WASHINGTON, D.C.: With the strength of the world’s largest economy on display at year end, the US Federal Reserve (Fed) is all but certain to leave interest rates untouched at its final policy meeting of 2019 this week.

While Latin America and Europe are stagnant and China has begun to sputter worryingly, November’s blockbuster US jobs report — which blew past economists’ expectations — underscored the resilience of American labor markets despite headwinds from President Donald Trump’s grinding trade war and signs of slower consumer spending.

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