Latest news for 11 December 2025

CHINA

Up or down?

China’s stats bureau has reported an acceleration in consumer inflation (CPI) to a near two-year high of 0.75% (yoy), driven mainly by rising food prices. Meanwhile, inflation’s producer side (PPI) has slumped -2.2%, recording its 38th straight drop. (CNBC)

Comment: The big question is whether this CPI bump will impact China’s mooted plans to ramp up policy support in 2026, getting its next five-year plan period off to a strong start. And our answer is… no — pork prices can rise or fall, but this data set suggests China’s deeper problem (deflation) is still not going anywhere.

UNITED STATES

Another cut.

International markets have offered mixed reactions to the Fed’s third successive rate cut, partly because this was widely priced in already, but also because the Fed board itself still seemed divided and brought a hawkish undertone. (WSJ $)

Comment: The bit that really caught our eye was Powell’s remarks about AI, effectively suggesting the tech is boosting productivity but not (yet) seriously disrupting the labour market. One example doing the rounds is in radiology, which has *increased* its hiring despite it widely being seen as highly AI-vulnerable.

VENEZUELA

Nobel laureate reaches Oslo.

Nobel Peace Prize winner and Venezuelan opposition figure María Corina Machado has landed in Oslo after a daring journey defying the Venezuelan dictator’s decade-long travel ban. According to reports, she wore a disguise to pass through military checkpoints, and used a wooden skiff to sail away in a plan facilitated by a local network and the US. The saga meant she unexpectedly missed Wednesday’s Nobel ceremony in Oslo, with her daughter accepting the prize on her behalf instead. (CNN)

Comment: Meanwhile, the US continues to pressure the Maduro regime, reportedly seizing an unspecified oil tanker off Venezuela’s coast, and lapping two F18s over the Gulf of Venezuela (though reportedly without breaching Venezuelan airspace). It looks like a continued ratcheting up of pressure to force Maduro out.

MEXICO

Tariffs announced.

Lawmakers have approved tariffs ranging from 5-50% on over 1,400 imports, mainly from Asian countries including China, Indonesia, and India. (Independent)Comment: The move could be aimed at facilitating trade negotiations between the US and Mexico, considering the Trump administration had previously flagged concerns about Chinese imports bypassing US tariffs through Mexico.

ICELAND

More boycotts.

Iceland has announced it’ll join Spain, the Netherlands, Ireland, and Slovenia in boycotting next year’s Eurovision song contest, after the organisers cleared Israel’s participation last week. Flagged after October’s US-brokered ceasefire, these boycotts protest Israel’s actions in Gaza. Meanwhile, the organisers are emphasising Eurovision’s apolitical nature, with ~35 countries still participating. (Reuters)

INDONESIA

Nuclear friendship.

The president (Prabowo) just visited Putin in Russia for the third time in ~18 months, reportedly to discuss defence ties, wheat exports, and the possibility of the Russians helping Indonesia build its first nuclear power plant by 2032. (AA)

Comment: The ex-general Prabowo swept to power on promises to lead a more active and independent Indonesia on the world stage — it’s looking a bit like “pulling a Modi” at this point: one week he’s visiting US ally Australia to announce a major upgrade to defence ties; the next, he’s talking up defence ties in Moscow.

SOUTH KOREA

Epic leak.

Authorities are now investigating a massive data leak at e-commerce giant Coupang, impacting nearly two-thirds of South Korea’s population and triggering police raids at the company’s Seoul headquarters. The alleged culprit, a former employee from China, remains at large. (France24)

DR CONGO

What ceasefire?

Days after the leaders of Rwanda and Congo signed a US-pushed peace deal at DC’s newly renamed Donald J Trump Institute of Peace (né USIP), the Rwanda-backed M23 armed group has now captured the eastern Congolese city of Uvira. (AfricaNews)

Comment: It’s a reminder that no amount of signing ceremonies or photo opps can replace the painstaking work of tackling a conflict’s underlying drivers, which clearly persist not only between DRC and Rwanda, but also Thailand and Cambodia.