Reuters - Japan is reportedly considering cash injections for scores of regional banks in an effort to encourage lending as the financial crisis creates havoc for companies and economies around the globe.

AP - Germany's unemployment rate rose to 7.4 percent in December from 7.1 percent in the previous month as the economic crisis began to bite, according to official figures.

Reuters - Planned layoffs at U.S. firms eased in December from the previous month's seven-year high but they were up an astounding 275 percent annually as the year-old recession cut a huge swathe of destruction through job market.

AFP - The dollar fell Wednesday on profit-taking after gaining in Asian deals on optimism about US president-elect Barack Obama's economic stimulus plans, dealers said.

AP - Asia should tap its $4 trillion in currency reserves to avoid a significant economic downturn through public spending to bolster consumer demand, a U.N. economic adviser said Wednesday.

Reuters - Vacancies at regional malls in the United States rose in the fourth quarter to their highest levels of the decade, according to data released on Wednesday by real estate research firm Reis Inc.

Investor's Business Daily - The U.S. economy ended the year in a steep decline with housing, service sector and factory activity all contracting, reports showed Tuesday, as the Federal Reserve signaled the year-old recession could persist well into 2009.

AFP - The US private sector lost 693,000 jobs in December, according to a survey Wednesday highlighting a deepening recession in the world's biggest economy.

Reuters - President-elect Barack Obama said Wednesday he was still talking to congressional leaders about his economic stimulus package and that the final pricetag would likely be at the high end of estimates.

Reuters - Failure to act on a sweeping economic stimulus package will lead to more U.S. job losses and broader economic pain, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Wednesday.

FT.com - Not long ago, the question of how the actions of national authorities - and the US Federal Reserve in particular - impacted on their investment decisions would get a range of replies from investors. Some observed that their decisions were unaffected; others cited the old mantra that 'you should never fight the Fed'.

Reuters - Soaring unemployment has caused more Americans to fall behind on loan payments than at any time since 1980, and delinquencies are likely to head higher, the American Bankers Association said on Wednesday.

AFP - The US private sector lost 693,000 jobs in December, according to a survey Wednesday highlighting a deepening recession in the world's biggest economy.

Reuters - President-elect Barack Obama plans to speak on the economy on Thursday in what his aides are billing as a major address in which he will offer more details of his proposed economic stimulus plan.

Reuters - Global job woes worsened on Wednesday on bleak employment data from the United States and Germany, while microchip giant Intel Corp warned that slack demand for computers would hurt its revenue.

Reuters - The U.S. recession will drive the cost of the food stamp program, which helps poor people buy food, to $50 billion this year, up 27 percent from 2008, congressional forecasters said on Wednesday.

Bloomberg - Jan. 7 (Bloomberg) -- Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, a $500 million man when he entered office, said he’s about to discover how much of his fortune remains after two years of financial market turmoil.

Reuters - U.S. retailers experienced a dismal December, as a year-long recession and winter storms kept many potential shoppers at home, according to data released on Wednesday by SpendingPulse.

Reuters - President-elect Barack Obama is the 'decision maker' in spending the rest of a $700 billion financial bailout fund, but should consider continuing bank capital injections, outgoing U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said on Wednesday.

Reuters - New York state should fight obesity, help more residents get health insurance and revive the upstate economy with a research consortium for hybrid car batteries and energy storage, Governor David Paterson proposed on Wednesday.

AFP - US computer storage firm EMC announced plans Wednesday to cut 2,400 jobs or seven percent of its workforce to remain competitive in the current economic slump.

Reuters - When U.S. central bankers eventually move to wean markets off the emergency support put in place to rescue the economy, they will face the difficult and delicate task of timing it right.

Reuters - The recession will drive the cost of the U.S. food stamp program, which helps poor people buy food, to $50 billion this year, up 27 percent from 2008, congressional forecasters said on Wednesday.

Reuters - EMC Corp , the world's biggest maker of data storage equipment for businesses, said it plans to cut 2,400 jobs, or 6 percent of its staff, to help weather the global recession, and its shares rose 7 percent.

AFP - Two porn moguls including Hustler magazine founder Larry Flynt are seeking a five-billion-dollar bailout from Washington, arguing that the limp US economy has thrown cold water on the adult entertainment industry.

Reuters - Congress must approve a sweeping economic stimulus package by mid-February or the United States will face a deepening crisis and more job losses, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Wednesday.

Reuters - The architect of the Bush administration's effort to stabilize the troubled U.S. financial system said on Wednesday President-elect Barack Obama will make the decisions on how to spend the remaining half of a $700 billion bank bailout program.

Reuters - President-elect Barack Obama vowed a fight to the finish on Wednesday -- not over his economic plan, but to hang on to his BlackBerry.

Reuters - New York state should fight obesity, help more residents get health insurance and revive the upstate economy with a research consortium for hybrid car batteries and energy storage, Governor David Paterson proposed on Wednesday.

AFP - The US budget deficit will top a startling one trillion dollars this year, according to new projections, threatening to crimp president-elect Barack Obama's economic recovery plans.