GOOD NEWS: The US economy began the year on a good footing, with a decline in the Producer Price Index, mild inflation and a recovery in the manufacturing sector
Easing fears about inflation in the US, wholesale prices fell by the largest amount in 20 months in December, aided by a big decline in the cost of energy.

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EXCESSIVE DEMAND: Light sweet crude for February delivery settled at US$48.38 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, a level not seen since November
Crude oil futures prices rose for the fourth day in a row on Friday, reaching a level not seen since late November as traders pinned a 6 percent rise in the past week on supply snags and expectations of colder weather.

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TECHNICAL REBOUND: Taiwanese share prices closed 0.61 percent higher after recent losses as short-covering offset Wall Street's heavy overnight losses, analysts said
Asian stock markets closed mostly lower on Friday after Wall Street failed to provide any inspiration following an unexpected spike in oil prices which sent shares in the US tumbling.

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The yen dominated currency markets on Friday, extending its gains against the euro and US dollar as trading wound down ahead of a long weekend that will keep US financial markets closed tomorrow.

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Investors welcomed a lower-than-expected drop in wholesale prices and sent stocks higher on Friday, ending a troubled week on Wall Street on a positive note. The major indexes nonetheless suffered a loss for the second straight week.

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European stocks ended higher on Friday as markets held on to opening gains with broker comments helping mining stocks.

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ENERGY: Beijing plans to build at least one reactor a year between now and 2020, but critics question whether the small payoff warrants exposure to the risks
In its anxiety to satisfy its seemingly bottomless demand for electricity, China plans to build nuclear reactors on a scale and pace comparable to the most ambitious nuclear energy programs the world has ever seen.

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PROFIT: A recent study showed that the UK and US derive US$1.12 to US$1.14 for every dollar's worth of business offshored, while US$0.33 goes to the recipient country
Europe stormed ahead of the US last year in its dash to offshore more business activities, a report revealed on Friday.

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INCUBATOR: Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern had envisioned the lab -- based in a former warehouse of the Guinness brewery -- as a potential `digital hub'' of high-tech companies
Media Lab Europe, a high-tech research center founded by the Irish government and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, announced on Friday it is closing because it's run out of money.

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INVESTMENT: Salesmen will travel to London and New York in a bid to deal with advancing national debt. They face a tough sell -- Moody's puts Japanese debt below Botswana's
For the first time in a century, Japanese finance officials will travel abroad next week to drum up sales for the nation's bonds among foreign investors, with stops planned in New York and London.

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One week after completing its contentious takeover of PeopleSoft, Oracle on Friday began sending layoff notices to some of the 11,700 employees working at its former rival.

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■ Securities
Analyst fined over rumor
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