Washington  - The US economy shrank by 6.2 per cent in the final quarter of 2008, far worse than initially estimated and the worst fourth-quarter showing by the country since the recession of 1982, Washington reported Friday.

In its latest estimate of the gross domestic product (GDP) performance, the US Commerce Department annualized figure was much worse than the initial estimate of a 3.8 per cent drop in the last quarter.

Washington - US President Barack Obama on Thursday outlined a 2010 budget and projections for the next 10 years, offering a look at how he hopes to revive the embattled US economy while completing a series of ambitious priorities he set out on the campaign trail.

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.