Consumer prices in Switzerland dropped for the third consecutive month in January, even as the Franc declined against the Euro, the Federal Statistics Office said Tuesday.
Confidence among Japanese consumers improved more than initially was expected in January, a sign that government's pledge to introduce more bold measures boosted consumer confidence in the country.
Inflation rate in the U.K. held at the highest rate since May last month, as crude oil costs rose.
Small-business owners' confidence continues to drag, the report by the National Federation of Independent Business showed Tuesday.
France's growth forecast for this year is widely expected to be revised in the coming days, as the nation's accounting court warned government targets for the year are not likely to be achieved.
The amount of cash Swiss commercial banks held with nation's central bank turned lower in the week to February 8, a sign that investors are getting more anxious over Eurozone's financial woes.
Asian Development Bank President Haruhiko Kuroda, who is a potential candidate to become the next Bank of Japan's governor, signalled his support for more aggressive stimulus measures by the BoJ in 2013.
Confidence among U.K. businesses has gone down to the lowest level in over two decades in January, adding to concerns that the economy still struggles to gain the momentum in the first quarter of 2013.
Prices for single-family homes in the world's largest economy surged in almost 88% of all cities in the last three months of 2012, pointing at strong recovery in the property market.
The economic data from the Eurozone due this week will probably reflect the damage inflicted by the sovereign debt crisis. Eurozone's gross domestic product is widely expected to shrink by 0.4% during the last months of 2012.
The number of people out of work in Switzerland soared to the highest level since January 2011, adding to concerns that economy is not on the way to recovery yet and another slowdown may be expected.
Japan posted its smallest annual current account surplus since 1985, due to a slump in exports to China and the Eurozone, according to the Ministry of Finance.
The U.K. construction firms finally bucked their industry's downward trend in the last three months of 2012, boosted by building of private homes and infrastructure work.
The United States' trade deficit shrank in December to its lowest level in almost three years, the Commerce Department said on Friday.
After marathon talks in Brussels European Union leaders agreed on a deal on the bloc's next seven-year budget.
The Bank of England agreed on Thursday to freeze its key interest rate and maintained the level of its quantitative easing cash stimulus, despite the fact the country is facing the risk of a triple-dip recession.
The amount of foreign currency reserves held by the Swiss National Bank fell for the second consecutive month in January, a sign that pressure on the Swiss Franc eased.
Surprisingly, Japanese core machinery orders rebounded in December, posting the third consecutive month of gains, as companies were expecting more improvement in the first quarter of 2013 due to more aggressive stimulus measures to be announced soon.
The number of Americans who lost their jobs dropped during the last week, while the trend reading hit a near five-year low, a sign of healing in the labour market.
The European Central Bank will monitor the economic impact of strengthening shared currency, as policy makers are concerned that it will hamper their efforts to pull the economy out of recession.
Retail sales in Australia fell unexpectedly for the third consecutive month in December, posting the longest stretch of declines in 13 years, as consumers were reluctant to spend more amid a deteriorating employment outlook.
The fact that the current Governor of the Bank of Japan Masaaki Shirakawa will step down on March 19, three weeks before his five-year tenor ends in April, is adding to concerns that more aggressive monetary easing from Japan's central bank could now come sooner than it was expected.
British house prices dipped for the first time in three month in January, after rising for two straight months, a sign that the property market is struggling to gain the momentum.
The number of applications for U.S. home mortgages rose significantly last week, as interest rates climbed, while refinancing demand accounted for a slightly smaller proportion of total activity, the Mortgage Bankers Association said Wednesday.