UK retail sales surprised markets to the upside, posting an unexpectedly solid growth in December driven by a sharp increase in food sales amid cheaper fuel prices and ultra-low inflation.
The US flash data on activity in the manufacturing data showed a significant deterioration in January, as the corresponding PMI reading fell to the lowest level in twelve months.
The German economy started the year on an upbeat note, as demand increased for the first time in three months, while employment rose.
Major central banks continued to surprise market analysts and economists by their unexpected policy moves.
Consumer confidence in New Zealand increased for a second consecutive month in January reaching the highest level in six months, as households become more optimistic about the future prospects amid cheaper petrol prices, which provide more spending power to consumers.
British government borrowing unexpectedly increased in December due to hefty contribution to the European Union budget as well as a rise in central government spending.
The number of people applying for US-state unemployment benefits dropped last week from the highest level in seven months, with the underlying trend pointing to consistent improvement in the US labour market.
Super Mario did not let market participants down, as he announced full-blown QE programme in an ambitious attempt to save the Eurozone's economy from being trapped in long-term economic stagnation.
Major central banks around the world continue to surprise markets.
The Bank of Japan downgraded its next financial year's inflation outlook amid precipitous drops in oil prices, which continue to see the central bank's 2% goal slip further from achieving.
Two policy makers of the rate-setting Monetary Policy Committee, who insisted on the need to raise interest rates in the near term, changed their mind and joined those, who advocated for keeping rates unchanged, which raises speculation the Bank of England will refrain from raising interest rates until next year.
US housing starts soared more than expected in December, reaching the highest level in more than six and a half years.
Today is a critical day, which may mark a change in the ECB's history, as the central bank is widely expected to embark on broad-based quantitative easing in order to shield the region's economy from deflation and revive the sluggish growth.
The world's second biggest economy continued to grow at the slowest pace in almost six years in the fourth quarter of 2014, with the annual rate of expansion coming in at the weakest level in 24 years.
Manufacturing sales in Canada fell more than expected in November, dropping for a second consecutive month, driven by weak auto sales, Statistics Canada reported.
New Zealand inflation fell to the lowest level in 18 months in the final quarter of 2014 amid cheaper petrol and vegetables prices, providing room for the Reserve Bank of New Zealand to keep interest rates unchanged for longer than previously thought.
Despite falling slightly, US homebuilders' confidence stayed close to the highest level in nine years in January, adding to signs the residential real estate sector is set to grow this year.
German investor confidence strengthened for the third consecutive month to reach the highest level in 11 months in January.
New Zealand's business confidence remained solid in the final quarter of 2014, with the nation's economy's buoyancy encouraging business growth.
Japan's industrial output fell less than initially estimated in November, according to the final data from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.
The malaise of low inflation is gradually spreading around the world, slowly creeping to the South Pacific country.
UK house prices rebounded unexpectedly in January after falling in the preceding two months as demand from first-time buyers rose due to stamp duty changes, while the supply continued to lag behind, according to Rightmove.
The Euro zone current account, a measure of the financial health of the currency bloc, narrowed on a seasonally adjusted in November, according to the European Central Bank.
Retail sales in the Alpine country unexpectedly fell in November, the Federal Statistics Office reported a day after the Swiss National Bank dropped a bombshell by discontinuing its three-year-old cap on the Swiss Franc against the Euro.