JPMorgan's Asian Infrastructure fund is in advanced talks to partner with Indian carrier SpiceJet's co-founder, Ajay Singh, for a planned $200M investment into the cash-strapped airline. JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM) and Singh, who have so far invested about 170M rupees in SpiceJet to help it clear dues to oil refiners, plan to finalize the deal in a month’s time.

BOJ under pressure as CPI slowed & contraction seen in factory output

Keeping the BOJ under pressure, Japan core consumer inflation slowed to 0.7% in November, far below the central bank's 2% target. Factory output also unexpectedly fell and real wages marked their steepest drop in five years, dealing a blow to PM Shinzo Abe's stimulus policies aimed at pulling the world’s third-largest economy out of stagnation.

Russia may lose its investment-grade credit rating

For the first time in a decade Standard & Poor’s placed the country on CreditWatch Negative. The move "stems from what we view as a rapid deterioration of Russia’s monetary flexibility and the impact of the weakening economy on its financial system," the agency said in a statement. S&P will resolve the CreditWatch upon the conclusion of its review, which is expected by mid-January.

Oil is climbing again today as investors increased bets on rising prices following Saudi Arabia's confidence that crude will rebound as global economic growth boosts demand. Blaming the fall in oil prices on speculators and the lack of cooperation from non-OPEC producers, Saudi Arabia also announced that it would not cut output even if non-OPEC nations did so. Brent crude is up 1.2% at $62.13/bbl. WTI is up 0.9% at $57.64.

World shares are on the rise today following a vote of confidence from the Fed on Wednesday that the U.S. economy was on track. The Dow and S&P surged yesterday to their strongest percentage gains of the year on the news, following Janet Yellen's comments that an interest rate increase was unlikely for at least the next two FOMC meetings. Whether hikes come sooner, faster, or on that date, said Yellen, depends on the incoming data.

Brent crude oil & WTI continuing their downward slide

Oil prices are continuing their downward slide today, as markets brace for the outcome of the U.S. Federal Reserve meeting this afternoon. Analysts anticipate an upward revision to GDP growth forecasts in response to the slump in oil prices, and expect the Fed to signal that a rate hike is likely in mid-2015. Brent crude is still below the key $60 mark, down 0.7% at $59.62 a barrel. WTI is down 1.2% at $55.24.

selloff in crude oil boosted demand for yen.

Japan is considering lowering its corporate tax rate by 2.5 percentage points next fiscal year to increase corporate competitiveness, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had been planning to lower the corporate tax rate over several years to around 20% from more than 35% currently. Meanwhile, Japanese stocks continued their slump for a second day, dropping to 6-1/2 week lows, as an ongoing selloff in crude oil boosted demand for the safe haven yen.