Meanwhile, producer prices were deflating at a rate of -5.9 per cent, a six-year low, for a third straight month.
Europe fell into a debt crisis. Japan faced a natural disaster. Emerging markets, once the bright spots on the global landscape, lost their glow. Political crises from Italy to Egypt to Thailand raised the prospect of another round of global unrest.
But that moment, try as Google might, has yet to come. Some reports have named 2014 as the year when wearable devices will hit the mainstream, but a newer study from L2, a digital research firm, confirms what many have been quietly fighting for: wearables are still not socially acceptable, creating a significant hurdle to further sales.