Hamburg  - Honda's decision to quit Formula One has come as a shock and signalled that the world economic crisis has hit the world of sports for good.

The troubled carmakers are not only aiming to cut costs in their motorsport engagement, but like others are also scaling down their general sports involvement and endorsements amid the grim realities.

Even the International Olympic Committee is cautious. The IOC has postponed the bidding process for the US television rights of the 2014 and 2016, hoping for a more favourable economic climate next year.

The IOC makes almost 1 billion dollars from Olympic TV rights.

Washington  - The growing size of a planned fiscal stimulus package to revive the sagging US economy is worrying some conservative legislators and even its chief proponent: President- elect Barack Obama.

Some Democratic legislators have proposed a spending package of as much as 1 trillion dollars, complete with aid for states, retailers and money for new infrastructure and renewable energy projects.

Washington  - The US government will seek access to the second half of a 700-billion-dollar rescue package designed to stabilize the financial system and some other US industries on the brink of collapse, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said Friday.

With the US facing a prolonged economic recession, Paulson said he had allocated all of the initial 350 billion dollars appropriated by Congress in October.

Hanoi - Vietnam will cut prices at hotels and on state-owned Vietnam Airlines by 30 to 50 per cent to boost the country's tourism industry, hit hard by the worldwide economic slowdown, senior tourism officials said Friday.

Nguyen Manh Cuong, deputy head of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT), said tourism in Vietnam had been hurt by the turmoil, with international arrivals down sharply.

Vietnam expected between 4.8 and 5 million international visitors in 2008, but had only received 3.9 million by the end of November. Visitor numbers from traditional tourism markets such as Japan, South Korea, and Europe were all down.

Paris - The French economy is currently in the first of three consecutive quarters of negative growth, the government's statistical office Insee said on Friday.

French GDP for the fourth quarter of 2008 is expected to fall by 0.8 per cent, followed by a drop of 0.4 per cent in the first quarter of next year, Insee said.

The French economy is then expected to shrink by only 0.1 per cent in the second quarter of 2009 as the government's economic stimulus package begins to take effect and the recession gradually ends.

According to Insee, French unemployment will climb to 8 per cent by the middle of next year as some 170,000 jobs are lost.

Hong Kong - Chinese Premier Wen Jaibao on Friday promised 14 measures from the central government in Beijing to help Hong Kong survive the global economic slump.

Wen made the pledge in talks with Hong Kong Chief Executive Donald Tsang Friday morning, the third and final day of Tsang's annual visit to the Chinese capital.

The measures promised by Wen included allowing more mainland Chinese visitors to enter Hong Kong to boost tourism and help for Hong Kong businesses with factories in China's Pearl River Delta.

Infrastructure projects involving Hong Kong would also be speeded up, said Wen, who commented after his meeting with Tsang that he was confident Hong Kong would overcome the economic slump.