Regent Street in London celebrating the Christmas season on November 13, 2025 in London, England.
Ben Montgomery | Getty Images Entertainment | Getty Images
December sneaks up on us with the eternal question, “Where did this year go?” The last month is often both a finish line and a mirror, reflecting the year’s highs, lows, and everything in between.
Meanwhile, markets are hoping for an early Christmas present from the Federal Reserve as policymakers gather for their final meeting of the year next week.
According to the CME FedWatch tool, traders are mainly expecting a 25 basis point (bp) rate cut, hoping that will start a “Santa Claus rally” that often sends prices higher toward the end of the year.
But the forecast doesn’t guarantee that Santa’s sleigh will be completely sunny.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s increasingly bellicose rhetoric has raised fears of possible military action in Venezuela, while recent instability around AI has investors worried whether it will increase uncertainty or, in the worst-case scenario, give way to a bubble that will eventually burst.
If time flies, the year 2025 is traveling at supersonic speed, and December is its landing zone. Therefore, fasten your seat belt, stow the tray table, and place your seat in an upright position.
Happy December!
What you need to know today
Factory activity in China continues to be on the decline. The country’s factory activity rose slightly in November, but remained in contraction for the eighth straight month. The manufacturing PMI stood at 49.2, up 0.2 points from October and in line with economists’ forecasts in a Reuters poll.
India’s GDP is accelerating. India’s economy grew faster than expected in the quarter ended September, expanding by 8.2% year-on-year. The rapid improvement in GDP growth is due to a recovery in manufacturing, construction activity, and domestic consumption.
The war of words between Wingtech and Nexperia intensifies. Dutch chipmaker Nexperia has publicly called on its Chinese unit to help restore supply chain operations, warning in an open letter that customers across a range of industries are reporting “imminent production disruptions.”
The market rose as the Thanksgiving holiday period was shortened. All three U.S. indexes rose in shortened trading on Friday, with the Nasdaq Composite Index posting its fifth straight day of gains, rising 0.65%. The S&P 500 rose 0.54% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.61%.
(PRO) The outlook for silver is positive. While all the talk about gold has been in the market this year, silver has also been quietly riding the wave, hitting new all-time highs and analysts saying it could double in the next few years.
And finally…
An American Airlines plane parks at the gate at LaGuardia Airport in New York City, USA, on November 18, 2025.
Kylie Cooper | Reuters
Airbus A320 recall disrupts global travel due to solar flare-related issues
Thousands of travelers around the world were stranded after Airbus ordered an immediate software fix on 6,000 A320 series aircraft, a move that affected more than half of its narrow-body fleet and forced airlines to ground jets during one of the busiest weekends of the year.
The directive, the largest in Airbus’ 55-year history, quickly spread to holiday travel in the United States and expanded to Australia. Disruptions related to solar flares have hit Asia particularly hard, where the single-aisle A320 family supports short-haul networks.
The European Union Aviation Safety Agency said in a directive Friday that a JetBlue flight on Oct. 30 experienced an “uncommanded limited pitchdown event.”
— Victor Lo
