Paris  - The struggling French economy provided some unexpected good news on Tuesday as the government's statistics office Insee reported that household spending on manufactured goods had increased by 1.8 per cent in January.

The rise was especially marked in durable goods, with a rise of 5.7 per cent over January 2008, sparked by a 7.8 per cent jump in spending on automobiles, Insee said.

However, another measure of the mood of French consumers declined in February as the index of consumer confidence fell across the board, Insee said.

Manila - Asia must act swiftly to counter the huge economic impact expected from an aging population as the region is poised to become the oldest in the world within a few decades, an Asian Development Bank (ADB) report said Tuesday.

The report, "Aging in Asia," noted that Asia's share of the global elderly was projected to rise to 62 per cent by 2050, with the demographic shift more advanced in such developed economies as Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore.

"Population aging will touch every aspect of our lives and unless we start making difficult policy choices soon there is very little chance that Asia will age gracefully," said Jayant Menon, co-author of the ADB report.

Berlin - Business confidence in Germany remained unchanged in February, economists expect a key survey to be released Tuesday to say, as boardrooms in Europe's biggest economy face up to a dramatic economic slump.

In a major test of the economic mood in Europe, the closely- watched Ifo business confidence index is forecast to have come in at 82.9 points this month after posting a surprise increase to 83 points in January.

Washington - President Barack Obama's economic team sought to ease fears that US banks are on the verge of either collapse or nationalization amid reports Monday that the government is considering a large ownership stake in Citigroup Inc.

The Treasury, Federal Reserve and other government finance agencies issued a rare joint statement assuring investors that the administration "stands firmly behind the banking system during this period of financial strain."

Budapest  - The Monetary Policy Council of Hungary's central bank announced on Monday morning t

Singapore - Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said the city-state has to prepare for hard times and some years of lower economic growth in the aftermath of the global financial crisis, local media reported Monday.

Lee said it was unlikely that things would return anytime soon to what they were during the boom years from 2004-07, when Singapore's annual economic growth reached an average of 8 per cent, the Straits Times newspaper reported.