13 Dec - Paul A. Samuelson, the first American Nobel laureate in economics and the foremost academic economist of the 20th century, died Sunday at his home in Belmont, Mass ast the age of 94.

8 Dec - Total manufacturing activity (measured by seasonally adjusted sales volumes) fell 1.4% in the September 2009 quarter.  The value of sales (also adjusted for seasonal effects) fell by 5.1 percent ($1,004 million) in the September 2009 quarter. 

8 Dec - The seasonally adjusted volume of residential building work put in place fell a further 5.4% in the September 2009 quarter, and is at its lowest level recorded in eight years. The seasonally adjusted volume of all building work put in place fell 4.9% in the September 2009 quarter.  For the September 2009 year, the unadjusted value of all building work put in place was $11,106m, down 15.9% from the previous year.

7 Dec - Seasonally adjusted wholesale trade sales fell for a fifth consecutive quarter, down 0.8% ($154m) in the September 2009 quarter.