This from the Thomson Reuters/INSEAD Asian Business Sentiment Index

  • firms' six-month outlook +13 points to 71 for the fourth quarter
  • lifted confidence from close to a decade low in the previous quarter to its highest since June last year
  • chief risk is the Sino-U.S. trade war

More:

  • strongest reading on sales growth in a year
  • the majority of firms are not yet confident enough to plan hiring
  • "Conditions, expectations and some of the uncertainty has improved over the last quarter," said Antonio Fatas, economics professor at global business school INSEAD in Singapore, pointing to easing tensions between China and the United States. "But I don't see this uncertainty disappearing, I think some of these tensions are going to stay with us maybe for years or decades."

--

Survey is of 102 companies

  • in 11 Asia-Pacific countries

The report is out via Reuters and is a better sign than we've become accustomed to seeing in recent months. Maybe it will be a happier new year for the global economy. All eyes on US-China relations to assess that I guess.