December 29, 2023
United States:
The Dollar Is Set for Its Worst Year Since 2020
The dollar is poised for its worst year since the onset of the pandemic as Wall Street bets the Federal Reserve is set to lower interest rates after reining in prices.
After being whipsawed by false starts calling for the end of the Fed’s rate hiking regime, a Bloomberg gauge of the greenback is down nearly 3% this year in the steepest annual drop for the US currency since 2020.
Europe:
France Wants to Force Food Retailers to Flag ‘Shrinkflation’
France wants large food retailers to alert their customers if products are affected by so-called shrinkflation, after officials openly criticized the practice earlier this year.
The government has submitted a draft decree to the European Commission that aims to require French food retailers to signal when the cost of a product stays the same though its size declines, the Finance Ministry said in a statement. If unopposed by Brussels, the decree could be enforced in late March, according to the statement.
Asia:
South Korea’s Cooling Prices Support Expectations of 2024 Easing
South Korea’s slowing inflation supports the view among economists that next year the central bank will start paring back a restrictive policy that has also put pressure on corporate finances.
Consumer prices rose 3.2% from a year earlier, decelerating from 3.3% in November, the statistics office reported Friday. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg had forecast the pace of price growth to remain at 3.3%.
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