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The World Bank called on the industrialized nations to keep up their aid flows to developing countries amid the economic downturn, one of the implications of which is an anticipated steep decline in private capital flows to developing countries.

Debt Settlement USA, a debt settlement company, reported that the Consumer Debt Index (CDI) for the third quarter of this year stood at 13.55, up more than 6.5 percent since the end of the second quarter and nearly 30 percent since the third quarter last year.

Broadband penetration in Europe continues to grow, from 18.2% in July 2007 to up to 21.7% in July 2008, according to a report published today by the European Commission. The report also shows the gap between EU countries narrowing, from 28.4 percentage points in July 2007 to 27.7 this July. With 17 million fixed broadband lines laid in a year, today's figures show high-speed internet in the EU is more widespread and faster, while mobile broadband is starting to take off, with 6.9% penetration. Three quarters of broadband lines in the EU have download speeds of 2 millions of bits per second (Mbps) and above, a speed that supports TV over the Internet, for example.

The Council of ministers of the European Union adopted the European Commission's strategy to reinforce the fight against cyber crime. The strategy proposes a series of operational measures, such as cyber patrols, joint investigation teams and remote searches to become part of the fight against cybercrime in the next five years. The strategy also introduces concrete steps for closer cooperation and information exchange between law enforcement authorities and the private sector.

The euro area (EA15) seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate stood at 7.7% in October 2008, compared with 7.6% in September. It was 7.3% in October 2007. The EU27 unemployment rate was 7.1% in October 2008, compared with 7.0% in September. It was 6.9% in October 2007.

The European Commission has presented a comprehensive plan to drive Europe's recovery from the current economic crisis. The Recovery Plan is based on two mutually reinforcing main elements. Firstly, short-term measures to boost demand, save jobs and help restore confidence. Secondly, "smart investment" to yield higher growth and sustainable prosperity in the longer-term. The Plan calls for a timely, targeted and temporary fiscal stimulus of around €200 billion or 1.5% of EU GDP, within both national budgets (around €170 billion, 1.2% of GDP) and EU and European Investment Bank budgets (around €30 billion, 0.3% of GDP). Every Member State is called upon to take major measures good for its own citizens and good for the rest of Europe.

In November, the Economic Sentiment Indicator declined considerably in the EU and the euro area. This came after another sharp decline in sentiment observed in the October survey. It fell by 6.7 points in the EU and by 5.1 points in the euro area, to 70.5 and 74.9, respectively. The ESI for the EU stands at its lowest since January 1985, while that for the euro area is at the lowest since August 1993.

The latest Bloomberg Euro- Zone Retail Purchasing Managers' Index, based on a mid-month survey of economic conditions in the euro area retail sector, slumped from 44.3 in October to 40.6 in November, signaling the sixth consecutive monthly fall in retail sales and the largest decline recorded in the five-year history of the survey.

The annual rate of growth of M3 stood at 8.7% in October 2008, unchanged from the previous month. The three-month average of the annual growth rates of M3 over the period August 2008 - October 2008 declined to 8.7%, from 8.9% in the period July 2008 - September 2008.

As development experts prepare for the International Conference on Financing for Development in Doha, Qatar, the World Bank is calling on donors to further boost aid as investment in developing countries heads for a "perfect storm."