below year-earlier levels. (DJN) New Zealand businesses are more pessimistic about the country's economic outlook than ever before, with a quarterly survey finding that some 73% of businesses expect economic conditions to deteriorate over the coming months, suggesting the central bank's hawkish interest-rate policy could be gaining traction. (DJN) The decline of new home prices in China's 70 major cities stabilized in December, as Beijing rolled out more supportive measures to counter the prolonged slump of the real-estate sector. Average new-home prices in the 70 cities fell 0.25% in December from the prior month, on par with the decline recorded in November, according to calculations made by The Wall Street Journal based on data released Monday by the National Bureau of Statistics. (DJN) Singapore's non-oil domestic exports fell in December for a third consecutive month, with shipments of both electronics and non-electronics declining in eight of its top 10 markets. Non-oil domestic exports from the Southeast Asian trading hub in December contracted 20.6% compared with the same period a year earlier, Enterprise Singapore said. This compares with a 14.7% drop in November. (DJN) India's trade deficit in goods widened on year in December as a decline in exports outweighed a smaller fall in imports. The trade deficit was $23.76 billion in December compared with a $21.06 billion deficit the same month a year earlier, government data showed. (DJN) Nigeria's inflation fell to 21.34 % in December from 21.47% a month earlier, the country's National Bureau of Statistics said. This is the first drop in the country's inflation rate in 11 months. (DJN) Germany's annual inflation rate moderated in December, driven by lower energy costs, confirming preliminary data. Inflation slid to 8.6% in December from 10% in November, measured according to national standards, federal statistical office Destatis said. The consumer price index, measured according to EU-harmonized standards, rose by 9.6% on the year in December compared with 11.3% in November. (DJN) Expectations for the German economy improved markedly in January amid lower energy prices, easing inflation and subsiding recession fears. The ZEW economic research institute said its index of economic expectations rose to 16.9 in January from minus 23.3 in December. The reading, which beat the minus 15.0 consensus forecast from economists polled by The Wall Street Journal, is at its highest level since February, before the Ukraine war began. (DJN) The U.K.'s unemployment rate remained steady at 3.7% in the three months to November and wage growth continued to accelerate, a sign that the labor market remained tight despite softening demand for workers, according to data from the Office for National Statistics showed. Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal expected the jobless rate to increase to 3.8%. (DJN) WSJ Pro Special Report: The Year Ahead in Private Equity

As 2023 unfolds, private-equity firms enter what some predict will be one of the more challenging periods the industry has seen since the Covid-19 pandemic. Yet the challenges will create investment opportunities for firms with capital to deploy. Read our latest WSJ Pro Special Report here , unlocked for Central Banking subscribers.

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This newsletter is compiled by James Christie in San Francisco.

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This article is a text version of a Wall Street Journal newsletter published earlier today.


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

01-17-23 0716ET