China's premier warned that growth will slow this year in the world's second-largest economy as the government seeks to overhaul the country's "unbalanced, uncoordinated and unsustainable" development model.

President Obama has a date with China's Vice President Xi Jinping on Valentine's Day, and despite tensions between the world's two largest economies, they're both likely to put on a happy face. Like it or not, the economic fates of both countries remain closely intertwined.

China's exports and imports both fell in January 2012, raising fresh concerns about the impact of a global slowdown on its economy.

The Arctic cold snap that has hit Europe for over a week has claimed nearly 300 lives, bringing air travel chaos to London and dumping snow as far south as Rome and even North Africa.

In its China Economic Outlook report released Monday, the IMF said China's growth rate, which stood at 9.2% last year, would drop abruptly if the euro zone experienced a sharp recession.

The US economy created 243,000 jobs in January 2012, the highest total for nine months, official figures show.

Unemployment in the eurozone stayed at a record high in November as the impact of the sovereign debt crisis rumbled on, according to official figures.

The United States added 200,000 new jobs last month, the Labor Department said Friday, a robust number that came on the heels of a flurry of heartening economic news.

Samsung Electronics and Hyundai Motor, South Korea's largest companies, told employees to brace for intense competition in a weak global economy as the government called for contingency planning.

But he said that the biggest goal was stability, and that aid-for-disarmament talks could resume if Pyongyang halted its nuclear activities.

The strength of the Japanese yen as well as the ongoing European debt crisis have weighed on external demand.

South Korea said it's prepared to intervene in markets as the death of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il clouded the outlook for an economy already faltering on weak export demand.

After a marathon all-night session and another day of wrangling at a crucial summit in Brussels, European leaders hammered out a deal they hope will stave off a eurozone collapse and create an anti-crisis framework for the future.

"We expect strong tree sales this year and strong holiday sales overall," said Jean Niemi, a spokeswoman for Atlanta- based Home Depot Inc., the world's largest home-improvement retailer. "History shows us that even in a down economy, the Christmas tradition isn't one that families part with."

The US unemployment rate dropped sharply to 8.6% in November, its lowest level in two-and-a-half years, from 9% the month before, official figures show.

The yuan halted a three-day losing streak on speculation European leaders will boost efforts to solve the region's sovereign-debt crisis.

The United States economy grew at a slightly slower rate than previously estimated in the third quarter, but weak inventory accumulation amid sturdy consumer spending strengthened analysts' views that output would pick up in the current quarter.

China's manufacturing activity dropped to a 32-month low in November, renewing fears the Asian powerhouse is losing steam amid global economic woes.

South Korea's parliament has ratified a free-trade deal with the US, after years of wrangling over the issue.

The man tapped to be Italy's next premier earned the moniker "Super Mario" in the halls of the European Commission, stopping such corporate giants as Jack Welch and Bill Gates in their competitive tracks.

Eighteen years after it first asked to join the World Trade Organization, a still ambivalent Russia is on the verge of membership, with negotiators expected to sign off on the final terms at a meeting in Geneva beginning November 10.

Fears about a wave of successive layoffs by semiconductor firms were stoked last week when two chipmakers gave out walking papers.

The head of the International Monetary Fund, Christine Lagarde, has warned that the global economy is at risk of being plunged into a "lost decade".

ING's announcement follows job cuts by other big Dutch lenders. Nationalised Dutch bank ABN Amro is shedding 2,350 jobs as the state readies it for a return to private hands, while Rabobank said it planned 1,200 job cuts to save costs.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has cut its growth forecasts for Asia over worries about eurozone debt and new fears for the US economy.

The US Senate has voted through a bill which aims to punish China for keeping its currency artificially undervalued.

Their causes include such diverse issues as global warming, gas prices and corporate greed - though most seem to be fueled by the common thread of anger at the wealthy and powerful at the expense of the middle class and less fortunate.

American companies have yet another reason not to boost hiring: rising unemployment taxes.

South Korea's LG Display Co. said Friday localization is a priority in its China business in order to further expand its presence in the world's No. 2 economy.

Gold prices continued to plunge on September 23, despite the market turmoil that often drives investors to the traditional safe haven.

The latest monthly readings released Thursday on manufacturing in the eurozone, the UK and China all were weaker than they had been, as was a report on the service sector in Europe.

Taiwan's dollar weakened for a fourth day, sliding to an eight-month low, on concern that slowing global growth will weaken demand for the island's exports and slow job creation. Bonds rose.

Japan's exports rose less than expected as slowing growth abroad and the strength of the yen have held back the country's economic recovery.

International regulators raised the pressure on European policymakers to shore up the continent's banks, warning the impact of the sovereign debt crisis on bank capital posed an escalating threat to financial stability.

The proposal's name refers to billionaire Warren Buffett, who has complained that wealthy Americans like himself pay less than their fair share in taxes under the current tax code.

Japan's economy contracted more severely in the second quarter than was initially estimated, revised government data has shown. The decline came as companies cut back spending due to concerns about a slowing global economy and a rising yen.

Calling for unity and an end to a "political circus" US President Barack Obama told Republicans to immediately pass a US$447 billion jobs plan to jolt the stalled economy and cheer a disillusioned nation.

The US's biggest industrial companies face an average bill of at least US$100m each over the next five years as they struggle to fill the skills gaps left by the looming retirement of "baby boomer" factory workers.

Austerity measures in rich countries to reduce budget deficits risk triggering economic downturn, Unctad report says. But poorer economies offer GDP growth.

Facing a frustrated public and a skeptical Congress, President Barack Obama will pitch at least $300 billion in jobs proposals aimed at getting Americans back to work quickly and forcing Republicans to take a share of the responsibility for solving the country's economic woes.