Events that shaped global economy in 2015

OIL PRICES NEAR 11-YEAR LOW

After sliding into the $40s in early 2015, crude oil gained back some lost ground by summer, reclaiming the $60-a-barrel level. But as supply kept coming and demand remained sluggish, prices saw renewed pressure.
The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries for the second year in a row refused to limit production.
Brent crude oil slid back toward 11-year lows on December 30 as indications of slowing global energy demand bumped up against record-high inventories.
Benchmark Brent, near $37 per barrel, traded just $1 away from those lows reached last week as the primary supportive factor - an expected cold snap in Europe and the United States - was forecast to be short-lived.

YUAN IN IMF's CURRENCY BASKET

The International Monetary Fund admitted China's yuan into its benchmark currency basket.
The decision to add the yuan, also known as the renminbi, to the Special Drawing Rights (SDR) basket alongside the dollar, euro, pound sterling and yen, is an important milestone in China's integration into global finances and a nod to the progress it has made with reforms.

The yuan's inclusion from October 2016 is largely symbolic, with few immediate implications for financial markets. But it is the first time an additional currency has been added to the SDR basket, which determines which currencies countries can receive as part of IMF loans.
The addition is likely to fuel demand for China's currency and for renminbi-denominated assets as central banks and foreign fund managers adjust their portfolios to reflect the yuan's new status.

ASIAN INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT BANK

The China-backed AIIB has been formally established and is expected to be operational early next year.
The bank will help finance construction of roads, ports, railways and other infrastructure projects in Asia.
The bank is based in Beijing and currently has 57 members, including Australia, Germany and Britain. It expects to offer its first batch of project loans by mid-2016, according to China's official Xinhua news agency.

GREECE CRISIS

Greece's never-ending financial crisis loomed large after the left-wing party Syriza came to power in January 2015 elections on a pledge to stand up to their mostly western European creditors and their demands for more austerity.
After a month-long standoff, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras largely agreed to creditors' demands in July, restoring calm to European markets. Tsipras subsequently called a snap election, winning again in September.

The Federal Reserve hiked interest rates for the first time in nearly a decade on December 16, signalling faith that the US economy had largely overcome the wounds of the 2007-2009 financial crisis.
The US central bank's policy-setting committee raised the range of its benchmark interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point to between 0.25 percent and 0.50 percent, ending a lengthy debate about whether the economy was strong enough to withstand higher borrowing costs.
The central bank made clear the rate hike was a tentative beginning to a "gradual" tightening cycle, and that in deciding its next move it would put a premium on monitoring inflation, which remains mired below target.
Fed policymakers' median projected target interest rate for 2016 remained 1.375 percent, implying four quarter-point hikes next year. Based on short-term interest rate futures markets, traders expect the next rate hike in April.

MYANMAR OPENS NEW STOCK EXCHANGE

Myanmar inaugurated a new stock exchange on December 9 with plans for six companies to start trading in March.
The Yangon Stock Exchange (YSX) will initially be open only to Myanmar companies and investors, but planned law changes will eventually allow foreigners to invest in Myanmar shares.

The YSX will technically be the second bourse after the barely known Myanmar Securities Exchange Center, for which share prices of the two listed firms were hand-written on a whiteboard for most of its 19 years of operation.

MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS

The volume of mergers and acquisitions worldwide set a new record in 2015 at more than $5 trillion, with tie-ups in the healthcare sector leading the way.
The $5.03 trillion annual total represents a massive rise of 37 percent from 2014, and the three months to December scored the highest figure for any single quarter on record.
Pfizer's proposed $160 billion merger with Allergan to create the world's biggest pharmaceutical group, is the second-biggest tie-up ever, and the largest ever in healthcare.
The two companies estimated their merger will deliver more than $2 billion in operational synergies over the first three years after closing.

TRANS-PACIFIC PARTNERSHIP PACT

Twelve Pacific Rim countries on October 5 reached the most ambitious trade pact in a generation, aiming to liberalise commerce in 40 percent of the world's economy in a deal that faces scepticism from US lawmakers.
The Trans-Pacific Partnership pact struck in Atlanta after marathon talks could reshape industries, change the cost of products from cheese to cancer treatments and have repercussions for drug companies and automakers.
If approved, the pact would cut trade barriers and set common standards from Vietnam to Canada.
The Obama administration hopes the pact will help the United States increase its influence in East Asia and help counter the rise of China, which is not one of the TPP nations.

CHINA'S WEAKEST GROWTH SINCE 2009

China's economic growth dipped below 7 percent in October this year for the first time since the global financial crisis in 2009, hurt partly by cooling investment, raising pressure on Beijing to further cut interest rates and take other measures to stoke activity.
The world's second-largest economy grew 6.9 percent between July and September from a year ago, the National Bureau of Statistics said, slightly better than forecasts of a 6.8 percent rise but down from 7 percent in the previous three months. -- Agencies
In its battle against China's worst economic cooldown in more than six years, the country's central bank has cut interest rates five times since November and reduced banks' reserve requirement ratios three times this year.