| Covid hits China's economy. Australian house prices see biggest annual drop since 2008. Ukraine strike kills dozens of Russian troops. Here's what you need to know today. China's economy ended the year in a major slump, with business and consumer spending plunging in December, as Covid surged across the country. Official data over the weekend showed the manufacturing decline worsened last month, while activity in the services sector fell the most since February 2020. While the outbreak has likely peaked in places like Beijing, and economic activity is starting to rebound there, the virus is spreading fast across the country. Meanwhile, IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva warned one third of the world would be in recession in 2023. Australia's housing market suffered its biggest annual decline since 2008 last year as sharp interest rate hikes sapped buying power and put off investors. The national Home Value Index fell 5.3% in 2022, CoreLogic said. The biggest decline was seen in Sydney, where prices fell 12.1%, followed by an 8.1% drop in Melbourne. CoreLogic said values could fall further in the early months of 2023.  | The yen strengthened toward its highest level since June and Brazilian equities fell sharply as global markets gingerly began trading after the tumult of 2022. The yen inched toward 130 per dollar on a closing price basis, amid sustained efforts by the Bank of Japan to depress yields on government debt. The Brazilian share market was among the clutch of bourses open on Monday and an index of the country's blue chips tumbled 3.1% on the first trading day of the year. South Korean shares also traded Monday and fell 0.5%. The declines followed the sharp swings of last year that wiped out a fifth of the value of global stocks. Tesla delivered fewer vehicles than analysts expected last quarter, missing estimates despite offering hefty incentives in China and the US. While the company handed over 405,278 vehicles to customers in the last three months — a quarterly record — the number fell short of the 420,760 average estimate compiled by Bloomberg. Tesla stock dropped 65% in 2022, but the company's market value of $389 billion, still makes it more valuable than Toyota, General Motors, Stellantis and Ford — combined. A Ukrainian strike on a Russian military facility in the occupied eastern town of Makiyivka killed 63 troops being housed there, Russia's defense ministry said. It is one of the most significant losses acknowledged by Moscow, which rarely provides such figures. Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy warned that Russia is planning a protracted drone attack on Ukraine to "exhaust" the country's energy infrastructure, air defenses and people. Get all the latest news and developments on the war in Ukraine here. - Will this earnings season help or hurt stocks? Is now a good time to buy value or growth? And if you had a million dollars, where would you put it? Share your views in our latest MLIV Pulse survey here.
Investors are hoping for a much happier year than the one that just passed, seeing as 2022 delivered double-digit losses for both global equities and bonds. International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva just reiterated reasons for the angst to continue for stocks at the very least. Highlighting expectations that the world's three largest economies — the US, Europe and China — will all sag in 2023, she reiterated the Fund's projection that a world recession is possible. Should that mean brighter times for bonds then? Probably, though they also face headwinds from inflation — which Michael Burry reckons is set to spike again — and from the potential that slowing economies plus central banks trimming balance sheets will create excess supplies of sovereign debt. Admittedly, getting a better outcome than 2022 is a very low bar, so the chances are strong we will manage that. Restoring a rosy investment environment may take a bit more time though. Garfield Reynolds is Chief Rates Correspondent for Bloomberg News in Asia, based in Sydney. | 
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