Prague  - Slovak central bank governor Ivan Sramko said Tuesday the global financial crisis would reduce economic growth and may widen budget gaps in Slovakia, which is to become the 16th country to adopt the euro on January 1.

Speaking to reporters at a conference in Prague, Sramko said a slight increase up to 2 per cent would be permissible depending on how the funds would be used.

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, who won the 2006 election on promises to expand welfare, recently said that the 2009 deficit could slightly exceed the planned 1.7 per cent owing to the global financial crisis.

Washington  - The US financial system has been stabilized and authorities averted a near-collapse in September that prompted unprecedented government intervention in private institutions, US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said in congressional testimony Tuesday.

But Paulson warned there was still much work to be done to help the US financial sector recover. The government has already purcharsed nearly 150 billion dollars worth of shares in US banks to keep them from collapse, as part of a 700-billion-dollar rescue package approved by Congress in October.

Helsinki  - The Finnish government Tuesday revised its budget and said it aimed to introduce measures to secure employment in the flagging construction industry.

The finance ministry also lowered its forecast of economic growth to 0.5 per cent next year, down 1.3 percentage points on estimates made in September.

Unemployment was estimated to increase 0.5 percentage points to 7 per cent in 2009, the ministry said while inflation would drop on lower raw material prices and housing prices.

Earlier announced tax cuts were however to remain in place, Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen told reporters. "Now is the right time to stimulate the economy," he said.

Tokyo - As the Japanese government hopes to encourage consumption by cash handouts as part of its economic stimulus plan, concerns are spreading over whether the money would reach some of the most active consumers.

Prime Minister Taro Aso's administration decided in late October to allocate about 2 trillion yen (20.63 billion dollars) to Japan's households amid escalating global financial crisis.

Taipei  - Taiwan said Tuesday it will issue purchase vouchers to boost spending and pull the retail sector out of recession.

Premier Liu Chao-shiuan said that the government plans to allocate 82 billion Taiwan dollars (2.48 billion US dollars) to issue purchase vouchers to every citizen.

Each voucher is worth 3,600 Taiwan dollars (109 US dollars) and should be used within one year of its issuance. "We plan to issue it as soon as possible, maybe around the Chinese New Year holidays (February 2009)," he told a news conference.

Manila  - Remittances from overseas Filipinos rose 17.1 per cent in the first nine months of the year despite a slowdown in major economies in the world, the government said Tuesday.

The central bank said remittances totalled 12.27 billion dollars from January to September, compared to 10.47 billion dollars in the same period last year.

In September alone, overseas Filipinos sent home 1.33 billion dollars, up 16.9 per cent from 1.13 billion dollars from a year ago.