Washington - The US Federal Reserve and Treasury Department on Tuesday announced two new programmes that will pump an additional 800 billion dollars into the struggling economy and unfreeze credit for consumers and small businesses.

This second stimulus follows the 700-billion-dollar rescue package already approved by Congress. Under one of the two new programmes, the Fed will use 600 billion dollars to buy mortgage-backed securities to reduce the cost of home mortgages.

Washington  - The US Federal Reserve and Treasury Department on Tuesday announced two new programmes that will pump an additional 800 billion dollars into the struggling economy and unfreeze credit for consumers and small businesses.

This second stimulus follows the 700-billion-dollar rescue package already approved by Congress. Under one of the two new programmes, the Fed will use 600 billion dollars to buy mortgage-backed securities to reduce the cost of home mortgages.

Washington, November 25 : Older Americans have been most impacted by the current economic slump and its implications need to be dealt with, experts have said.

The researchers revealed, during a symposium at The Gerontological Society of America’s (GSA) 61st Annual Scientific Meeting, that the financial crisis had set worrying trends for the aged Americans that showed its affect on their retirement accounts.

Oslo - Citing the effects of the global financial turmoil, the fund that invests income from Norway's petroleum and gas riches for future pensions on Tuesday reported its lowest return to date.

The return on the fund during third-quarter 2008 fell 7.7 per cent measured in international currency, the central bank that manages the fund said.

The Norwegian Government Pension Fund - Global was worth 2.12 trillion kroner (299 billion dollars) at the end of the third quarter.

Bangkok - Thailand might see 1.1 million workers lose their jobs by the middle of next year as the global economic downturn bites into the country's exports, media reports said Tuesday.

Export orders were expected to drop more than 20 per cent by the second quarter of 2009, forcing industries to lay off workers to survive, the Federation of Thai Industries said.