Reuters - China on Wednesday revised up the country's gross domestic product growth for 2007 to 13.0 percent from 11.9 percent, leapfrogging Germany in the process to become the world's third-largest economy.

Reuters - Russia and Ukraine face another day of sparring over gas supplies on Wednesday and two European Union states launched fresh diplomacy to end a dispute that has left their economies without Russian gas for one week.

AP - Official figures show the German economy grew by 1.3 percent last year.

AP - China surpassed Germany to become the world's third-largest economy behind the United States and Japan after Beijing on Wednesday raised its estimate of economic growth in 2007.

AP - The 16-nation euro zone will not experience a strong economic recovery until the second half of 2010 at the earliest, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) said Wednesday.

Reuters - Mortgage applications jumped in the first full week of 2009 as record low interest rates spurred the greatest demand for home refinancing loans in over 5-1/2 years, data from an industry group showed on Wednesday.

AP - China has approved a new set of tax cuts and subsidies aimed at boosting flagging demand for cars, while pledging more help for its ailing steel sector.

AP - Oil prices rose to near $39 a barrel Wednesday after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said a fiscal package could help revitalize the ailing U.S. economy and suggested more stimulus measures might be needed.

AP - The German economy grew by 1.3 percent in 2008, only about half the previous year's rate as the global financial crisis took its toll on exports, preliminary government figures showed Wednesday.

Politico - Barack Obama picked Timothy Geithner to save the U.S. economy.

Reuters - The net flow of illegal immigrants to the United States has trailed off to around zero since the recession began to bite in December 2007, according to a research study.

Reuters - U.S. import and export prices both fell for the fifth consecutive month in December, as costs for oil and many non-petroleum products tumbled, the U.S. Labor Department said on Wednesday.

Reuters - Russia and Ukraine wrangled over gas supplies again on Wednesday and two European Union states, cut off by the row for a freezing week, launched missions to plead for Russian gas flow to be restored.

AFP - US retail sales plunged in December plunged to cap a dreary holiday season as wary consumers shut wallets in the face of a deepening recession, government data showed Wednesday.

Reuters - President-elect Barack Obama's economic team will brief Senate Republicans on Wednesday, fighting broad skepticism in Congress about releasing the second $350 billion of the financial industry bailout.

AP - Businesses slashed inventories in November by the largest amount in seven years as they scrambled to cope with a record plunge in sales.

AP - Oil prices tumbled Wednesday as new government reports show crude inventories continuing to build, suggesting that demand for oil and gasoline will not rebound anytime soon.

Reuters - The economic crisis has pushed job security to the top of the list of concerns of U.S. workers who, just months ago, cited the balance of work and family as their highest priority, a study released on Wednesday showed.

Reuters - Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi said on Wednesday she was confident Democrats will meet a self-imposed mid-February deadline to win congressional approval of a massive economic stimulus package.

AP - The U.S. economy started the new year on weaker footing as recession-shocked Americans retrenched further, forcing retailers to ring up fewer sales and factories to cut back production.

AFP - The US economic slump worsened since early December, with a slowdown hitting a wide range of industries, the Federal Reserve said in its Beige Book report Wednesday.

AP - After the worst holiday season in 40 years, retailers face more sales declines in the months ahead as the recession deepens, job losses mount and consumers retrench further.

AP - The U.S. economy started the new year on weaker footing as recession-shocked Americans retrenched further, forcing retailers to ring up fewer sales and factories to cut back production.

Reuters - The U.S. economy continued to weaken into the first days of the new year, as labor markets slumped, housing markets sagged, and manufacturing slowed, the Federal Reserve said in its Beige Book report on Wednesday.

Reuters - Two top Federal Reserve officials on Wednesday expressed confidence that despite continuing unending bleak news on the U.S. economy, a recovery could start to take shape in the second half of 2009 if financial markets and the housing sector gain a foothold.

Reuters - An economic stimulus bill being crafted by Democratic leaders in the U.S. Congress and aides to President-elect Barack Obama will cost about $850 billion, according to a government source.

AP - The Central Bank says it expects Chile's economy to grow by 2 to 3 percent with 3.1 percent inflation this year as the global downturn cools its copper-dependent economy.

Reuters - New York City's economy could gain 400,000 new jobs over the next six years under a new tax plan that Mayor Michael Bloomberg will propose on Thursday, according to a source familiar with the mayor's speech.

AFP - The chief executive of US bank JPMorgan Chase, Jamie Dimon, told the Financial Times on Thursday that the worst of the economic crisis still lay ahead as hard-hit consumers default on their loans.

Reuters - Google Inc said on Wednesday it was laying off 100 full-time recruiters, the latest sign that the economic recession has not spared one of the technology industry's strongest companies.