GERMAN GDP, IFO REPORTS LIFT EURO

The shared currency was higher Tuesday after a number of economic reports from the euro zone.

EUR/USD was last seen at 1.0648, up 0.1%, while EUR/GBP jumped 0.22% to trade at 0.7038.

The Federal Statistics Office has just confirmed that Germany’s GDP rose by just 0.3% in the July-to-September quarter, matching analysts' expectations.

Exports rose by just 0.2% quarter-on-quarter, compared to estimates of a 0.4% rise. Imports, though, jumped by 1.1%.

And the resulting net trade deficit wiped 0.4% of Germany’s growth rate -- the weakest since 2013.

Europe’s powerhouse economy was left relying on domestic spending. Private consumption rose by 0.6% quarter-on-quarter, as German shoppers dipped into their wallets and purses. Government spending rose by 1.3% - the biggest increase since early 2009.

As an official at the Office explained, the refugee costs have played their role, and those are the first effects on state spending.

Higher imports may cheer critics who argue that Germany needs to spend more to help the euro zone economy rebound. But weaker exports highlight renewed weakness in developing markets.

Separately, the German research institute Ifo has reported that its Business Climate Index rose to a seasonally adjusted 109.0 this month from a reading of 108.2 in October, beating forecasts for 108.2.

The Current Assessment Index increased to 113.4 in November from 112.7 a month earlier and above expectations for 112.4. The Business Expectations Index, which measures attitudes related to business prospects over the next six months, rose to 104.7 this month from 103.9 in October, compared to expectatons for a reading of 104.0.

The monthly gauge is based on a survey of around 7,000 German firms in the manufacturing, construction, wholesale and retail sectors.

In France, business confidence rose less-than-expected in the last quarter. INSEE said in a report that French Business Confidence rose to an annual rate of 102, from 103 in the preceding quarter. Analysts had expected French Business Confidence to rise 103 in the last quarter.

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BLOOMBERG'S ROBIN HOOD INDEX: HOW MUCH EACH PERSON WOULD GET IF THE RICHEST ONE IN THE COUNTRY GAVE MONEY TO THE POOR?

How would the global wealth be distributed if at least one billionaire from each country became a Robin Hood and gave out his or her fortune to the poor?

Bloomberg's analysts took a spattering of 42 countries with completely different demographics and economies, and then compared the wealthiest persons to the percentage of the populations living in poverty.

What is notable is that the richest person in Chile, Holland, France and Australia is a woman.

The gauge shows how the net worth of each country's wealthiest person compares to the livelihood of his fellow countrymen by calculating the lump sum in dollars each person living in poverty would get if the assets of the richest citizen were redistributed.

The net worth of Bill Gates would turn into a one-off payment of $1,736 if distributed to the neediest 15 percent of Americans.

In Cyprus and Sweden the poor would gain the most, - $45,987 and $33,149 respectively, yet they are also exceptional, as they have small populations — the island of Cyprus in the Mediterranean has 1.1 million people — and quite high level of life — Sweden ranks among the highest when it comes to GDP per capita.

Moreover, analysts admit that quantifying the boost from each payout is hard because each dollar will buy you something different in local currency terms. The poverty line also varies from nation to nation.

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WILL CHINA LEAD THE WORLD TO ANOTHER RECESSION? CITIGROUP RESPONDS

If the global economy slips into a moderately deep recession next year, it will most likely be dragged down by shrinking growth in major emerging markets - especially a recession in China, says Willem Buiter, chief economist at Citigroup.

Buiter, who is also a former member of the Bank of England's interest rate-setting committee, said in a note that the bank believes there is a high and rising likelihood of a Chinese, emerging market and global recession scenario playing out.

Worries over a steep slowdown in China's economy - the second largest in the world after the U.S. - has rolled over global markets in recent months.

Deepening those concerns, data issued on Tuesday signaled the country's dollar-denominated exports dropped by 5.5 percent in August from a year earlier, while imports plunged almost 14 percent.

Although, a global recession is not yet reflected in Citi's benchmark forecasts for global or Chinese growth in 2016, Citi's global economics team has supported this view.

In his opinion, what is more likely is global real gross domestic product growth (GDP) dipping consistently over the next few years, dropping to or below 2 percent around the middle of 2016.

He also noted, however, that the possibility of some kind of recession, moderate or severe, was 55 percent.

If the world economy slips into a recession, generally identified by two straight quarters where GDP falls, it will be the emerging markets. Particularly, China will lead the road, Buiter said.

"We consider China to be at a high and rapidly rising risk of a cyclical hard landing," the Citi note said.

"The reasons behind China's downturn and likely recession are familiar from the long history of business cycles everywhere: rising excess capacity in a growing number of sectors, excessive leverage in the private sector and episodes of irrational exuberance in asset markets."

One of the asset markets Citi referred to was the equity market. Having soared some 60 percent between the start of the year and June, China's benchmark Shanghai Composite gauge then dropped sharp and fast.

Earlier this week, China revised down its forecast for economic growth this year to 7.3 percent from 7.4 percent.

Buiter said that if China enters a recession, many emerging markets will probably follow.

"The advanced economies or developed markets (DMs) will not have enough resilience, either spontaneous or policy-driven, to prevent a global slowdown and recession, even though many large DMs will not experience recessions themselves but will merely grow more slowly," he added.

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