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There’s been another small but significant change in official government attitude to the current state of the Japanese economy.

The chances improved yesterday for modest positive growth in the September quarter national accounts, out later today.

Another 85 billion euros flung at a hole in a paste up job, or a meaningful start on something more permanent.

Negative growth for the September quarter has become more of a possibility after the release of surprisingly poor figures on business inventories and profits.

Australians, including the Federal Government, companies, all political parties, trade unions, professional groups and others in the community have been warned, the Reserve bank Governor wants to make sure we don’t fritter away the benefits of the second resources boom now dominating the economy.

Gold, oil, copper and a number of other commodities fell after the US dollar rose to a three month higher against the euro in holiday-affected trading Friday.

European Finance Ministers met in Brussels overnight Sunday and agreed to an 85 billion euro bailout of Ireland and its broken banks.

Rio Tinto holds its Australian investor day today and we’ll probably hear more of what the company said at the London briefing on Friday night, our time.

The third quarter growth figures for Australia dominate this week which will see a flood of data.

China’s official battle against rising asset prices, ‘hot money’ supply shortages and overall, consumer price inflation, continue to dominate the media and government pronouncements.

The AMP’s chief economist, Dr Shane Oliver says Australian housing is not in a bubble but it is very overvalued, and combined with high debt levels leaves Australian households vulnerable should anything significantly threaten house prices.

Japan’s export growth continues to slow and there are now fears that it could fall under the level of a year ago, adding to the pressure on the economy.

There was just a hint that our big investment boom might be cooling in the September quarter new and expected investment figures.

The downturn in home building activity looks set to damage Australia’s third quarter economic growth.

Ireland’s budget has been released, but now the hard part comes, will the opposition and minor parties support it’s passing so the country can get the much needed cash from Europe and the IMF?

The American economy continues to do a bit better than many analysts had expected, but markets weren’t interested as they focused on the fighting in Korea and the Irish bailout’s fallout (See story below).

Ireland is not out of the woods by a long way as political instability now threatens the broken country.

Ireland has no choice but to accept the offer of a rescue package it requested.

Standard & Poor’s has revised its outlook of New Zealand’s credit rating to negative from stable, 18 months after changing the rating the other way.

Major European and US ended the week little changed on Friday after China’s central bank raised bank reserve requirements for the second time in two weeks.

At last the Queensland government got the float of QR National away successfully at $2.55 a share, lower than hoped for, but the sale has happened.

The coming week will see; QR National shares start trading today, another public appearance by Reserve Bank Governor, Glenn Stevens, the second estimate of US third quarter economic growth, third quarter private investment in Australia, minutes of the November meeting of the US Federal Reserve that brought us QE2 and America’s big post -Thanksgiving retail sales season at week’s end.

For the third time in a month, China has moved to try and cool the economy and control inflation.

Did the November Bank of America-Merrill Lynch (BoA-ML) survey of global fund managers provide us with another example of a contrarian indicator?

Normally if supply of a commodity starts outpacing demand, then pricing pressure appears.

We now have clear evidence that the broken Irish banking system has been the subject of a system-threatening run by corporate customers, not retail, as the country is dragged kicking and screaming to the bailout table by the IMF, the EU and the European Central Bank, and reality.