By Kim Kyoungwha
Dec. 1 (Bloomberg) — Asian currencies declined, led by Indonesia’s rupiah and Singapore’s dollar, as a record contraction in China’s manufacturing damped the outlook for the region’s economic growth.

By Jennifer Ryan
Dec. 1 (Bloomberg) — U.K. house prices dropped to the lowest level in almost three years in November as banks starved the property market of credit, Hometrack Ltd. said.

By Chris Fournier
Nov. 28 (Bloomberg) — Canada’s currency posted a sixth monthly decline versus its U.S. counterpart as stocks and commodity prices fell, reflecting concern that global economic growth will slow.

By Andrea Jaramillo and Michael J. Moore
Dec. 1 (Bloomberg) — For five years, Mario Hernandez’s Bogota-based, leather goods-company sent record shipments of designer wallets, purses and shoes over the border to Venezuela. Demand got so hot, Hernandez says with a laugh, that he started signing autographs at stores and restaurants in Caracas.

By Stanley White and Ron HaruiDec. 1 (Bloomberg) — The dollar fell against the yen before U.S. reports that may show manufacturing shrank and employers cut jobs by the most since 2001 as the recession deepens.

PARIS, Nov 30 (Reuters) - The financial crisis has prompted British officials to acknowledge the merits of the euro and those who mattered were thinking about adopting the currency, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said.