Greece's Legislators Will Vote On A New President Today. The Greek parliament needs to vote with a two-thirds majority to approve a new president, which is extremely unlikely to happen. Investors will be keeping an eye on how many MPs the government manages to get support from, and whether it's likely to muster the three-fifths support needed later this month. If not, snap nationwide elections loom. Russians Are Scrambling For Dollars As The Ruble Crumbles. With Russia's central bank seemingly unable to stop the enormous decline in its currency, many ordinary Russians are attempting to get as much of their money exchanged out of rubles as possible. Japan's Export Growth Is Still Disappointing. Japan's exports grew for a third straight month in November from a year earlier, but much more slowly than expected and despite a sharp fall in the yen as slowing demand in Asia and Europe dampened trade. The 4.9% rise in exports was much weaker than a 7.0% gain analysts expected. Obama Signed A Spending Bill That Guarantees A February Face-Off. President Barack Obama on Tuesday signed a $1.1 trillion (£699 billion) spending bill passed by Congress last week that lifted the threat of a government shutdown. The legislation funds most government agencies through September 2015. The Department of Homeland Security will get a funding extension only through Feb. 27, by which time Republicans will control both chambers of Congress. Asian Markets Are Mixed. The Nikkei closed up 0.38%, and China's Shanghai Composite is currently up 0.66%, but Hong Kong's Hang Seng is currently down 0.31%. European Inflation Is Coming. At 10 a.m, we'll get the confirmation of November's inflation figures. Analysts are expecting that the measure will stay unchanged at 0.3%, far lower than the European Central Bank's near-2% target. Carlsberg Is Trying To Hedge Against Russia's Crisis. The company is the largest producer of beer in Russia, and the fall of the ruble has reduced its share price by around 15% this month so far. The company said it was "evaluating its efforts on a running basis" when asked by Bloomberg if it was trying to hedge against the ruble. The Fed's Latest Decisions Are Coming. At 7 p.m. GMT, we'll get the latest decisions on monetary policy from the US Federal Reserve. Investors are watching most closely to see whether the phrase suggesting there will be "considerable time" before an interest hike is removed from the central bank's guidance. GE Is Trying To Take A "Pragmatic Outlook" On Oil Prices. The company expects revenue and profit in its oil-and-gas segment to be flat to down next year, based on a per-barrel oil price of around $60-65. Chinese Carmaker Geely Got Hammered. The firm's share price dropped by nearly a fifth after it announced that its profits would be down by half this year. It blamed the decline of the ruble and sluggish Chinese demand for the dreary outlook, according to the Financial Times.Join the conversation about this story »
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