After official figures showed high street sales in January saw their biggest monthly drop in 18 months, saw the prospect of a double-dip recession looming larger Friday.

The Office of National Statistics (ONS) reported sales volumes to have fallen 1.8% last month compared to December, with the exception of petrol, sales which fell 1.2%, a figure much worse than a 0.5% fall of analysts’ expectations.

While, the bad weather in January, including the VAT increase were expected to negatively impact retail sales, the extent of the decline has taken aback those observing.

Even though the housing market remains fragile and foreclosures continue to rise, there are expectations that housing construction will rebound from the severely depressed levels of 2009, this year.

According to David Crowe, the National Association of Home Builders’ chief economist, construction will start on 610,000 single-family homes, up 38% from last year.

US jobs are forecasted to start growing again in the second quarter, though job growth will remain tepid, while the housing market remains tenuous, with housing starts remaining far below the

Commissioner David Stevens announced big changes Wednesday, at Federal Housing Administration’s (FHA), the government mortgage insurer, meant to shore up its beleaguered balance sheet, as a result of backing almost half of all home loans to minorities groups.

The up-front Mortgage Insurance Premium (MIP) paid by borrowers, will be raised for the second time in two years, from 1.75% to 2.25%, including the legislative authority requested for increasing the maximum annual MIP FHA can charge.

Hoping to rekindle optimism after Dubai’s financial crisis, its glitzy emirate are preparing to open the world’s tallest building begun at the height of the economic boom Monday, and which has been built by some 12,000 labourers imported from several countries to work on it.

The opening of Burj Dubai has been delayed twice since construction on it began in 2004, marking another milestone for its emirate with its penchant for setting new records.

Some of USA’s leading economists believe the nation’s economic growth will be stifled due to a dismal job market, a badly crippled real estate sector and banks that are hobbled, which all together will make its chances for a robust and sustained expansion, pretty slim.

Over the next ten years, U. S. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) will expand less than 2% per year, in sharp contrast to other steep economic downturns, whose aftermaths have usually elicited a growth surge in their immediate wake.

An Association of Consulting Actuaries (ACA) report indicates, with more and more employers moving away from high-cost pension schemes, nine out of ten defined benefit pension schemes are now closed to new entrants.

In addition, 18% of such schemes, such as, final salary pensions, are closed to future accruals from its members.

Quizzing 309 firms, ACA said the private sector situation was steadily deteriorating, with 91% of such schemes in deficit, already, as the government cuts regulatory burdens on company pensions.

Deloitte Touche, a financial services firm reports, Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) of some of UK’s biggest firms seem more hungry for risk-taking compared to 2008, seemingly at their most confident in two years.

A survey of 128-CFOs reveals almost four in five believe the UK banking system capable of sustaining a recovery.

Google's 3-G compatible smartphone Nexus One, the Internet search and advertising giant's bid to expand its Web brand in the thriving mobile area also, will ring in the New year at its unveiling Tuesday.

Already, Google's Android mobile operating system featuring a number of phones like T-Mobile's G1 END-2008 and the Droid from Motorola recently, has gained a foothold in the market.

However, HTC, a Taiwanese handset maker has designed the Nexus One, with Google selling the Google branded phone sold directly to consumers, without any ties to any one telecom carrier.