China's exports and imports have suffered their biggest decline in a decade. Exports in December were down 2.8% from the same time last year, a bigger decline than November's 2.2% drop, while imports were down 21.3% (17.9% in November), the China Daily said.
Italian banks were saved from the US subprime mortgage originated crisis that has become global because they barely speak or understand English confessed the Italian Minister of Economy Giulio Tremonti during an interview published this week in the French newspaper Les Echos and picked up by global news agencies
Anglo-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto has decided to halt a project planned for western Uruguay for at least one year due to the global financial crisis, the Uruguayan government admitted this week.
Brazilian president Lula da Silva warned of a worrisome and tough first quarter but promised the government is prepared to inject more resources to the economy to help combat the effects of the global crisis and stimulate activity.
Uruguay declared on Monday an agriculture emergency and announced measures to help farmers address the very serious rain deficit which is threatening crops, livestock and the provision of fresh produce. The package includes importing fodder and cow feed for dairy farms as well as postponing tax and social security payments, and energy bills.
The International Monetary Funds may need up to 150 billion US dollars in additional funds to assist emerging markets and poorer countries suffering through the intensifying global economic slump, IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn said.
Two search requests on the internet website Google produce as much carbon dioxide as boiling a kettle, according to a Harvard University academic. US physicist Alex Wissner-Gross claims that a typical Google search on a desktop computer produces about 7g CO2.
Uruguay's Central bank this week raised its reference interest rate by 2.25 percentage points to 10% in an attempt to contain inflation which last year closed at 9.19%, above government target and the highest since 2003.
Immigrants' remittances from Spain to home countries totalled 1.95 billion Euros in the first three quarters of 2008, down 7% from the same period a year ago, reported the Banco de España.
The inflation rate reached 30.9% in 2008, an 11-year high, according to the latest release from the Venezuelan Central bank. The bank also said prices rose 31.9% in the capital, Caracas, the highest level since 1997, outstripping the 2007 figure, 22.5%.