Tokyo - Japan's industrial output dropped in October because of slow overseas demand for cars and high-tech devices amid the global financial turmoil as consumer prices rose for the 13th-consecutive month, leading Japanese to cut spending, government reports said Friday.

Berlin  - Inflation in the 15-member eurozone slipped to below 3 per cent for the first time in more than 12 months in November, data to be released Friday is forecast to show, paving the way for the European Central Bank (ECB) to deliver a hefty rate cut next week.

Analysts expect the European Union's statistics office to say annual inflation in the eurozone dropped from 3.2 per cent in October to 2.7 per cent this month as falling oil prices have undercut inflationary pressures.

Geneva - The United States imported 5 trillion dollars more than it produced in the past decade and this was a major cause of the global financial crisis, an aide to the World Economic Forum chief said Thursday.

The aide, speaking with Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa, quoted Klaus Schwab, founder and chairman of the forum, as saying "that imbalance triggered the current financial crisis."

As debt became unsustainable, governments had to step in to cover losses, he said.

Geneva - Air traffic continued to contract in October, statistics released Thursday showed, marking the second consecutive month of global decline.

In September, global air traffic contracted by 2.9 per cent compared to the previous year, while in October the drop was slightly less drastic, standing at 1.3 per cent when compared to the same month in 2007, according to the International Air Transport Association.

International air freight traffic dropped by 7.9 per cent in October, the fifth consecutive month of such contractions.

"The situation of the industry remains critical," said Giovanni Bisignani, the director of the IATA, which says it represents 93 percent of scheduled international air traffic.

Madrid - Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero on Thursday announced measures worth 11 billion euros (14 billion dollars) to reactivate the economy hit by the global crisis.

San Francisco  - Online shopping is expected to drop for the first time ever this holiday season in a new indication of just how much the average US consumer is cutting back on spending.

The report by web tracking firm Comscore said that online holiday shopping had already dropped 4 per cent in November compared to last year, to 8.51 billion dollars. For the entire season the company predicted that the online shopping total would remain essentially flat at 29.2 billion dollars. That compares to last year's growth of holiday sales by 19 per cent.