Berlin  - German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Thursday that she expects an honest assessment of the financial situation within Eastern Europe at a European Union (EU) summit meeting this weekend.

Merkel said that, as far as the EU member states are concerned, "we should be given an honest status of the situation," adding that this had not necessarily been the case at the EU's December summit.

Islamabad  - The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on thursday offered cash-strapped Pakistan to double its annual assistance to three billion dollars during the incoming fiscal year staring on July 1, a senior official of the bank said.

"We can double Pakistan's assistance up to three billion per annum provided Islamabad makes a request and the funds available to ADB are increased," the bank's vice president Zhao Xiaoyu told reporters in Islamabad.

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?