Jakarta - Indonesia's central bank on Wednesday lowered its benchmark interest rate half a percentage point, its third-straight monthly cut, to support growth amid the global economic downturn.

Bank Indonesia Governor Boediono said the key overnight lending rate was cut to 8.25 per cent from 8.75 per cent.

Beijing  - The world economic slowdown is developing into a potentially explosive social problem in China.

More than 20 million of China's 130 million migrant workers have lost their jobs as the government warns that 2009 was expected to be the "toughest" year for China since the new millennium began.

Officials are worrying that there could be unrest among the nation's 600 million impoverished rural residents and rising conflict with laid-off workers, who are often locked out of their worksites without being paid.

Sydney  - Toxic debt has beaten bromance and textaholic to become Australia's Word of the Year, contest organizer Macquarie Dictionary announced Wednesday.

Defined as lending that "proves subsequently to be financially worthless," the term won the title because of it's notoriety as the root cause of the financial crisis still shaking economies around the world.

Macquarie publisher Sue Butler said that "as a lexical creation (it has) a visceral impact."

Mexico City  - Experts from 31 teams of private financial analysts have estimated that Mexico's GDP is set to shrink by 1.16 per cent during 2009, the country's Central Bank said Tuesday.

The same group, consulted by the Mexican Central Bank last month, estimated 1.62 per cent negative growth for the quarter ending in March.

In early January the bank estimated that the Mexican economy would shrink by 0.8-1.8 per cent this year, amid the severe global financial crisis.

Reykjavik - True to its word, the new Icelandic government has called for the three central bank governors to step down, Prime Minister Johanna Sigurdardottir said.

Speaking on a talk show on Icelandic television Monday evening, Sigurdadottir who took office Sunday, said she had sent a letter to the governors asking them to resign.

Bangkok - The Thai cabinet on Tuesday approved about 270 billion baht (7.8 billion dollars) in domestic and foreign borrowing to boost liquidity in state enterprises and finance infrastructure building.

Finance Minister Korn Chatikavanij won cabinet approval for his request to raise 200 billion baht (5.8 billion dollars) in short-term loans from local banks to help Thailand's 58 state enterprises ease their liquidity problems this year.