The Federal Reserve signals that it will maintain rates at a higher level for longer following the release of December’s FOMC meeting’s minutes. It is expected to slow the pace of hikes while ruling out any cuts this year. U.S. markets are in the green for the first time this year amid a dip in manufacturing activity and a strong employment scenario. China’s service sector contracts for the fourth consecutive month as rising Covid rates hamper consumer demand. The EU urges a coordinated testing regime on Chinese arrivals to the bloc while the WHO accuses Beijing of opacity over its Covid data. E-commerce giant Amazon announces it will cut up to 18,000 jobs as lay-offs increase throughout the tech sector.  See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.