubbornly sticky.

Gross domestic product rose 0.8% from a year earlier, the weakest reading — excluding the pandemic — since December 1991, when the economy was mired in recession, official data showed Wednesday. On a per capita basis, GDP slid for a seventh consecutive quarter, also the worst result since 1991. 

The data sparked a drop in the currency — down 1% — and a fall in policy sensitive three-year government bond yields. Swaps traders boosted bets to fully price an April interest-rate cut, compared with about 60% odds yesterday. (BBG – Continue Reading) 

China's services activity expanded at a slower pace in November, pressured by easing new business growth, including in exports, a private sector survey showed, as the economy braces for a rocky ride of more U.S. tariffs under a second Trump administration.

The Caixin/S&P Global services purchasing managers' index (PMI), released on Wednesday, fell to 51.5 from 52.0 in October, but remaining above the 50-mark that separates expansion from contraction on a monthly basis. 

That aligns with the official PMI released on Saturday, which showed non-manufacturing activity weakened to 50.0. China's economy has faced constant pressure from multiple fronts this year, with consumer and business confidence hit by a prolonged property downturn, local government debt risks and weakening global demand. (RTRS – Continue Reading) 

Stock market trading has been acutely sensitive to economic data in the post-Covid era, with the averages moving sharply on upside and downside surprises.

That could be about to change as Donald Trump plans to assume the presidency, bringing with him a high level of uncertainty and making policy possibly more important than the much-watched macro economic data that dominates Wall Street activity. 

The first test if that holds true: Friday’s nonfarm payrolls report for November that Bank of America recommends market participants “tread carefully” when assessing due to noisy data. (CNBC – Continue Reading)