Washington - The US Federal Reserve, in a drastic new effort to keep the financial sector afloat, said Wednesday it would buy up more than 1 trillion dollars in Treasury and mortgage-backed securities.

Surprising many analysts, the US central bank said it would buy up to 300 billion dollars in long-term Treasury securities over the next six months and another 750 billion dollars in mortgage-related assets at the heart of the financial crisis.

Washington  - The US Federal Reserve

Athens - The Greek government on Wednesday froze the salaries of public sector employees earning more than 1,700 euros (2,208 dollars) per month in an effort to rein in public spending.

"The decisions we announce today are difficult," Finance Minister Yannis Papathanassiou said.

Washington  - The International Monetary Fund must be given more resources to rescue poorer nations battered by the financial crisis, US legislators said Wednesday, calling the global recession a threat to national security.

Democratic Senator John Kerry, who heads the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, warned the economic crisis had the potential to create "failed states" that could become breeding grounds for terrorism, drug trafficking and other security threats.

Harare  - Revenue from tax on alcohol and tobacco has been the key contribution to Zimbabwe's overall income, Finance Minister Tendai Biti said in presenting a revised 2009 budget to Parliament.

"Indirect taxes made up of customs and excise duty have contributed 88 per cent of government revenue which means that the government has been literally sustained by beer and cigarettes. This is unacceptable," Biti said.

Bern  - Revised government figures for 2009 released Tuesday showed that Switzerland's economy would shrink by 2.2 per cent and the recession would be significantly worse than had been envisaged.

Previous statistics by the Swiss Economic Ministry had predicted a contraction of 0.8 per cent.

The latest forecast said that if there was an easing of the global financial crisis, Switzerland could see slightly positive growth of 0.1 per cent in 2010, even as the labour market would continue to deteriorate.