Competitiveness considerations

Daily update

German December producer price inflation is due. This is not normally a major market concern, but as trade taxes and relative competitiveness become more of an issue, this is something investors might pay more attention to. German producer prices moved out of deflation in November.
Japanese final November industrial production data remained in negative territory. This is in contrast to the stronger-than-expected December data from the US, and strong (or rather, less weak) data from Germany. Even if consumers favor having fun, they are still buying goods as real incomes rise.
In the US, the popular social media app TikTok voluntarily shut down and then reopened over the weekend. These complicated political steps mimic the action of a TikTok dance, slightly inept, and slightly comic, but with serious money behind them if successful. US President-elect Trump has said they will extend the deadline for the ban—it is not clear if this can be done within the law. Rule of law is relevant for investors.
The Federal Reserve is in its communication blackout period, giving some peace on the central bank front. However, the ECB is never an institution to avoid a vacuum, and assorted ECB speakers are clustering around microphones. Markets probably do not care.