Bloomberg Home sales in the US slumped in December, while prices inched up slightly, marking the smallest annual increase since the end of the last housing crash in 2012, according to data from brokerage Redfin. The median home price rose to $289,800 in December, a gain of 1.2 percent, the slowest monthly pace since March 2012. Sales dropped by almost …

Bloomberg China’s smaller banks, among the hardest hit by President Xi Jinping’s crackdown on risky financing, are set for a tougher 2019 as authorities force them to shut business lines that once powered profit growth. Authorities have ordered the nation’s provincial lenders to limit business to the region they’re based in, or wind down by the end of this year, …

Bloomberg The euro-area economy isn’t headed for a recession, even though softening momentum underscores the need for European Central Bank stimulus, according to President Mario Draghi. “The question we should ask is: Is this a sag or heading towards a recession?” Draghi told members of the European Parliament in Strasbourg. “The answer we give is: No, it’s a slowdown, which …