* US government faces shutdown on Jan. 19 without new funding bill
* Shale to the rescue: US fracking keeps world awash with oil as conflicts abound
* The slowdown in the housing industry has ripple effects
* Global stock markets in 2023 mark strongest calendar-year rise since 2019
* China’s economy is struggling, admits President Xi Jinping
* China’s manufacturing sector remains sluggish, survey data show
* US Weekly Economic Index surges to highest level in nearly 1-1/2 years:

Economists expect growth in the US labor market to cool significantly in 2024. “You can see these small cracks forming” in the labor market, says Michael Pugliese, a senior economist at Wells Fargo. “That should give you reason for pause going into 2024.”