By The Boy Who Procrastinates - December 31, 2018

On 19 Dec, the US Federal Reserve has again raised the target range of its benchmark interest rate by another 25 basis points with 2.5% at the high end. The move also marked the fourth rate increase of the year by the US central bank. The projection on the number of rate hike in 2019 has also been trimmed to two, signalling a more cautious outlook for the following year. 

Politically, the recent partial shutdown of the US federal government has also contributed to the uncertainty mood due to a dispute over the funding for the Mexico-United States border wall that left lawmakers in a stalemate. 

Following the landmark Trump-Xi meeting in Buenos Aires in December, the two countries have declared a 90-days trade truce, providing a temporary reprieve amid trade and economic jitters. Despite so, the much anticipated Santa Rally has...