Core machinery orders, which exclude ships and utilities, rose more than initially was expected, reaching the highest level since June 2012, a sign that investors are feeling more optimistic about the economy.
Even despite recent poor economic performance, Britain was ranked as the second most advanced country in the world in a new measure designed to rival GDP, according to the index developed by a team of U.S. economists.
The number of Americans seeking unemployment aid fell sharply last week, easing fears of a marked deterioration in the labour market conditions after a surprise stumble in job growth last month.
Consumer prices in Europe's largest economy were confirmed at two year low, according to a final consumer price index released by the Federal Statistical Office.
Confidence among Australian consumers unexpectedly dropped in April after posting big gains in the past two months, the Westpac Banking Corp and Melbourne Institute found.
The world's third largest economy is expected to return to growth this year and expand by 1.2%, helped by bold measures introduced by Haruhiko Kuroda and Shinzo Abe, the Asian Development Bank forecasts in a report released Tuesday.
Britain's economy will escape from falling into a triple-dip recession, helped by strong manufacturing data for February, the National Institute of Economic and Social Research said Wednesday.
Latest minutes from the Fed meeting showed that some members of the Federal Open Market Committee suggest the central bank should begin tapering its bond buying programme later this year and stop it already by the end of 2013.
The industrial production in France, Europe's second largest economy, bounced back in February, as production from car and aircraft factories improved.
Consumer prices in Switzerland were weaker than previously was expected in March, underlining the Swiss National Bank's view that it needs to maintain the cap it has imposed on the strong Franc.
Japan's machine tool orders dropped significantly last month.
Britain's manufacturing output rose twice as much as economists expected in February, as it rebounded from a slump.
Small-business owners' confidence fell unexpectedly, the report by the National Federation of Independent Business showed Tuesday.
Spain is widely expected to miss its public deficit target this year, leaving its sovereign rating at risk of slipping below investment grade, credit agency Moody's said on Tuesday.
Swiss industrial output fell significantly during the last three months of 2012, as investors' confidence was hit by the continuous economic slump in the Eurozone, the Swiss Statistics Office said Monday.
As the Bank of Japan introduced the world's biggest stimulus programme last week, the Federal Reserve is now expected to focus on signals of whether to end its quantitative easing or not.
The Bank of Japan, led by the newly-appointed Governor Haruhiko Kuroda, on Monday started its massive stimulus programme by buying 1.2 trillion yen worth of long-term government bonds in order to revive growth in the world's third largest economy.
Hopes that the U.K. can avoid from falling into a triple-dip recession were boosted on Tuesday, as house sales reached the highest level in three years, while retail sales picked up despite unseasonably cold weather.
The industrial output in Europe's largest economy improved moderately in February, raising hopes that German economy is stabilizing after a contraction in the fourth quarter.
Canada's economy, which returned to growth in the first month of 2013, posted mixed data on Friday, a sign the recovery may not be sustainable.
Japan posted its first current account surplus in four month in February, reflecting an improving outlook for an economic recovery in the world's third largest economy due to a depreciating Yen and unorthodox monetary-policy measures implemented by the BoJ.
Home prices in the U.K. advanced last month, and are likely to continue rising in the rest of the year, according to Halifax.
The overall unemployment rate in the world's largest economy reached a four-year low, due to a slump in the size of the labour force, while employers hired fewer workers than forecast in March, indicating the U.S. job market is struggling to make bigger strides.
The amount of money spent at retail outlets in the 17-nation economy slipped back in February, indicating weak domestic demand and adding to concerns that the currency bloc's recession extended into the first quarter.