FACTBOX - RBS loss -one of many records to fall in fin crisis

(Reuters) - Royal Bank of Scotland on Thursday reported a loss of 24.1 billion pounds for 2008, the biggest in UK corporate history.

Following is a compilation of some of the new economic records created by the ongoing financial crisis:

* DEFICITS:

-- Canada posted a trade deficit of C$0.46 billion last December, the first in more than 32 years. The deficit was the first since the C$79 million (44 million pounds) recorded in March 1976.

-- Britain's goods trade deficit with the rest of the world widened to a record level last November, the biggest gap since records began in 1697.

* BUDGETS:

-- China's 2009 budget deficit will leap eightfold to 950 billion yuan (97 billion pounds). The deficit would be the biggest in China's history and amount to around 3 percent of gross domestic product.

-- The United States posted a $569 billion (318 billion pound) budget deficit for the first four months of fiscal 2009, a record for this period.

* INTEREST RATES:

-- Sweden's central bank cut its key interest rate by a full percentage point to a record low of 1.0 percent. The repo rate is now at its lowest level since its introduction in 1994 and marks the lowest official Swedish interest rate since records began in 1907.

-- On February 5, 2009, the Bank of England cut interest rates by another 50 basis points to 1.0 percent, the lowest since the Bank of England was created in 1694.

* INFLATION:

-- Sweden's yearly inflation rate posted its biggest monthly decline since records began in the 1950s, eclipsing a 1.0 percent decline in January 1998.

Prices fell a monthly 1.3 percent in December 2008 versus a forecast 0.5 percent decline and a 0.8 percent drop a month earlier.

The official consumer price data series began in 1980 but before that there was another monthly cost-of-living indicator that started in 1954.

* JOBS:

-- Canada suffered its worst job losses in over three decades in January 2009, cutting a record 129,000 workers.

-- The number of people claiming unemployment benefit in Ireland rose in January 2009 to the highest monthly level since records began in 1967. Ireland's seasonally adjusted Live Register tally rose to a record 326,100 in January from 293,100 in December, also marking the highest ever monthly rise.

-- U.S. employers slashed 598,000 jobs in January 2009, the deepest cut in payrolls in 34 years.

* MARKETS

-- China's stock market ended 2008 with an annual loss of 65 percent, the biggest drop in its 18-year history. The slide made China the world's worst-performing major stock market for the year.

-- The Nikkei stock average fell 1.5 percent on February 24 to 7,268.56, near levels last seen in 1982.

-- World stocks, measured by the MSCI index, hit their lowest level since April 2003 on February 24.

-- Britons injected more equity into the housing market in the third quarter of 2008 than at any time since records began in 1970, Bank of England figures showed.

-- Sterling hit a record low against the yen, it fell more than 3 percent to 119.25 yen, its weakest level ever on Bank of England figures dating back to 1975.

-- Investors pulled a record $155 billion out of hedge funds in 2008. This is only the second time since 1990 that the exclusive and often secretive hedge fund industry suffered net outflows for the full year.

-- More deals were withdrawn in 2008 than ever before, with overall mergers and acquisition activity down 35 percent around the world. Over 1,100 deals were cancelled during the year.

INDUSTRY:

-- Royal Bank of Scotland reported a loss of 24.1 billion pounds for 2008, the biggest in British corporate history.

-- Euro zone industrial production plunged by a record amount year-on-year in November. It fell 7.7 percent year-on-year, the steepest annual drop since records started in 1990.

-- German industrial output fell by a record 4.6 percent month-on-month in December, its worst quarterly performance since the country reunified in 1990.

-- Spanish industrial output suffered its worst fall on record in November as production tumbled 15.1 percent year on year, the worst result in data going back 15 years.

-- A record 881 U.S. auto dealerships closed in 2008, i.e. about 4.2 percent of the country's 20,084 auto dealerships, according to data firm Urban Science. The number represents the biggest decline since 1991 when the company started to collect data.

(Writing by Carl Bagh, Editorial Reference Unit Bangalore; Additional writing and editing by David Cutler)