Helsinki - Nordic nations on Monday promised to review cash- strapped Iceland's need for additional loans, and were to form a working group that would monitor Reykjavik's efforts to revive its economy.

Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt, current chair of the Nordic Council, said the Nordic group welcomed the deal Iceland signed on Friday with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a 2.1-billion-dollar emergency loan from the IMF to help stabilize Iceland's economy.

Sao Paulo - The Brazil government will not bailout large conglomerates that have lost money in foreign exchange operations, Finance Minister Guido Mantega said Monday.

These firms may have lost up to 20 billion dollars in the ongoing global financial crisis, he said, but added that this loss "is perfectly absorbable" by the companies, without help from the government.

Helsinki - Economic output in Iceland was estimated to drop some 10 per cent next year, the prime minister of Iceland said Monday.

"We are going to get through this crisis and move on," Prime Minister Geir Haarde told reporters before a meeting of Nordic prime ministers in Finland.

Haarde said he hoped the cash-strapped North Atlantic nation will be able to get loans from its Nordic neighbours.

Helsinki

Kiev/Budapest/Washington - Ukrainians expressed optimism, but still faced a shaky economy after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said it will provide financial support to the hard-pressed country.

The IMF on Sunday simultaneously announced a 16.5-billion-dollar credit for Ukraine. Additionally, it said it plans to give Hungary, which is also facing economic problems, a credit of an as-yet- undetermined size.

Brussels - European Union businesses called Monday for a cut in interest rates amid predictions that the bloc's economic slowdown could lead to more than 1 million jobs being lost in 2009.

BusinessEurope, which groups national business federations from 34 European countries, also called on governments to ensure a continued flow of credit and to approve structural reforms aimed at improving the continent's competitiveness.