Beijing - As millions of migrant workers return to the countryside after losing their jobs with export-oriented factories, China is grappling with how to rebalance the economy to help the 900 million people living in underdeveloped inland areas.

"China's economy has slowed down together with the world economy, and its impact on our rural economy is deepening," Wei Chao'an, a vice agricultural minister said during China's annual parliament in March.

Buenos Aires  - Mexican President Felipe Calderon is likely to press a double demand when he attends the G20 summit in London next month, with the global crisis and the wave of violence that hits Mexico giving him many headaches in recent months.

On the one hand, as the leader of the 13th-largest economy in the world, he will be seeking to curb the severe effects that the international financial and economic crisis is having on Mexico, a country that is very heavily dependent on its northern neighbour, the now-troubled United States.

London - The rotation that decides the venue for summit meetings of the world's most powerful nations has provided British Prime Minister Gordon Brown with a chance to take to the world stage.

When he announced what he called the "historic meeting" back in November, Brown's satisfaction at hosting the G20 summit and, at the same time, welcoming US President Barack Obama on his first trip outside North America, was palpable.

Sydney  - Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd had hoped that when the Group of 20 (G20) met in London in April, he would be among the few representing an economy still growing.

But the billions spent in November's stimulus package won't stop a second consecutive quarter of shrinkage that would qualify the Australian economy as being in a technical recession.

Berlin  - Business confidence in Germany slipped in March, economists expect a key survey to be released Wednesday to say, as boardrooms in Europe's biggest economy face up to the global recession.

In a major test of the economic mood in Europe, the closely- watched Ifo business confidence index is forecast to have edged down to 82.2 points this month after falling to an 18-year low of 82.6 in February.

Hong Kong - A black joke doing the rounds in Asian financial circles goes like this: Question: "What's the definition of an optimist?" Answer: "A banker who has five shirts ironed on a Sunday."

It is a joke Barry Emmerton - who lost his 15,500-US-dollar-a month job as an interest rates derivatives specialist - can afford to smile at, even though the shirt question is already irrelevant for him.

Today, instead of waking up to the prospect of another nerve-wracking week in Hong Kong's money markets, the