The German government today revised up its forecast of 2010 economic growth in its twice yearly outlook. The Eurozone’s biggest economy will grow 1.4 per cent this year, compared with the 1.2 per cent growth forecast in October. However, Deutsche Bank, Germany’s biggest, is forecasting growth of more than 2 per cent.

Markets news on stocks, currencies and oil; Sales of new homes in the US unexpectedly fell in December 2009 in a signal that the impact of a government tax credit is waning. Sales in 2009 were the lowest since at least 1963.

Hong Kong’s de facto central bank said the city’s residential property market cooled in the fourth quarter, allaying concerns a real-estate bubble may be forming.

The U.K. real-estate company has a $1.62 billion war chest as it looks for acquisitions. But the market is becoming crowded with more competitors and suffers from a shortage of properties.

Markets news on stocks, currencies and commodities; Tullow OIl shares are down 5.3% in London this morning, after it announced plans to raise £1 billion in a placing with institutional investors.

Japan’s exports rose 12.1 per cent in December compared with the same month in 20098, while imports fell 5.5  per cent, according to the Ministry of Finance in Tokyo today, signalling that export demand from Asia, is boosting the economic recovery. China surpassed the US as Japan’s largest export market for the first time on an annual basis, the report showed. Exports fell 33.1 per cent in 2009.

Principal news stories from the Irish Independent, Irish Times, Irish Examiner, Financial Times and New York Times.

The global economy is at last shaking off the financial crisis, the IMF (International Monetary Fund) says. Financial markets have rebounded since the lows following the 2008 collapse of the Wall Street investment firm Lehman Brothers - - the result of improving economic conditions and wide-ranging policy actions by central banks and governments, according to the IMF’s update of its Global Financial Stability Report (GFSR). Separately, an IMF working paper warns that the market’s ability to absorb Japanese public debt will likely diminish in years ahead as the country’s population grows older. The publication coincided with Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services threat on Tuesday to downgrade Japan’s sovereign debt because of lack of confidence in the new government’s ability to push through overdue reforms.

Davos 2010: European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet, who will arrive in Davos, Switzerland today for the world Economic Forum, in an interview with The Wall Street Journal, offered qualified support for President Obama’s plan to limit the size and activities of large banks, while stressing such proposals should be coordinated globally. Separately on Tuesday, Bank of England Governor Mervyn King said bankers should take a permanent pay cut to align them with other professionals as he outlined plans to carve up lenders across national boundaries.

The Cliffs at High Carolina is one of many golf resorts struggling with the economic downturn that has eroded demand for luxury homes adjoining golf courses.