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Amman  - Two agreements were signed in Amman Thursday under which the German government extended 92.5 million euros (122.8 million dollars) in economic aid to Jordan, an official statement said.

The two accords, part of the German development cooperation programme with Jordan for the fiscal year 2008-2009, were signed by the Jordanian Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Suhair al-Ali and the German ambassador in Amman Joachim Heidorn.

Tokyo - Japan's key machinery orders unexpectedly rose for the first time in five months in February, giving rise to hopes for a recovery in capital spending and an easing of the recession.

Machinery orders increased 1.4 per cent from January to 728.1 billion yen (7.28 billion dollars) on the back of an unexpected recovery in orders from the non-manufacturing sector, the government said.

The increase was better than the average market expectation for an 8.1-per-cent fall and caused stocks to rise.

Washington - The US Treasury Department on Wednesday launched a new programme to aid US car suppliers who have struggled to stay afloat as the wider industry stands on the brink of collapse.

The plan would focus on parts suppliers for General Motors Corp and Chrysler LLC, both of which face possible bankruptcy within the next few months. The two US carmakers are in a race against time to shed massive debt and cut operating costs or risk losing government support.

Tokyo - Japan's current account balance was cut more than in half in February compared with the same month a year ago but returned to the black after posting a deficit in January, government officials said Wednesday.

The nation's current account surplus narrowed 55.6 per cent in February to 1.12 trillion yen (11.14 billion dollars) on declining exports, the Finance Ministry said.

The trade surplus in goods and services fell 94.3 per cent from a year before to 53 billion yen.

The income surplus fell 34.1 per cent to 1.1 trillion yen, the biggest fall in almost three years.

Dublin - The sufferings of Easter week began Tuesday in Ireland with the announcement of an austerity budget aimed at getting the country's finances back on track.

"We have the capacity and the will to bring this country out of this period of severe economic distress, we can work our way out of our problems," Finance Minister Brian Lenihan said as he delivered the latest financial blow to the Irish people, many of whom are still smarting from the swingeing cuts of last October's budget.