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The annual rate of growth of M3 decreased to 7.3% in December 2008, from 7.7% in November 2008. The three-month average of the annual growth rates of M3 over the period October 2008 - December 2008 decreased to 7.9%, from 8.3% in the period September 2008 - November 2008.

Merchandise export volumes of the Group of Seven countries fell 0.2% in the third quarter of 2008 compared with the previous quarter, while import volumes rose 0.4%. On a year-on-year basis, import volumes fell 1.4% in the third quarter, the first decline since the third quarter of 2006. Exports rose 1.9%, their lowest growth rate since the third quarter of 2006.

In January, the Economic Sentiment Indicator (ESI) for the EU and the euro area declined again, but less sharply than in the last three months of 2008. It fell by 3.3 points in the EU and by 1.5 points in the euro area, to 64.9 and 68.9, respectively. The indicators for both regions stand at their lowest levels since the current series was launched in January 1985.

The Conference Board Leading Economic Index (LEI) for Australia declined 1.0 percent and The Conference Board Coincident Economic Index (CEI) increased 0.1 percent in November.

While Australia was one of the pioneers in biofuel production in the Asia Pacific region, the early promise has dissolved under pressure from an unfavorable tax regime and rising feedstock prices over the past two years. The production of biodiesel has been largely uneconomic during this period with high feedstock prices and unfavorable changes to the fuel tax regime. Limited uptake from major oil companies has further jeopardized market prospects over the past two years. Nonetheless, increasing concern over global warming and the political will to strengthen efforts to reduce carbon dioxide emissions remain strong factors fuelling optimism in the Australian biofuel markets.

The European Commission adopted a proposal to change the VAT Directive 2006/112/EC in respect to the invoicing rules, based on a Communication on the technological developments in the field of electronic invoicing. The aim of the proposal is to increase the use of electronic invoicing, reduce burdens on business, support small and medium sized enterprises and help Member States to tackle fraud.

Euro-Zone retail sales continued to fall sharply in January, dropping for the eighth month running. At 44.0, compared to 41.4 in December, the latest Bloomberg Euro-Zone Retail Purchasing Managers' Index ("PMI(R)") signals a further easing in the month-on-month rate of sales decline from the all-time record pace seen last November.

In December, employers took 2,275 mass layoff actions, seasonally adjusted, as measured by new filings for unemployment insurance benefits during the month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported.

Greenpeace welcomes European Commission's proposal to give financial aid for climate protection in developing countries and to support new measures to help reduce global greenhouse gas emissions. However, Greenpeace regrets that the Commission backtracked at the last minute and weakened its proposal by removing any mention of specific amounts of financial aid. Commission's proposal outlines the EU's position ahead of international climate talks in Copenhagen in December this year.

In 2008, union members accounted for 12.4 percent of employed wage and salary workers, up from 12.1 percent a year earlier, the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. The number of workers belonging to a union rose by 428,000 to 16.1 million. In 1983, the first year for which comparable union data are available, the union membership rate was 20.1 percent, and there were 17.7 million union workers.