The Bank of Japan said Thursday it will provide 1.22 trillion yen ($13 billion) in emergency loans to financial institutions as part of a new program to spur lending to the country's businesses.

Economic sentiment in the euro area plunged to an all-time low in December and German exports suffered a record decline, pushing the bloc's ailing economy deeper into the jaws of recession.

China has bought more than $1 trillion of American debt, but as the global downturn has intensified, Beijing is starting to keep more of its money at home, a move that could have painful effects for American borrowers, the New York Times reported.

Oil was steady Thursday after a surprising increase in inventories unleashed a brutal 12 percent selloff on Wednesday. Despite OPEC's massive supply cuts to help boost the price, experts tell CNBC the commodity’s price is likely to fall further.

Ahead of the Bank of England's interest rate decision Thursday, where the central bank is widely expected to cut rates by 50 basis points, experts tell CNBC to expect another round of rate cuts worldwide.

Australian approvals to build new homes registered their biggest fall in six years in November, reinforcing the case for more interest rate cuts as policymakers battle to avoid a recession.

A delayed Santa Claus rally may help bring some money in from the sidelines early in the year, but a real bull market may be four to five years away, according to one technical analyst.

Australian retail sales were surprisingly firm in November for a second month running, as falling borrowing costs and lower petrol prices helped offset economic uncertainty and slumping household wealth.

Each year, Pequot Capital's chief investment strategist Byron Wien attempts the impossible:  Predicting the year's top surprises.   So here's his list of surprises for 2009, with a comment on each one:

Despite the dollar's two-day rally against the euro and the yen, experts tell CNBC the greenback's positive run may be over shortly, as a fast recovery in the U.S. economy seems more unlikely.

Stock market volumes rose Tuesday as investors cautiously moved some cahs from bonds to stocks in search of higher returns. But with the future still unclear, and fears of the early 2009 gains being short-lived, there is still a substantial amount of cash in investors' portfolios.

The U.S. dollar rose to a three-week high against the euro Tuesday, helped by persistent signs of economic weakness in the euro zone that may force its central bank to slash interest rates further.

The S&P 500 could rally 20 percent in the first quarter of this year, but investors shouldn’t get used to the gains as 2009 will be another year of losses for the major indexes, Robin Griffiths, technical strategist from Cazenove Capital, told CNBC.

Stocks started the week on a positive note again Monday, on optimism for a worldwide economic recovery later this year. But with the future still unclear and economic reports continuing to show deteriorating conditions, experts tell CNBC to stay out of stocks for the first half of 2009.

The dollar posted sharp gains against the euro and yen Monday, buoyed by a planned U.S. stimulus package and increased expectations of interest rate cuts by major central banks other than the Federal Reserve.