Reykjavik - The two remaining governors of the central bank of Iceland were due to resign after weeks of criticism of their handling of the economic crisis, reports said Thursday.

Central bank governor David Oddsson and governor Eirikur Gudnason, were reported to have said goodbye to bank employees, public broadcaster RUV said.

The report came as parliament was due to adopt a bill changing the composition of the central bank, including replacing the three governors with a single governor.

Whoever wins the next polls, there are only hard choices left for the economy

The coming general election in April-May will be a good one to lose. Whoever wins will struggle to hold on to power; whoever loses will get an inside edge at the next elections, which may come as early as 2011.

Why? It's the economy, stupid. The UPA is leaving behind a right royal economic mess and the next government will be spending most of its time with a bucket and mop, trying to keep a listing boat from capsizing. That's assuming we have a halfway decent coalition, where the partners are at least on talking terms with one another. If that doesn't happen, it's finito.

The 2% excise duty cut announced on Tuesday would have very little impact on the auto industry. The excise duty cut is applicable only to products where the excise duty rate is 10%. Trucks are the only category paying this rate.

The auto industry is one of the hardest hit on account of slowdown. Lower demand and tight finances have impacted sales volumes of all auto companies sharply. The government cut excise duty rates so that the companies can pass on the benefit of rate cut to end consumers, thus boosting demand for the industry.

However, analysts maintain that apart from some impact on commercial vehicle (CV) makers, the move is unlikely to benefit auto companies. The reason?

It will further erode the cost advantage of post-quake units in the district

One man's meat is another man's poison, goes the saying. The Union government's third stimulus package, announced on Tuesday in the form of two per cent cut in excise duty and service tax, to boost the economy may turn out to be exactly that for the industries set up in Kutch district at an investment of Rs24,000 crore after the devastating earthquake of 2001.

NRI entrepreneur's holding firm is on an expansion drive

While the economic downturn may have brought liquidity problems for most of corporate India, NRI entrepreneur C Sivasankaran does not seem to be short of cash.

Indeed, going by the latest action by Siva Ventures, his holding company, is on the verge of a major expansion into the relatively undervalued corporate economy. Sivasankaran is known for buying companies on the cheap and selling them off for much higher valuations after a few years.

Washington  - President Barack Obama met top congressional leaders and economic officials from his administration Wednesday to take the "critical first step" in overhauling a financial regulatory system that has shared blame for the devastating credit crisis.

Obama called for "serious oversight" of the country's biggest financial institutions in future but said there was no intention to stifle market activity.

He said legislation would be drawn up in the coming weeks and months to pull the US agencies out of a "20th century" regulatory structure and prevent another crisis of similar magnitude.