Berlin - A national phone-in number set up by citizens' advice bureaux in Germany has fielded 111,000 calls from Germans worried about the global financial crisis in just over a week, organizers said Monday.

Gerd Billen, head of the national advice bureaux association VZBV, appealed to the government to provide more funding for the service, established October 24.

While Germany has not suffered any broad collapse in real-estate prices or major factory closures, concern is widespread about what the future could hold.

Brussels - Inflation in the European Union is set to fall sharply thanks to lower oil prices, giving countries such as Poland and the Baltic states a better chance of joining the euro, the EU's top economist said Monday.

"Commodity prices are more likely to fall ... on the back of deteriorating growth prospects and weaker demand coming from emerging countries. This would ease inflationary pressures," EU Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Joaquin Almunia said.

Amsterdam - Guarantees for Dutch savings accounts should be lowered, the Dutch banks said in a letter to Dutch Finance Minister Wouter Bos Monday.

Holders of savings accounts at Dutch banks are guaranteed for up to 100,000 euros (128,500 dollars) per person if a bank collapses.

In October, the sum guaranteed under Dutch law was increased for one year from 38,000 euros per account holder.

The Dutch central bank increased the guarantee to boost consumer confidence in the banking system, which reached a low in early October, when the government nationalized the Dutch division of former Belgian-Dutch Fortis bank and the Dutch subsidiary of Iceland's Landsbanki, Icesave, collapsed.

Brussels - The European Union's economy is set to grind to a halt in 2009 and only start picking up in 2010, with a deep recession looming in Britain, the EU's executive said Monday.

According to the latest forecasts from the European Commission, the economy of the 27-member bloc is set to grow by just 0.2 per cent in 2009, while the 16 countries which use the euro are set for growth of just 0.1 per cent.

Growth in 2010 should pick up to around 1.1 per cent for the EU and 0.9 per cent for the eurozone.

Seoul - South Korea on Monday announced a 14-trillion-won (11-billion-dollar) stimulus package as it faces its worst economic turmoil since it needed an International Monetary Fund bailout a decade ago.

Public spending is to rise next year by 11 trillion won and the package's remaining 3 trillion won would go to tax benefits, the Finance Ministry said.

Finance Minister Kang Man Soo estimated South Korea's economy would grow only 3 per cent next year because of the global financial crisis but also warned of a further slowdown.

"It will be difficult to achieve the growth if global economic conditions further worsen," he said.

Hong Kong - Wealthy Hong Kong may be teetering on the brink of a global recession but a prestige car number plate can still fetch more than 46,000 US dollars, auctioneers said Monday.

The car registration number 1234 fetched 360,000 Hong Kong dollars (46,445 US dollars) at Sunday's government auction where a total of 280 unusual plates raised just short of 345,000 US dollars.