New Year Records…the S&P 500 has closed 2019 with its best annual gain for six years while Netflix was crowned the index’s top-performing stock, increasing value by 4,000% in the past decade. Beijing cuts its reserve requirement for banks once more, boosting Chinese stocks and offering the economy a $115bn fillip. Hong Kong is once again wracked by violence with anti-government protestors holding their first rallies of the new year. There has also been further violence in Baghdad where U.S. troops have driven back pro-Iranian militia supporters who had stormed the American embassy compound. Also, speculation rises over how ousted Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn managed a remarkable escape from Japan, where he was awaiting trial for financial misconduct in April.

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