GDP

MULTI-ASSET

The German economy crashed at the end of last year as the crisis in the eurozone spread to the heart of the region.

CHINA'S YEAR OF THE SNAKE

Economic output per person in the UK will not recover to its pre-crisis peak until 2018, according to the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR).

UK GDP contracted 0.3% in the final quarter of 2012, a worse than expected figure that raises the spectre of a triple-dip recession.

SOAPBOX

UK GDP growth for the third quarter of 2012 has been confirmed at 1% by the Office for National Statistics in its second official reading.

UK GDP rose by 1% in the third quarter of 2012, bringing the UK out of recession with first positive quarter of growth this year and beating analyst forecasts of a 0.6% rise.

Prime Minister David Cameron has been accused of revealing that tomorrow's GDP figure will meet positive expectations, in an apparent slip-up that could have breached the embargo on the official data.

The double-dip recession which has plagued the UK for the first half of 2012 should officially end later this week, economists are predicting, as the impact of the Olympics and the Jubilee kick-in.