Bloomberg President Xi Jinping said tough challenges remain in China’s fight against Covid-19 and acknowledged divisions in society that led to rare spontaneous protests, after weeks of silence on a virus policy pivot that’s infected hundreds of millions and delivered a severe blow to economic activity. In a New Year’s address, Xi said the country is in a new phase …

  Bloomberg Indonesia’s inflation surprised on the upside in December, challenging the central bank and market’s view that price pressures were well on the wane. Consumer prices rose 5.51% from a year ago, driven by higher costs of gasoline, household fuels, air freight rates and transport fares, the nation’s statistics agency said. That beats even the highest forecast in a …

  Bloomberg India’s unemployment rate rose to a 16-month high in December as job creation in the slowing economy failed to keep pace with the growing workforce. The overall unemployment rate increased to 8.3%, up from 8% in November, according to data from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy Pvt Ltd. That’s the highest reading since August 2021. The rise …