Quick Overview

• Japan's reduced its GDP growth estimate for 2007-2008 from 2.1% to 1.3%.
  
  
• Business confidence in Germany fell from 104.2 to 103.0 in December -- a two year low.
  

• MoM home foreclosure filings fell in November, a real estate data company reported on Wednesday.
  

• Bush signed legislation that requires auto makers to raise fuel efficiency by 40% to an industry average 35 miles per gallon by 2020. It also ramps up production of ethanol use to 36 billion gallons a year by 2022.
  
  

• The U.S. department of energy said that:
  Supplies of crude oil fell 7.6 million barrels to 296.9 million barrels.
  Supplies of gasoline rose 3.0 million barrels
  Supplies of heating oil fell 2.1 million barrels.
  Refinery use fell from 88.8% to 87.8%
  Gasoline demand rose 0.3% YoY
  Distillate demand rose 4.3%.
  
  

• Canada confirmed the discovery of that country's eleventh case of BSE Tuesday. The latest case involves a 13 year-old beef cow in Alberta.
  

• South Korea said it would eliminate import taxes on corn, wheat and soybeans to curb food inflation.
  

• Shangyu port is planning new terminals with total annual capacity of 10 million tons. Capacity of the new port will be 40 times larger than the present Shangyu facility, which can accommodate 3,000-tonne vessels and handle 245,000 tons of cargo a year, Xinhua reported.