GERMANY

A major question emerging here in Seoul on the final day of the G-20 Summit, as world leaders personally powwow on global dilemmas, is this: Can the U.S. and China play nice?

On Friday at the G20 summit, finance ministers of France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and Britain issued a joint statement saying the holders of any existing euro zone government debt are safe from regulatory changes that would force them to take on additional losses.

Euro rose across the board and pulled off 1-1/2-month lows against the US dollar and British pound on Friday on news EU leaders reassured the holders of outstanding bonds that they would not be forced to take losses. The day's gains, however, did not prevent the single currency from heading for weekly losses versus the majors as investors are still worried that Ireland may default on its bonds.

Eurozone industrial output unexpectedly fell in September as the demand for durable goods plunged.

The economy grew 0.4 percent in the Euroarea and the EU27 in the third quarter, a little lesser than expectations, according to a report by Eurostat.

German gross domestic product (GDP) growth slowed to 0.7 percent in the third quarter after increasing sharply by a revised 2.3 percent in the second quarter.

There has been “big progress” in the negotiations between world political leaders as they seek to hammer out an agreement and compromise on major economic issues on the final day of the G20 summit in Seoul, South Korea.

The euro dropped across the board on Thursday as weak data from the region showed the crisis-hit EU member countries will continue to pressurize the single currency.

U.S. labor department has denied that it has removed Indian carpets from a list of products produced by forced labor or child labor in violation of international norms.

Scientists have developed a device that can prevent several road accidents and save thousands of lives due to drivers falling asleep while driving.

In a wide-ranging and rambling speech during a luncheon at the G20 Business summit in Seoul, Korea, Germany’s chancellor Angela Merkel called for a “sensible” exit strategy from the global credit crisis.

One of the most interesting – and perhaps under-reported -- aspects of the G20 summit in Seoul is the four female political leaders in attendance. According to press reports, no prior G20 summit has had this many women heads of state.

Peripheral Europe faces waning public demand because of austerity measures, conditions that make exports difficult, and a banking sector that has not recovered well from the financial crisis. All this comes at a time when recovery is still fragile and the risks of a double-dip recession are real.

The United States, which has not yet been punished by bond vigilantes for its enormous public debt, is keeping fiscal stimulus policies intact for the short-term. While many economists support this decision, the key question is if it will be able to enact necessary fiscal austerity measures in the future.

With our debt coming to maturity in the next ten years, which we cannot afford to pay, printing money seems to be our only option, which we feel is going to spur inflation, if not hyperinflation. We also feel if we adjusted gold for the inflationary highs of the 80's, gold bullion should already be at $2,200 an ounce, so we feel very strongly about a further drive up in gold over the next five years.

China has had a near-monopoly on the production of rare earth metals for years. Recently, however, its market dominance has taken center stage and the West is increasingly expressing concerns.

A Chinese research center has unveiled the Tianhe-1A, replacing United States as the maker of the world's fastest supercomputer.

Americans die sooner than citizens of a dozen other developed nations and the usual suspects -- obesity, traffic accidents and a high murder rate -- are not to blame, researchers reported on Thursday.

Europe's luxury carmakers fear no double-dip thanks to a fresh supply of wealthy customers in emerging markets who have just earned enough money to buy their first Mercedes-Benz or Ferrari.

Top carmakers let cautious optimism creep into their outlooks at the Paris Auto Show on Thursday, pinning hopes on emerging markets to dispel dark clouds over major western economies.

Volkswagen is slightly more optimistic on the global car market's outlook now and still expects to outperform the worldwide market, the German carmaker's sales chief Christian Klingler said.