The Economist Intelligence Unit forecasts that Taiwan's real GDP will contract by 6.5% in 2009. The poor economic and financial environment abroad will continue to undermine Taiwan's growth prospects in 2010, when the economy is forecast to expand by just 0.6%.

Beijing now expects China to achieve 8% growth for 2009 as a whole, which compares with a predicted contraction of between 1% and 1.5% in the US. However, the Chinese government warned that some economic challenges remain.

South Korea's unemployment rate hit a three-month high in June as the prolonged downturn discouraged companies from hiring workers.

The primary cause of China's ballooning foreign currency reserves is not the surplus of the country's exports over its imports, but the result of overseas investors pouring money into property and shares...

Singapore appears to be emerging from its worst recession on record after the economy expanded at an annualised rate of 20.4% between April and June.

China has been a champ exporter, but the country's growth depends on developing other avenues of business too.

The government will issue two casino licenses for gaming operations on the offshore island of Penghu initially, which will be affiliated with holiday villages, similar to the pattern of Singapore, according to Mao Chi-kuo, minister of transportation and communications.

Taiwan and China should cooperate on energy conservation and environmental protection, the Chairman of the island's ruling party said in a speech on July 11.

Taiwan, the world's fifth-best-­performing stock market this year, must overcome several obstacles before it can be categorized as a developed market in benchmark indexes, according to the FTSE Group.

The US trade deficit fell to the lowest level in more than nine years in May as exports posted a small gain while the weak American economy pushed imports down for a 10th consecutive month.

The meetings have rarely produced anything of consequence, so this summit in Italy should be the last. Much worse, it doesn't include the real economic powers of tomorrow: China, India and Brazil.

China could be an unexpected laggard to any global recovery, with its economy set to remain sluggish after a long run of bubble-like investment in factories and other fixed assets wears off, some analysts say.

Japan has passed the worst of its current slump and is on course for growth in its next fiscal year, but the recovery of the world's second-largest economy could yet prove vulnerable, Kaoru Yosano, finance minister, has warned. The comment came just before a survey showed that business confidence had risen for the first time in two and a half years.

China's manufacturing expanded for a fourth month as a 4 trillion yuan (US$585 billion) stimulus plan and record bank lending revive the world's third-largest economy.

The economy contracted at a much sharper pace than initially thought and at its fastest rate in more than 50 years in the first three months of 2009, according to official data.

When it comes to economic performance, it's hard to believe that impoverished North Korea could do better than its affluent capitalist neighbor to the south. South Korea's economy is known for its exports of Hyundai cars, LG phones and Samsung semiconductors. Meanwhile, the North Korean economy's export prowess is limited largely to nuclear weapon technology and counterfeit dollars.

Japan's jobless rate rose to its highest level in nearly six years in May as manufacturers continued to cut jobs despite better conditions for the corporate sector here.

Japan says manufacturers increased production in May for the third straight month.

Fresh signs of weakness in the US job market have underlined the strains on a recession-struck US economy that contracted slightly less in the first quarter than previously thought.

The slump in Japan's exports showed little sign of relenting in May, with auto exports to the US down more than half, adding to doubts about a quick recovery from the global recession.

China, which has criticized protectionist moves elsewhere, is pushing ahead with efforts to ensure that its gargantuan economic stimulus package benefits domestic firms.

President Barack Obama has faced new concerns among the American public about the budget deficit and government intervention in the economy as he works to enact ambitious health and energy legislation, a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll finds.

The Bank of Japan (BOJ) has said the Japanese economy has begun to stop deteriorating, but it has still kept interest rates unchanged at 0.1%.

The World Bank has raised its forecast for growth in China this year from 6.5% to 7.2% amid signs that the economy is doing better than expected.

Japan's core machinery orders, a closely watched indicator of the health of the economy, fell by 5.4% in April.

The economic slowdown could last five to 10 years and cost trillions of dollars, a top US economist has warned. He is urging the US government to introduce a second stimulus package of $500bn to boost the economy.

Australia's economy grew in the first quarter of 2009, defying a global slowdown and crunched confidence, and being one of the few developed nations to have side-stepped a technical recession.

Geithner said the two countries had already demonstrated they could co-operate in laying a foundation for economic recovery.

Optimists argue that the government's loose credit and fiscal policies have succeeded in staving off the worst of the economic downturn. However, there are growing concerns about the impact of these policies on the public finances.

The pace of decline in the job market eased again in May, a survey has shown, with permanent placements falling at the slowest rate for ten months.

Japan's factory output has jumped at its fastest rate in more than 50 years, but higher unemployment figures have dampened hope of an early recovery.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd says that a new solar energy plant will stimulate Australia's economy and make the country a leader in renewable energy.

Japan's economy has seen its worst ever quarterly performance, with GDP shrinking 4% in the first three months of 2009. The world's second biggest economy, which depends heavily on exports, has been hit hard by the global downturn.

Why, if investment is rising so rapidly, was its contribution to GDP growth in 1Q09 (2pp of the 6.1% total) so low? And why is electricity output still falling, down by 3.5% on year in April? The slowdown in on-year industrial production growth, to 7.3% in April from 8.3% in March, raises further concerns.

"It looks to me now as if the markets are now pricing in a rapid recovery, that they're pricing in a V-shaped recession, which I consider extremely unlikely," said Krugman at a forum in Shanghai on May 12.

The pace of Taiwan's economic decline has slowed down, but a much-anticipated rebound is still far way, the chairman of one of Taiwan's biggest companies said Monday.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke defended Monday the central bank's recent stress tests of the nation's most important banks, and mounted an unusual defense of the US dollar.

US unemployment climbed to 8.9% in April, its highest level in a quarter of a century, as the economy shed more than half a million jobs, official figures have showed.

The pace of US job losses may be slowing, according to two private reports.

The electronics supply chain remains pessimistic and appears to believe we have not yet seen the bottom of the recession, according to a survey of more than 230 electronics supply chain decision makers.