The Institute for Supply Management's (ISM) manufacturing index was 49.3 percent last month, up 0.9 percentage points from November, it said in a statement.

Equities mostly had a bumper 2024 on the back of enthusiasm about artificial intelligence (AI), cuts in borrowing costs by central banks and Donald Trump's presidential election win.

A series of manufacturing purchasing managers' indexes for December from across the region published on Thursday showed factory activity slowing in China and South Korea although there were some signs of a pickup in Taiwan and Southeast Asia.

From dining out and travelling by air to purchasing sweets and clothing, the small comforts in life are going to turn costlier for a hike in value added tax (VAT) on 43 goods and services.

China’s manufacturing activity expanded in December for the third month in a row, official data showed Tuesday, as leaders fight to reverse a slowdown in the world’s number two economy.

Sri Lanka’s consumer price index fell 1.7 percent year-on-year in December after dropping 2.1 percent in the previous month, the statistics department said on Tuesday.

Remittance inflow also broke single-month record in December

The survey of 31 economists and analysts predicted that Brent crude would average $74.33 per barrel in 2025, down from a forecast of $74.53 in November, marking an eighth straight downward revision.

Donald Trump's victory in the US presidential election gave Wall Street even more of a boost on hopes he will follow through on pledges of deregulation and tax cuts

The dollar slipped on the last trading day of the year on Tuesday but was poised to clock strong gains in 2024 against almost all currencies as investors prepared for fewer US rate cuts and the incoming Trump administration.

China's Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) was 50.1 in December, marking a third consecutive month of expansion

Japan’s factory activity shrank at a slower pace in December as declines in production and new orders eased, a private-sector survey showed on Monday, edging closer to stabilisation after recent falls.

Gold prices slipped in thin trade on Monday, as markets awaited next week’s US economic data and the potential impact of President-elect Donald Trump’s return to office on the Federal Reserve’s 2025 outlook.

A rise in foreign trade is helping the port recover from the global economic downturn

New orders contracted for the 19th straight month on subdued demand in both domestic and key overseas markets

Russia’s manufacturing sector continued to expand in December, but at a slower pace than the previous month, as inflationary pressures remained high and business confidence weakened, S&P Global reported on Friday.

Tokyo is bustling. Office vacancy rates in the Asian city are around 3 percent, sharply lower than 15 percent for New York and 8 percent for London. Japan’s rising appeal to financiers, tourists and global buyout firms alike, plus its enduring low interest rates, will underpin another strong year for its commercial property market.

Bangladesh should enhance the quality of its workforce, embrace innovation, upskill the labour force and harness the expertise of the non-resident Bangladeshis (NBRs) to thrive globally, Foreign Adviser Md Touhid Hossain said today..With improved ICT infrastructure and strategic rebranding

ChatGPT-maker OpenAI laid out plans Friday for a new corporate structure shifting away from control by a non-profit -- an issue of contention for the artificial intelligence trailblazer.

Major European energy companies doubled down on oil and gas in 2024 to focus on near-term profits, slowing down - and at times reversing - climate commitments in a shift that they are likely to stick with in 2025.