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OECD composite leading indicators (CLIs) for September 2009 point strongly to growth in Italy, France, United Kingdom and China, while tentative signals of expansion have emerged in Canada and Germany. A recovery is clearly visible in the United States, Japan and all other OECD economies and major non-OECD economies. Although expansion signals can be observed in several countries, these signals should be interpreted with caution, as the expected improvement in economic activity, relative to long term potential levels, can be partly attributed to a decrease in the estimated long term potential level and not solely an improvement in economic activity itself.

North American banking and financial services firms signed twice as many outsourcing deals in the third quarter as compared to the second quarter this year, according to the Market Vista: Q3 2009 report by Everest, a global consulting and research firm. Everest’s quarterly study on global outsourcing and offshoring activity reports transaction volume decreased 10 percent globally in the third quarter compared to the previous quarter, while captives activity was at an 18-month high.

The economic policy choices made by some countries of Europe and Central Asia (ECA)during the transition from centrally planned to market economies contained the seeds of vulnerability when facing the global economic crisis, and are also likely to shape the recovery, says a new World Bank report issued on the eve of the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Fitch Ratings notes that although it is premature to say that bank systemic risk is easing, it is showing signs of stabilizing, albeit at a high risk level. In its latest semi-annual 'Bank Systemic Risk' (BSR) report, Fitch says that for the first time since the report was published in 2005, the changes in systemic risk indicators are relatively few and largely reflect technical changes rather than underlying changes in risk.

Consumer prices in the OECD area fell by 0.3 % in the year to September 2009, the same rate as August. Month-on-month, prices remained stable in September, compared with a rise of 0.2% in August 2009.

We have avoided an economic apocalypse and a form of recovery is imminent but we must prepare ourselves to live in a world dominated by powerful forces of half-dead, half-alive zombies. These zombies will ensure business does not return to any kind of acceptable normality for at least several years, according to PA Consulting Group's book "The Zombie Economy: Leadership in times of uncertainty".

The latest World Development Report finds that vulnerability to climate change in Eastern Europe and Central Asia (ECA) is compounded by weak environmental management over many decades and the poor state of much of the region’s infrastructure. Many ECA countries are also among the world’s least energy efficient, which further impairs the Region’s capacity to withstand climate change risks.

The Conference Board Leading Economic Index™ (LEI) for Mexico increased 1.1 percent and The Conference Board Coincident Economic Index™ (CEI) increased 0.6 percent in August.

The Conference Board Leading Economic Index™ (LEI) for Australia increased 1.8 percent and The Conference Board Coincident Economic Index™ (CEI) declined 0.2 percent in August.

The latest edition of the PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP Manufacturing Barometer reports that optimism in the U.S. and global economies among U.S.-based industrial manufacturers is on the rise and a turnaround is expected over the next 12 months, according to the third-quarter report. While a majority of survey respondents continue to view the U.S. and global economies as unchanged or declining in the third quarter of 2009, their overall outlook on how things will be by the second half of 2010 indicates their overall optimism on recession recovery.