A Look At Economic Developments Around The Globe

The Associated Press

A look at economic developments and activity in major stock markets around the world Thursday:

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HONG KONG — Asian economies from China to India will grow faster than expected through next year thanks to aggressive government stimulus spending and a pickup in global trade, the International Monetary Fund said, raising its forecast for the region.

Their recoveries will far outpace the rebound in the West, the IMF said.

But the region's rapid expansion will remain below the levels seen in the decade before the economic crisis as consumers in the U.S. and other large industrialized nations curtail their spending on Asian-made goods in the face of rising unemployment and other legacies of the downturn.

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BRUSSELS — Business and consumer confidence in the 16 nations that use the euro rose to the highest level in a year in October, helped by strong expectations for a rebound in manufacturing, the European Commission survey said.