VENTURE CAPITAL POST

After struggling a bitter civil war for four years, Syria's government imposes tax on shawarma, restaurants, and other businesses in everyday life as new revenue source.

Falling in line with the economists' forecast, the inflation rate in South Africa rose to 4.8 percent in November, registering its highest since July 2015. Consumer prices marginally rose 0.1 percent during the month. South Africa's currency Rand fell against US dollar, euro and pound. The currency depreciation is likely to be a major risk to the inflation outlook.

Asian stocks dropped on low trading volume as commodity producers followed fall in industrial metals and crude oil. Investors and institutions are in the wait and watch mode ahead of US Fed's meeting in December.

The US currency is surging again, but this time with support from the interest-rate market. The US dollar rally registered its strongest gain during the past six months against Euro as two-year dollar interest rate swaps shot over those in the shared-currency area.

U.S. jobs rate shows highest employment rate in seven years and dollar stays at seven month high. While Japanese and Chinese shares up, Asian stock markets were mixed as condition supports the case for Feds rate hike in December.

MetLife Inc suffered 43 percent drop in profit for the third quarter due to bleak investment results and tax costs associated with the UK subsidiary which impacted the financial performance of the largest life insurer in the US.

Forecasts about price swings in Yen against the euro are becoming stronger as investors bet that Bank of Japan (BoJ) will also make dovish rhetoric to match European Central Bank (ECB).

The strengthening of the US dollar has been hitting Procter & Gamble hard as the company reported its biggest sales drop in seven quarters. The company also cited weak demand especially in the overseas market as the reason behind the low sales performance.

Hyundai Motor Co's net profit for the third quarter ending September fell 23 percent. The steep fall in China sales coupled with aggressive global incentives impacted the South Korean automobile major's performance in a more negative way.

Korean bond market has been volatile dancing to the tunes of varied hopes on interest rate changes. South Korea's sovereign bonds shed early gains as forecasts that Bank of Korea (BoK) may not reduce the interest rate from the record low of 1.5 percent.

Taking cues from the overnight gains on Wall Street, Asian markets moved upwards marginally on Thursday. The reopening of trading in Chinese markets after a long-week holiday streak also infused fresh interest into the market.

The lack of clarity about the US data and timing of interest rate hike have put further pressure on Asian stock markets. Several Asian stocks slipped into pressure on Friday trading ahead of the US data jobs report. Japan's Nikkei fell 1.7 percent for the week. The long holiday stretch for Chinese markets also resulted in sluggishness in the Asian market.

Indian currency Rupee seems to be heading for its biggest drop since 2013 as INR continued to drop for the third consecutive session following the selling pressure in riskier assets owing to renewed growth concerns on Asia.

Dividend stocks are investors favourite during the economic uncertainty. Dividends signal a strong performance by the company and it also allows investors to make some return on investment during the tough time.

Venezuelan telecom sector is reeling under pressure as it lacks additional funds availability, the physical currency of dollars. The cash-strapped telecom companies are unable to strengthen their networks. The soaring inflation doesn't allow them to raise a tariff.