Bratislava  - Slovakia Monday announced an increased national budget deficit for next year because of the world economic crisis - but said that figure would still be within the limit of 3 per cent of gross national product set for introducing the euro in January.

The deficit would be increased from 1.7 per cent to 2.08 per cent of GNP, Social Democrat Prime Minister Robert Fico said.

Despite the increase, Slovakia would still have the lowest deficit in its history, he stressed. The increase was needed in order to have enough reserves to deal with the economic crisis, he said.

Riga  - The Latvian government might have thought its announcement on November 20 that it was in talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the European Union (EU) to support its economy would provide confidence to the population of the small Baltic republic and investors alike.

Instead, rumour and counter-rumour have been sweeping Latvians and policy-makers along at an increasing pace.

In an attempt to defuse the situation, the finance ministry appears happy to use words it wouldn't even utter until recently - words like "devaluation" and "bankruptcy".

With Citigroup's stock plummeting last week, over fears about its exposure to toxic mortgage assets, regulators are reportedly working on plan to bail out the embattled bank, saying the US government would guarantee more than $300 billion in company assets, while injecting an additional $20 billion in capital. In return for the cash infusion, the government would get an additional ownership stake of $7 billion in Citigroup.

Washington - The US government said late Sunday that it would move to save ailing bank Citigroup by guaranteeing it against huge losses in the midst of the global financial crisis brought on by banks crippled by bad loans.

The US Treasury, the Federal Reserve and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation said in a joint statement that they would guarantee Citigroup against massive losses on its 306 billion dollars in mortgage-related assets. In return, the bank will grant the government shares of stock.

Lima - Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso said Sunday in Lima that the prospects of the Doha Round of talks at the World Trade Organization (WTO) have changed after seven years of failures.

The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) is aware that, in the current context of global economic and financial crisis, "the world might turn protectionistic," Aso said. This is an issue that needs "to be responded to quickly."

Hong Kong - Wealthy Hong Kong businessmen are switching from expensive private golf clubs to public courses to keep their handicaps up during the downturn, a news report said Monday.

The number of people using the city's public golf course on Kau Sai Chau island shot up by 48 per cent in October compared to the same month in 2007, the South China Morning Post reported.