GDP

China's consumer price index (CPI) dipped to 4.6 percent in the last year, according to a report by Hong Kong-based Phoenix TV, BBC reported.

Asia's rapid economic growth will moderate slightly in 2011 even as policymakers combat rising prices with higher interest rates and try to keep local currencies from appreciating too sharply, a Reuters quarterly poll showed.

Greece is not in talks to stretch out repayment of its entire outstanding debt, a finance ministry official, who requested anonymity, said on Tuesday.

Even as the rest of Europe remains on an edge about its economic recovery, Germany continues to post strong growth, as shown by the German investor confidence indicator on Tuesday.

MasterCard Worldwide's (MA.N) partnership with China UnionPay, the country's lone bank card transaction processor, will help it become a player in China's 3 trillion yuan ($455 billion) personal consumption market in five to 10 years, the head of MasterCard in China said on Monday.

Gary Shiller said 46 percent of the $805-billion stimulus money given out was saved.

Ratings agency Fitch raised South Africa's outlook to stable from negative on Monday, saying its recovery in 2010 after a recession the year before had outpaced expectations.

Brian Cowen, the embattled Prime Minister of Ireland, has said he will not resign from his office despite mounting pressure on him to do so as result of the nation’s huge deficit and massive $90-billion bailout package.

The United States productivity growth will slow substantially in 2011 and could even fall below the rate in the euro area, The Conference Board reported on Monday.

Chinese President Hu Jintao, who will arrive in the U.S. on Tuesday for a state visit, rejected Washington’s demand for an appreciation of the Chinese currency, and debunked what he called was a “zero-sum Cold War mentality” while calling for broader cooperation with the U.S. on a range of issues. The focus during the three-day state visit, and beyond that, for that matter, will be on if Washington is prepared to act more sternly to make the Chinese let their currency appreciate.

Food price protests sweeping across North Africa and the Middle East reached Jordan on Friday, when hundreds of protesters chanted slogans against Prime Minister Samir al-Rifai in the southern city of Karak.

Ben Bernanke, the chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank, said the U.S. economy is likely to grow by 3 percent to 4 percent in 2011 (a faster expansion than in 2010), but that such growth will not be sufficient to reduce unemployment to acceptable levels.

U.S. jobless claims jumped unexpectedly last week to their highest level since October, suggesting the labor market is still in a rut despite signs of improvement in the economy.

South African blue-chip stocks booked another 2-1/2-year closing high on Thursday, rising 0.6 percent as shares of Anglo Platinum and other resource companies continued their recent run.

Flood water in Australia's third-biggest city peaked below feared catastrophic levels on Thursday but Brisbane and other devastated regions faced years of rebuilding as a fresh flood threat loomed with a cyclonic storm building off the coast.

Nigeria's fast-moving consumer goods sector is attracting foreign investors as parent companies pump cash into local units to offset slowing growth at home.

Massive floods shut down the centre of Australia's third-largest city, sent thousands fleeing from their homes and sparked panic buying of food on Wednesday as rescuers searched for 43 people missing in floodwaters.

Even as the rest of the world's efforts to push consumer spending and economic growth are floundering, Brazil reported a more-than-expected rise in retail sales during November.

Deadly rioting in the North African nations of Tunisia and Algeria underscore a clash between peoples’ anger over harsh economic realities and totalitarian governments’ clampdown on any dissent.

The devastating floods that have inundated Queensland may significantly reduce Australia’s overall economic growth this year, according to an array of economists and analysts.

The extra fiscal stimulus in the form of tax cuts approved in December could produce a 4 percent growth rate for the U.S. economy in the first half of 2011, but there are lingering risks that could lead to a cold shower in 2012, according to the American Enterprise Institute (AEI).