TRADE BALANCE

Japan logged a trade deficit of 2.49 trillion yen ($32 billion) for 2011, Ministry of Finance data showed on Wednesday, the first annual deficit since 1980.

German exports bounced back in November boosting the country's trade surplus, a sign that Europe's largest economy may avoid a sharp slowdown in contrast to France which is expected to have run up a record trade deficit in 2011.

The Eurozone will once again serve as the source of Wall Street's angst next week, as investors look to a summit of the region's political leaders for decisive solutions for the ballooning debt crisis.

A rebound in Hong Kong and Shanghai shares helped lift most Asian stocks into positive territory Wednesday, but concerns that Europe's debt crisis has hurt confidence in the global economy and is weighing on corporate earnings limited gains.

Gold prices rose on Tuesday as concerns over the financial health of the euro zone resurfaced ahead of a summit in Paris between French and German leaders, at which they will try to thrash out a solution to the bloc's debt crisis.

German gross domestic product growth slowed more than expected in the second quarter, weighed by a negative trade balance, flagging consumption and weak construction investment, the statistics office said.

The US trade gap narrowed slightly less-than-expected in February, following a surge in the previous month.

U.S. stocks plummeted on a slew of troubling developments, including a surprising trade deficit in China, a downgrade of Spain’s debt, along with fears over the impact on oil price by pervasive unrest in the Middle East and North Africa.

China threw its weight around at G-20 negotiations to exclude from the final communiqué references to 'foreign exchange reserves' and 'fiscal deficit' as possible causes of global economic imbalances.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on Saturday pointed to the problems China's tightly controlled currency poses for other developing economies and said Beijing still had further to go to let its currency rise.

Full text of G20 Meeting of Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Communiqué, from the G20 France 2011 website.

Group of 20 negotiators have failed to reach agreement on a list of indicators by which to measure imbalances in the global economy and will leave it up to their finance ministers to try and seal a deal on Saturday, a G20 source said.

China’s trade surplus fell 53.5 percent to $6.45 billion in January, as both exports and imports increased sharply ahead of the Lunar New Year holidays in the country, the General Administration of Customs said on Monday.

The US trade deficit of goods and services rose to $40.6 billion in December compared with a deficit of $38.3 billion in November, the commerce department said on Friday.

UK's goods trade deficit surged to record high of 9.247 billion pounds in December from 8.460 billion in the previous month, the Office for National Statistics announced on Wednesday. The widening of the deficit was larger than economists' consensus forecast of 8.6 billion pounds.

Now that all the hype and the hoopla of Chinese President Hu Jintao’s visit to the United States are over, the same basic commercial question remains unanswered: How can American companies create more jobs for Americans by selling more American goods and services in China?

As President Barack Obama makes the annual state of the union address to the nation tonight, issues like jobs, exports, competitiveness and trade deals will hog much of the limelight.

The Euro extended its rally on the currency markets, spiking to a 4-week high vs. the Dollar of $1.3450 before easing back. Thus, Gold priced in Euros dropped almost 5% from Monday's near-record high.

China must step up efforts to boost imports and push developed nations to allow more high-tech goods to be exported to the country, an assistant commerce minister said on Friday.

U.S. jobless claims jumped unexpectedly last week to their highest level since October, suggesting the labor market is still in a rut despite signs of improvement in the economy.

The devastating floods that have inundated Queensland may significantly reduce Australia’s overall economic growth this year, according to an array of economists and analysts.