A look at economic developments around the globe (AP)

A look at economic developments and activity in major stock markets around the world Thursday:

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MADRID ? Spain and Italy gave financial markets a boost as they successfully raised nearly $27.98 billion in two keenly watched debt auctions that showed renewed investor confidence in their attempts to get a grip on their debt problems.

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FRANKFURT, Germany ? The European Central Bank left its key interest rate unchanged at 1.0 percent as bank President Mario Draghi spotted signs that the troubled eurozone economy is steadying.

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LONDON ? Concerns that the U.S. economy's recovery has stumbled drove global markets down, dashing an earlier rally on the back of strong bond auctions in Italy and Spain that dramatically lowered their borrowing costs.

In France, the CAC-40 fell 0.2 percent, while the FTSE index of leading British shares slipped 0.2 percent. Germany's DAX edged up 0.4 percent.

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TOKYO ? Japan's Nikkei 225 Index fell 0.7 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng drifted 0.3 percent lower. Australia's S&P ASX 200 fell 0.2 percent.

Mainland Chinese shares also fell, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index down marginally and the smaller Shenzhen Composite Index shedding 0.4 percent.

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BEIJING ? China's chronically high inflation edged down in December but stayed relatively strong as Beijing tried to stimulate its slowing economy.

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ATHENS, Greece ? The Greek government held crucial talks with representatives of private bondholders to hammer out a deal on a bond swap that would reduce the country's debt load and secure an integral part of its second bailout package.

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BUDAPEST, Hungary ? Hungary's prime minister said his government was ready to negotiate objections to its new constitution with the European Union, but was waiting for "not political opinion, but arguments."

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SHANGHAI ? Vehicle sales in China rose a scant 2.5 percent in 2011 as higher prices and traffic controls kept buyers out of showrooms, but the market remained the world's biggest.

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MUMBAI, India ? India's industrial production rebounded in November, government data showed, providing some relief to Asia's third-largest economy, which has been struggling with slowing growth and high inflation.

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Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/economy/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120112/ap_on_bi_ge/us_economy_countries_glance

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