Key Events Around the Globe: Jan 13

Australia Consumer Sentiment Stuck in the Doldrums Amid Rate Jitters

Australia’s consumer sentiment slipped in January as households wrestled with renewed rate jitters and an uncertain economic outlook, a private survey showed.

A Westpac-Melbourne Institute survey showed its main index of consumer sentiment fell 1.7% to 92.9 in January, after tumbling 9% the month before. The reading remained below 100, suggesting pessimists outnumbered optimists.

“While confidence is still well above the extreme lows recorded during the protracted ’cost of living’ crisis in 2022–2024, consumers are becoming more concerned about what 2026 may bring for family finances and the wider economy,” said Westpac’s head of Australian macro forecasting, Matthew Hassan.

German Business Lobby Raises Alarm Over Highest Number of Bankruptcies in 11 Years

Germany is experiencing an alarmingly high number of company bankruptcies, a development that shows no sign of abating unless the government immediately provides tangible relief, the German Chamber of Commerce, or DIHK, warned.

Final results showed that local courts registered a total of 2,108 insolvencies in October alone, an increase of 4.8% year-over-year, according to official statistics.

“Month after month, we are seeing new records in corporate insolvencies. This is also the case in October 2025,” said DIHK chief analyst Volker Treier. “We are experiencing the highest number of insolvency-related business closures in 11 years.”

China’s 2025 Record Export Surge Expected to Slow in December – Reuters Poll

China’s record run of exports, driven by diversification in shipment destinations, is expected to have slowed in the final month of 2025, and the outlook for the coming year depends on manufacturers’ ability to expand further into new markets.

Beijing’s resilience to renewed tariff tensions since President Donald Trump returned to the White House last January has emboldened Chinese firms to shift their focus to Southeast Asia, Africa and Latin America to offset US duties, despite resistance from import markets concerned about Chinese overcapacity.

Outbound shipments were expected to have risen 3.0% in value terms year-on-year, according to the median forecast of 34 economists in a Reuters poll. That was down from a 5.9% increase in November from a high base in December 2024 when firms front-loaded U.S.-bound orders ahead of Trump’s inauguration

Source: HSL Prime Daily, 13 Jan 2026

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