• The dollar inched higher versus the yen on Friday, regaining its footing after taking a hit when North Korea fired a missile over Japan into the Pacific Ocean.
The dollar last stood at 110.37 yen, up 0.1 percent on the day, a recovery from the intraday low of 109.55 yen set in early Asian trade on Friday when it came under pressure as the yen edged higher following reports of North Korea’s missile launch.
• President Donald Trump is on course to ring in the new year without having passed almost any of his campaign promises into law, according to a new survey conducted by CNBC.
Chief financial officers (CFOs) from some of the world's largest firms said they had become increasingly pessimistic that the former New York businessman would be able to pass several of his – and the Republican Party's – key agenda items into law by the end of 2017.
• The U.S. Senate’s top Republican tax law writer warned on Thursday that the “Big Six” negotiators from the White House, Senate and House of Representatives would not dictate to his committee the direction of expected tax reform legislation.
In a defiant statement coming as Republican leaders from the Trump administration and Congress prepare to unveil their tax reform framework, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch said his panel would not be “anyone’s rubber stamp” and that its legislation would reflect the consensus views of its members.
• Seoul immediately responded to its northern neighbor's latest act of provocation on Friday with military drills and its own missile test, raising fears about the arms race on the Korean Peninsula.
For the second time in less than a month, Pyongyang on Friday fired a ballistic missile that flew over Japan in what is widely seen as payback for the U.N Security Council's latest sanctions.
• Oil prices were lower on Friday but on course for weekly gains, the third in a row in the case of Brent, as the clean-up after hurricanes in the United States gathered pace and the outlook for demand took on a firmer tone.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude CLc1 was down 17 cents, or 0.4 percent, at $49.72 a barrel at 0620 GMT. It briefly broke above $50 on Thursday, hitting a four-month high, and finished 1.2 percent higher at $49.89, its highest close since July 31.
Brent crude LCOc1 futures were down 23 cents, or 0.4 percent, at $55.24 a barrel. They gained 0.6 percent to settle at $55.47 the previous session, the highest close since April 13.
Reference: Reuters, CNBC
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