Copenhagen/Reykjavik  - Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen on Tuesday indicated that Nordic neighbours of Iceland were preparing to help the North Atlantic state financially.

Iceland has been hammered by the financial turmoil and its main commercial banks have been nationalized by the state.

Speaking to foreign correspondents in Copenhagen, Rasmussen declined to spell out details but said the neighbouring Nordic states were prepared to offer "more than just moral" help.

Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden along with Iceland belong to the Nordic Council organization.

Reykjavik/Stockholm  - Trading on the Icelandic stock exchange remained suspended Monday, the operator NASDAQ OMX Iceland said.

It had halted trading on Thursday owing to what the operator called "unusual market conditions."

The halt came in the wake of a government takeover of the North Atlantic nation's three main banking groups, including the largest group Kaupthing.

Parliament approved special legislation a week ago giving special powers to the Icelandic Financial Supervisory Authority.

Reykjavik/Stockholm  - The shake-up of the Icelandic banking sector continued Wednesday as the Icelandic Financial Supervisory Authority (IFSA) took control of a second bank.

The take over of Glitnir came after the Icelandic government, backed by opposition parties, late Monday adopted an "emergency law" to reorganize its financial system which has been severely battered.

The agency said Glitnir's domestic deposits were "fully guaranteed" and operations were to remain open for business as usual.

Reykjavik/Moscow - The Icelandic currency stabilized Tuesday after the central bank said Russia would grant a loan "in the amount of 4 billion euros (5.4 billion dollars)" for the coming four years.

Later the central bank said the countries "have decided to start in the next few days negotiations on financial issues," suggesting there was no done deal.

The statement was apparently in response to reactions from the Finance Ministry in Moscow which said no decision had been made, according to remarks attributed to deputy Finance Minister Dmitri Pankin by the Interfax news agency.

Russia has plentiful foreign reserves as a result of several years of record oil prices.

Reykjavik - The Icelandic government, backed by opposition parties, adopted an "emergency law" late on Monday to reorganize its financial system that has been severely battered.

Prime Minister Geir Haarde said in a televised speech to the nation that the bank crisis also posed a national threat.

"There is a very real danger, fellow citizens, that the Icelandic economy, in the worst case, could be sucked with the banks into the whirlpool and the result could be national bankruptcy," he said.

The new legislation was to "adapt the banking system to Icelandic circumstances and rebuild the trust of foreign operators in Icelandic banking and financial operations," Haarde said.

Reykjavik - Volkswagen is planning special fuel-saving models for the new Golf including BlueMotion diesel and LPG (liquid petroleum gas) versions and hybrid and electric-drive at a later stage, the car maker announced in the Icelandic capital.

Three and five door versions of the new Golf, which will celebrating its world premiere at the Paris Motor Show next month, will then go on sale in Europe fitted with conventional petrol and diesel engines. The basic version will sell for 16,500 euros (23,274 dollars).