China

Despite falling exports, China has maintained it's trade surplus, reports the Economist. While exports have fallen, imports have fallen even quicker, they say. Most consumer spending in the country has held up "reasonably well," says the Economist, but with construction projects halted all over the country, raw building material imports -- one of China's biggest imported goods -- has fallen precipitously.

The Economist predicts that with big government stimulus investments planned for infrastructure building in the near future, which will reinvigorate the need for imported raw materials, the surplus may become a deficit in 2009.

China is probably the only country whose credit lending has increased this past year, and continues to do so. The Economist recommends they use this to stimulate domestic demand.