- Tunisia women herb harvesters struggle with drought and heat
- Trump threatens to take back control of Panama Canal
- India's architecture fans guard Mumbai's Art Deco past
- Secretive game developer codes hit 'Balatro' in Canadian prairie province
- Large earthquake hits battered Vanuatu
- Beaten Fury says Usyk got 'Christmas gift' from judges
- First Singaporean golfer at Masters hopes 'not be in awe' of heroes
- Usyk beats Fury in heavyweight championship rematch
- Stellantis backtracks on plan to lay off 1,100 at US Jeep plant
- Atletico snatch late win at Barca to top La Liga
- Australian teen Konstas ready for Indian pace challenge
- Strong quake strikes off battered Vanuatu
- Tiger Woods and son Charlie share halfway lead in family event
- Bath stay out in front in Premiership as Bristol secure record win
- Mahomes shines as NFL-best Chiefs beat Texans to reach 14-1
- Suspect in deadly Christmas market attack railed against Islam, Germany
- MLB legend Henderson, career stolen base leader, dead at 65
- Albania announces shutdown of TikTok for at least a year
- Laboured Napoli take top spot in Serie A
- Schick hits four as Leverkusen close gap to Bayern on sombre weekend
- Calls for more safety measures after Croatia school stabbings
- Jesus double lifts Christmas spirits for five-star Arsenal
- Frankfurt miss chance to close on Bayern as attack victims remembered
- NBA fines Celtics coach Mazzulla and Nets center Claxton
- Banned Russian skater Valieva stars at Moscow ice gala
- Leading try scorer Maqala takes Bayonne past Vannes in Top 14
- Struggling Southampton appoint Juric as new manager
- Villa heap pain on slumping Man City as Forest soar
- Suspect in deadly Christmas market attack railed against Islam and Germany
- At least 32 die in bus accident in southeastern Brazil
- Freed activist Paul Watson vows to 'end whaling worldwide'
- Chinese ship linked to severed Baltic Sea cables sets sail
- Sorrow and fury in German town after Christmas market attack
- Guardiola vows Man City will regain confidence 'sooner or later' after another defeat
- Ukraine drone hits Russian high-rise 1,000km from frontline
- Villa beat Man City to deepen Guardiola's pain
- 'Perfect start' for ski great Vonn on World Cup return
- Germany mourns five killed, hundreds wounded in Christmas market attack
- Odermatt soars to Val Gardena downhill win
- Mbappe's adaptation period over: Real Madrid's Ancelotti
- France's most powerful nuclear reactor finally comes on stream
- Ski great Vonn finishes 14th on World Cup return
- Scholz visits site of deadly Christmas market attack
- Heavyweight foes Usyk, Fury set for titanic rematch
- Drone attack hits Russian city 1,000km from Ukraine frontier
- Former England winger Eastham dies aged 88
- Pakistan Taliban claim raid killing 16 soldiers
- Pakistan military courts convict 25 of pro-Khan unrest
- US Congress passes bill to avert shutdown
- Sierra Leone student tackles toxic air pollution
Stock markets mostly drop awaiting Fed policy update
Major stock markets mostly fell Tuesday as attention turned to the Federal Reserve's upcoming policy decision, with traders hoping for guidance on its interest rate plans as president-elect Donald Trump prepares to take office.
Wall Street ended mostly on the front foot Monday, with a surge in tech giants helping the Nasdaq to a record high, but Asia was unable to pick up the baton Tuesday.
London slid in late morning deals as official data showing a jump in UK wages growth cemented forecasts that the Bank of England will avoid cutting interest rates this week.
Paris and Frankfurt rose, as investors looked past news that German business confidence this month hit the lowest level since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
Bitcoin traded close to a record high of almost $107,791 reached Monday on continued optimism that Trump will introduce measures to deregulate the cryptocurrency market.
Oil prices retreated, hit by concerns that China's struggling economy will impact demand for crude.
"Investors are awaiting the latest Federal Reserve decision ahead of which the retail sales release later today could provide some colour as to the current level of consumer spending around Black Friday and the traditionally crucial festive decision," noted Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor.
The Fed is expected to lower borrowing costs Wednesday before a rate announcement also due out of Japan this week.
Investors are keeping tabs on Beijing after Chinese leaders' latest measures to kickstart the economy fell short of expectations, with weak retail sales data Monday reinforcing the need for more support.
The Fed is widely expected to lower rates for the third meeting in a row as it looks to guide the world's top economy to a soft landing, though its statement will be pored over for clues about next year's outlook.
- Tariffs fallout -
Investors have started paring their bets on how many times the Fed will cut over the next 12 months owing to still-sticky inflation, a strong labour market and uncertainty about Trump, who has pledged to slash taxes and impose tariffs on imports.
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland quit Monday in a surprise move after disagreeing with Justin Trudeau over US president-elect Donald Trump's tariff threats.
The resignation of Freeland, who also stepped down as finance minister, marked the first open dissent against Prime Minister Trudeau from within his cabinet, and may threaten his hold on power.
That pushed the Canadian dollar to the lowest level against the US dollar since April 2020.
In her letter, Freeland said the country needed to take Trump's tariffs threats "extremely seriously".
Warning that it could lead to a "tariff war" with the United States, she said Ottawa must keep its "fiscal powder dry".
Trudeau flew to Florida last month to dine with Trump at the latter's Mar-a-Lago resort and try to head off the tariff threat, but nothing yet indicates the US president-elect is changing his position.
- Key figures around 1115 GMT -
London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.7 percent at 8,205.52 points
Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.3 percent at 7,379.56
Frankfurt - DAX: UP 0.2 percent at 20,351.35
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.2 percent at 39,364.68 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.5 percent at 19,700.48 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.7 percent at 3,361.49 (close)
New York - Dow: DOWN 0.3 percent at 43,717.48 (close)
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0485 from $1.0509 Monday
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2693 from $1.2678
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 153.67 yen from 154.13 yen
Euro/pound: DOWN at 82.59 pence from 82.86 pence
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.9 percent at $70.10 per barrel
Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.7 percent at $73.38 per barrel
burs-bcp/cw
F.Cardoso--PC