GDP

Finance ministers finally thrash out agreement to shore up Greece and bolster shaken currency market.

Economists and financial analysts caught out by surprise surge of retail sales figures across UK despite gloomy outlook.

Eurozone crisis following Greek default would put UK economic recovery at risk, says Bank of England.

Eurozone economic output contracted by 0.3 percent in last three months of 2011, official figures show.

On 11 February 2011, the West's "man in Cairo", Hosni Mubarak, was toppled from power, the result of continuing and increasingly violent anti-government demonstrations. After 18 days of civil unrest during which all the Government's concessions had been spurned and with no tangible support from his allies abroad, Mr Mubarak, the President of Egypt for almost 30 years, finally stood down.

Confederation of British Industry predicts Britain will avoid recession and see growth in second half of 2012.

Greek parliament accepts stringent financial austerity package, slashing jobs, pay and pensions and sparking riots across country.

£50bn QE 'printing money' programme to boost economy by buy up high-quality company assets, Monetary Policy Committee announces.

UK retailers group says discounted luxury goods pushing up consumer confidence.

Retail misery blighting start of 2012, as latest survey shows high street experiencing falling year-on-year sales.

Labour's Ed Miliband accuses prime minister of smugness and complacency after figures reveal British economy shrank at end of last year.

Britain's economic growth contracted by 0.2 percent in the last quarter of 2011, fuelling fears that Britain is tumbling into a double-dip recession.

The IMF has warned the eurozone is in serious risk of spreading its toxic economy worldwide unless it is dealt with “decisively”.

Net UK government debt is over £1tn for the first time.

Following the announcement of iBooks 2 and iBooks Author on Thursday, Apple saw its stock price hit a new company record of $431 (£278) per share.

UK "already in recession" with more contraction to come, Centre for Economics and Business Research warns.

Ireland had a rather gruelling year in 2011 with the Minister for Finance, Fine Gael's Michael Noonan, capping it in early December 2011 with the country's fourth austerity Budget in a row. Aiding Mr Noonan in this somewhat unpleasant if necessary task, was his Labour, Coalition partner, Brendan Howlin.

One in four of Spain's working population out of work with jobless numbers hitting record 4.42 million.

Applications from China's patent office have gone up by an average of 16.7 per cent annually; from 171,000 in 2006 to nearly 314,000 in 2010.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, received welcome news ahead of the Christmas break as growth figures for the UK were better than expected between July and September.

You'll have to shout, Mrs Merkel, because either the Markets didn't hear you or they have totally ignored your message.

Death of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il raises questions about whether South Korea's faltering economy could cope with the economic pressure of a united Korea.

The eurozone rescue deal briefly outlined Friday by the German chancellor and French president hasn't gone down well with Standard & Poor's, but the "Big Bazooka" Summit? Not if Bundeskanzlerin Merkel has her way.

A trillion dollars' worth of gold under the hills of war-torn Afghanistan is set to be mined, as the Afghan government starts its tendering process.

China backs the EU's plans to continue the Kyoto Protocol in the fight against global warming, but not without conditions.

Belgium has a Prime Minister after going more than a year and a half without a government.

The global recession has hit the many countries in the world, but yet there are several countries which are doing quite well.

Italy is the most corrupt country in the eurozone, along with Greece, and has scored less than Cuba, Saudi Arabia and Ghana in the 2011 Corruption Perception Index, compiled by German-based NGO Transparency International.

The Chancellor, George Osborne, is right to “stick to Plan A” according to the Centre of Economic and Business Research (Cebr).

The UK is on the brink of a modest recession with months of slow growth, the OECD has warned