What you need to know today

Syria’s Assad regime collapses after 50 years 

Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad reportedly fled to Russia after a rebel advance over the weekend reached the capital city of Damascus, ending 50 years of Assad family rule over Syria. Russian state news agencies Tass and RIA cited an unnamed Kremlin source about granting asylum to Assad and his family in the country.

South Korea’s president survives impeachment vote

South Korean President Yoon Seok Yeol survived an impeachment vote over the weekend after his ruling People Power Party boycotted the vote. In the impeachment motion, all 192 opposition legislators were in favor of removing the president, but failed to clear the bar of the 200 votes needed after only three PPP members voted in favor of the motion.

Kospi leads Asian losses, S&P and Nasdaq reach new records 

South Korea’s Kospi plunged more than 2.7% on Monday as the fallout from Yoon’s brief declaration of martial law continues to roil the country. Separately in the United States, both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite hit new records on Friday, after November jobs data fueled hopes that the Federal Reserve will cut rates after its meeting ends on December 18. in the United States.

China consumer inflation rate drops to a five-month low

China’s headline inflation rate fell to its lowest level in five months in November and missed expectations. The country’s inflation rate rose 0.2% from a year earlier, less than the 0.5% expected by economists polled by Reuters. Core inflation, which excludes food and fuel prices, rose 0.3% in November from 0.2% in October.

[PRO] Chinese EV markets to benefit in 2025 

Traditional foreign automakers were shown exiting China’s auto market in 2024, meaning 2025 looks to be the year a few local electric car companies can solidify their leadership in the world’s second-largest economy. .

The bottom line

A quote commonly attributed to Russian revolutionary Vladimir Lenin says: “There are decades when nothing happens and there are weeks when decades happen.”

While it is difficult, even absurd, to suggest that nothing has happened in the last few decades, a lot has certainly happened in the last two weeks.

Over the weekend, Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad reportedly fled to Russia, ending 50 years of Assad family rule, South Korea’s president survived an impeachment vote after declaring first instance of martial law in more than 40 years, and last week, France’s government collapsed after a no-confidence vote, the first time this has happened in France in more than 60 years.

Could political turmoil overshadow the markets’ typical year-end rally, where markets typically rise?

To be honest, it’s hard to say. On the one hand, the effects of these political developments are not yet fully known and will cause uncertainty, but on the other hand, US economic data appears to support the case for rising markets.

Traders expect the US Federal Reserve to be the market’s Santa Claus this year. According to the CME Fedwatch tool, there is an 85% chance that the Fed will enact a 25 basis point cut next week, which is likely to send markets higher.

However, many other clouds also loom on the horizon heading into 2025, including the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump. In short, 2024 may be coming to an end, but it seems determined to come out strong in the last three weeks.