AFP - US president-elect Barack Obama's team was working Friday to push forward giant stimulus measures to jolt the country out of recession after an unexpectedly rocky reception from his own party.

AP - Troubled South Korean automaker Ssangyong Motor Co. has applied for protection from creditors to buy time to restructure itself into a profitable manufacturer after red ink mounted and cash flow collapsed amid falling sales.

Reuters - French carmaker Renault on Friday posted a 4.2 percent drop in 2008 sales in a world market that fell 4.8 percent as the global financial and economic crisis hit vehicle sales.

AP - British manufacturers experienced in November one of their worst months since the mid 1980s as export markets dried up, firms went bust and domestic demand was reined in, official figures showed Friday.

AP - The 16-nation euro fell slightly Friday in early trading against the U.S. dollar as traders looked ahead to unemployment data from Washington later in the day.

Bloomberg - Jan. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Henry Paulson may be the most powerful manager of money in the world and he still couldn’t do for taxpayers with the $700 billion bailout of American banks what Warren Buffett did for his shareholders in investing in Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

AP - Drugstore operator and pharmacy benefits manager CVS Caremark Corp. on Friday forecast a smaller 2009 profit than Wall Street expected, pointing to uncertainty in the U.S. economy.

AP - Brazilian consumer prices rose 5.9 percent in 2008, their greatest gain since 2004 but still lower than previously forecast.

AFP - Coca-Cola spoke out Friday against a boycott of its drinks and other US goods called by Malaysian Muslim groups over the Gaza offensive, saying it would only hurt the local economy and citizens.

BusinessWeek Online - President-elect Barack Obama rocketed to national prominence and won the battle for the nation's highest office in large part thanks to his extraordinary communication skills. Now, just 12 days before he takes office, he's turning to those skills to convince Americans that his ambitious $775 billion stimulus plan will go a long way to helping pull the U.S. economy out of its deep funk.

AFP - US employers shed a massive 524,000 jobs in December, capping a yearly loss of 2.8 million, as a deepening recession pushed unemployment to a 16-year high of 7.2 percent, data showed Friday.

AFP - A US congressional panel Friday criticized the Treasury over its handling of a 700 billion financial bailout fund and its strategy of rescuing troubled enterprises.

AP - President-elect Barack Obama says America is facing a 'devastating economic crisis' and the time to act is now.

Reuters - President-elect Barack Obama's pick to become the top U.S. labor official said on Friday her priorities would be to boost job training and search assistance to fight a deepening U.S. recession.

AP - Oil prices fell below $40 per barrel Friday for the first time this year as the government reported the nation's worst annual job losses since World War II.

AP - Businesses slashed wholesale inventories for a third straight month in November as sales continued to plummet by record amounts, further evidence of the severe recession gripping the country.

Reuters - The White House, responding to a spike in the U.S. jobless rate, said on Friday the actions the Bush administration has taken to aid the economy will take time to have their full impact but predicted a return to growth later this year.

AP - Mexico's economy contracted in the fourth quarter and could post negative growth in 2009, Central Bank president Guillermo Ortiz said Friday, as the U.S. recession slashes exports.

Bloomberg - Jan. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Henry Paulson may be the most powerful manager of money in the world and he still couldn’t do for taxpayers with the $700 billion bailout of American banks what Warren Buffett did for his shareholders in investing in Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

AFP - US economic conditions are 'dire' and 'deteriorating,' president-elect Barack Obama warned Friday after the release of new job-loss data, but said lawmakers had made progress on a huge stimulus package to jumpstart the economy.

AP - President-elect Barack Obama said Friday that he and Congress will 'hone and refine' his nearly $800 billion economic recovery plan, as he seeks to patch fissures with senior Democrats over key features of the still-emerging plan.

Reuters - President-elect Barack Obama, said on Friday that the latest grim unemployment report added urgency to the need to pass his $800 billion stimulus proposal, even as his efforts ran into difficulties in the U.S. Congress.

Reuters - President-elect Barack Obama's pick for top U.S. labor official vowed on Friday to fight the recession by helping people find jobs and said the right to join a union 'is the basic premise of our democracy.'

AFP - US unemployment surged to a 16-year high of 7.2 percent as a deepening recession pushed employers to shed a massive 524,000 jobs in December, capping a yearly loss of 2.6 million, data showed Friday.

AFP - President-elect Barack Obama said Friday that staggering new job loss figures showed the need for Congress to urgently pass his plan to revive the 'dire' and 'deteriorating' US economy.

AFP - The euro fell sharply against the dollar despite weak US unemployment figures, which analysts said were in line with forecasts.

Reuters - Americans, already anxious about losing their jobs, faced Friday's news of deepening unemployment with grim resignation and vowed to cut their spending further, update their resumes and brace for survival in what many expect will be a long, painful recession.

AFP - US aerospace giant Boeing said Friday it would cut about 4,500 jobs beginning next month amid a weakening global economy.

AFP - Former US Treasury chief Robert Rubin will step down from his special advisory role to banking giant Citigroup, the struggling bank said Friday.

AP - Mexico's economy is likely headed for a recession in 2009 amid slowing exports and investment, Treasury Secretary Agustin Carstens suggested Friday.

AFP - Once he becomes president of the United States, Barack Obama should reform US export and visa controls for foreign students and scientists to benefit the economy and national security, a report recommended Thursday.

AFP - Oil prices fell close to 40 dollars on Friday after a highly volatile trading week as new US data showed rising unemployment and deepening recession in the world's biggest oil consuming nation.

AP - Analysts predict Venezuela's economy is headed for a worse year than the government admits, as falling oil prices stall growth and inflation soars in the import-dependent country.

Reuters - Mexico's Cemex, the world's No. 3 cement maker, is shutting another U.S. plant and laying off workers as the U.S. recession deepens, the company said on Friday.

Reuters - Cisco Systems Inc Chief Executive John Chambers said on Friday that the U.S. economy may start to grow again in the second half of 2009 but that his opinion should not be read as a comment on the network equipment maker's current quarter.