The US and UK's revised third quarter Gross Domestic Product results were the highlights of last week's economic headlines.In the US, the economy grew at an annual rate of 2.8% in the third quarter of the year after having contracted 0.7% in the second quarter. The growth rate was supported by consumer spending but was below the government's first estimate of a 3.5% increase. This was due to downward revisions in a number of economic indicators such as consumer spending and business investment in non-residential structures.

Meanwhile, in the housing market, sales of existing homes in October surged by 10.1%, their highest rise in more than two-and-a-half years, while housing starts this month dropped nearly 11% to 529,000 units, the lowest since April.

Durable goods orders in October fell 0.6% following a revised 2% increase in September. There will be some unease over a sharp 2.9% decline in non-defence capital goods orders.

In Britain, the economy shrank for a sixth consecutive quarter in the three months to September but at a slower pace than previously reported. In fact, GDP dropped 0.3% in the third quarter, less than the 0.4% initially reported. Moreover, GDP was 5.1% lower in the third quarter than a year ago, which is also a smaller than the 5.2% drop initially estimated. In the Eurozone, European Central Bank president Jean-Claude Trichet said the bank would gradually withdraw the emergency cash it has pumped into the economy to ensure it does not fuel inflation.

Meanwhile, the annual growth of the Eurozone's money supply slowed down to 0.3% from 1.8% the previous month, while private sector loans fell 0.8% over the year.

The Purchasing Managers' Index readings were firm, notably for the services sector, with the overall index at a 30-month high. Also on a positive note, the Ifo Institute in Germany said the country's business climate index for November registered its highest reading since August last year.

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