Brussels  - European Central Bank chief Jean-Claude Trichet ruled out Thursday any moves to ease the tough rules for euro membership so as to help pave the way for nations wanting to join the common currency.

The euro has been enjoying a new-found popularity as a result of the financial firestorm that has swept through world markets this year.

In particular, this is because some nations outside the currency bloc have found their national currencies and capital markets under attack as the crisis unleashed by the US mortgage meltdown has taken hold.

Jakarta - Indonesia's central bank on Thursday lowered its key interest rate by 25 basis points to 9.25 per cent, an unexpected move aimed at helping shield its economy from the global financial crisis.

It was the first cut since Bank Indonesia lowered its key interest rate in December.

"The decision to cut the rate was taken after evaluating financial and economic prospects, both in the domestic and global market," the central bank said in a statement.

Sydney - Car sales slumped 22 per cent in November as Australians postponed purchases for fear of losing their jobs in a recession, figures released Thursday showed.

Around 20,000 fewer vehicles were sold last month than in November 2007. It was the fifth consecutive monthly drop.

Beijing  - China and the United States Thursday began economic talks centered on the global financial crisis amid fears of a spat over currency levels.

At the fifth Strategic Economic Dialogue (SED), US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson is expected to pressure China to let its yuan rise against the dollar, as an undervalued yuan gives Chinese exporters an unfair advantage.

Chinese media, however, stressed Thursday that a rapid rise in the yuan could do the global economy more harm than good.

The two-day meeting will focus on cooperation to deal with the financial crisis and strengthen the Sino-US economic partnership, said Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan, who co-chairs the meeting with Paulson.

Frankfurt - The European Central Bank (ECB) is expected to deliver Thursday a deep cut in borrowing costs as the wave of rate cuts across the global economy gains momentum.

But economists are divided on the size of the reduction the ECB will deliver with many believing that slumping economic growth and dwindling inflation will result in the bank slashing rates by 75 basis points or even 100 basis points.

Wellington  - New Zealand's central bank slashed its benchmark interest rate on Thursday by a record 1.5 percentage points to 5 per cent and urged commercial banks to pass along the reduction to stimulate an economy in recession.

Noting that he had now cut a total of 3.25 percentage points from the official cash rate since July, Reserve Bank Governor Alan Bollard said, "We expect financial institutions to play their part in the economic adjustment process by passing on lower wholesale interest rates to their customers."

Bollard - who has now cut the rate four times since July after five years with no reductions - said that bank margins had "stayed quite high and indeed grown" and that he was easing monetary policy for a purpose.