"As traders say goodbye and probably good riddance to 2011, a year that saw most of the European and Asian indices recording double-digit losses, traders may not be so welcoming to 2012 either, " said Jonathan Sudaria, a dealer at brokerage Capital Spreads.

BBC: World stock markets end a tumultous year well down

Every city but Washington DC, 19 out of the 20 surveyed, showed prices remaining below their values a year ago, with Minneapolis recording a double-digit annual decline of 11.1%.

FORBES: Case-Shiller Brings No Good News, More Bad News For Housing

Since 1990, cards to enter Singapore Polytechnic's Japan-Singapore Institute of Software Technology double as time cards, recording how long users have been on the premises.

CNN: ASIANOW - Asiaweek