New York - The UN General Assembly will review efforts to eradicate poverty and hunger next week, just as the world economy is slumping and high food prices have stripped the poor of their purchasing power.

The summit at UN headquarters in New York on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) on Thursday takes place at a time the world's biggest donors, like the United States and European nations, are struggling to prop up their failing economies and may no longer be able to assist the UN with big checks.

The UN has asked those donors to increase development assistance by 18 billion dollars a year on top of their commitment to provide annually 50 billion dollars to help poor countries.

Washington - As Wall Street tottered on the brink of collapse and the US government unveiled one the largest market interventions in its history, stakeholders from every side weighed in with incredibly stark views of the country's economic future.

The assessments did not just focus on the country's short-term economic health. Many believe this week's events could drastically change the way the United States does business.

"Capitalism as we knew it - free-market capitalism - seems to be dead," declared Rob Cox, editor of financial website breakingviews. com.

Washington - The United States on Friday unveiled part of a massive, comprehensive plan to help resolve the ongoing US financial crisis and prevent a rush of new bank failures in the coming weeks.

The US Treasury announced a 50-billion-dollar guarantee programme for the money-market mutual fund industry, the first in a series of moves that could come Friday after overnight talks with congressional leaders. US media reported the entire rescue package could cost as much as 500 billion dollars.

Karachi - The Pakistan rupee plunged Friday to a new record low of 78 against the US dollar on global financial jitters and domestic economic woes, traders said.

The rupee closed at 78.00-05 against the dollar in both the open and inter-bank markets as compared with 77.70-80 on Thursday.

Traders said lack of inflow of foreign currency and import pressures were the main reasons for creating a shortage.

They said the weakness in major global financial markets would further decrease foreign investors' interest in small emerging markets such as Pakistan, which is facing a myriad of economic problems.

San Francisco - Financial advisor Paula Gomez usually works half days at this time of year. Her stable of well-heeled clients have all filed their taxes, and their diversified portfolios have been built for long-term growth. But over the past few days her phone has been ringing off the hook as panicked clients seek advice and reassurance.

"Frankly, I don't know what to tell them," she admits. "Everywhere you look there's a catastrophe and who knows who's going to fail next. So the best advice I can give them is keep a diversified portfolio. But just in case, get some money out the bank in case the whole shebang goes belly-up."