One of my favorite newspapers is the British rag - Financial Times. It tends to be unbiased and it will paint an interesting picture of what is happening around the world.
Here are some tidbits I picked up from a recent issue...

Italian industry has slashed its power consumption by 30% in the past 2 months as Italy has slipped into the grips of recession. Italy has issued a modest stimulus package but it hamstrung by its already large debt load. Over the next 2 years, 900,000 jobs could disappear in Italy.

Japan’s Central Bank has its key lending rate at 0.3% and really can’t lower it much more. To ensure banks remain solvent, the Central Bank will accept as collateral bonds rated BBB. Plans are to accept up to $32 billion of these bonds. Previous Bank policy was to accept only bonds rated A and better (how's that for a dramatic change of policy ?)

Australia’s Central Bank has now cut its key interest from 7.25% to 4.25% in 4 short months. Australia remains perilously close to slipping into recession.

And…keep your eye on the Ukraine. Ukraine is a strategically placed nation between Europe and the now resurgent Russia. It could slide either way. President Victor Yushchenko has been feuding with Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko and Opposition leader Victor Yanukovich. The Ukraine economy is predicted to decline by a staggering 3% in 2009 thanks to the credit crunch. One of the key industries in Urkraine is steel and with the global downturn, the steel industry in Ukraine has been decimated leaving thousands unemployed. Fully 1/3 of the countries banks are expected to either close or merge. Watch Russia through this situation. Don’t be shocked to see Mr. Putin try to sway sentiment in Ukraine away from the West….