China's non-manufacturing activity expanded at a slower pace in April, official data showed on Sunday, a discouraging sign for policymakers counting on services consumption to offset frailty in the factory sector amid slack global demand.
New Zealand's business confidence was largely unchanged in April with retail and agricultural respondents generally more upbeat, ANZ Bank said in a note on Thursday accompanying its business confidence survey.
Japanese manufacturers' business confidence index rose to a four-month high in December as supply constraints began to ease, the Reuters Tankan showed on Wednesday, offering policymakers some hope the economy was headed for a moderate recovery.
Japan's economy shrank slightly faster than initially reported in the third quarter, as a sharp rise in local COVID-19 cases hit private consumption and a global chip supply shortage hurt corporate sentiment.
German investor sentiment deteriorated in December as a fourth wave of COVID-19 infections and persistent supply bottlenecks in manufacturing clouded the growth outlook for Europe's largest economy, a survey showed on Tuesday.