Gain shall take the place of loss (part 6)

Isolated measures of the global economy gleaned from today's papers:

• Taiwan's exports in December fell 41% relative to December 2007
• The number of part time workers in the US rose 3.4m over the last year to 8.0m
• Manufacturing employment in the US fell below 13m for the first time since 1942
• NATO's top commander has said the financial crisis could force US allies to pull out of Afghanistan. Canada and the Netherlands have said they'll go by 2011.
• 13% of EU exports go to the UK - 8% go to China