Quick Overview

• U.K. unemployment rate rose to 6.1% from 6.0%
  

• Canada’s wholesale sales fell 1.6% in November.

• Brazil cut interest rate a full point to 12.75%

• YoY China's gross domestic product grew 6.8% in Q4 -- slowest in seven years.
  
  

• YoY Japan’s exports fell 35% -- sharpest decline since 1980
  

• South Korean GDP shrinks 3.4% QoQ
  

• The forecast for Argentina remains hot and dry next five days
  

• The National Weather Service issued a hard freeze warning for central Florida on Thursday morning.
  

• Indian gold imports for 2008 fell by 47%.
  

• The level of idle containerships has risen to 255 -- 5.5% of the global fleet, a historic high.