Riga  - Latvia could be in line to get around 2.5 billion dollars from the coffers of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and European Union (EU) according to an economic expert on the Baltic states.

Over the weekend, the IMF confirmed that the Latvian authorities had asked it to provide "technical and financial support" and that it stood "ready to rapidly assist their efforts in the context of a comprehensive economic program."

Neil Shearing of London-based Capital Economics predicted Monday that Latvia's aid package would likely be "much smaller" than the 25 billion-dollar package given to Hungary.

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".

Brussels  - The European Union is prepared to extend emergency financial assistance to Latvia, officials reported Saturday.

Riga - Traders were glad to see the back of a worrying week on the three Baltic stock exchanges Friday with the Baltic Benchmark Index (BBI), combining data from the Tallinn, Riga and Vilnius exchanges, closing down 2.31 per cent on the day at 228.82.

The BBI managed to drop by more than 10 per cent during the week as the small Baltic bourses joined the larger financial centres in anticipating a major global recession.

On Friday, the NASDAQ OMX Tallinn exchange in Estonia fell 2.15 per cent, the Vilnius exchange in Lithuania rose 0.98 per cent and the Riga exchange in Latvia recorded a 1.07 per cent gain.

Riga - Details emerged Friday of a remarkable rescue off the Latvian coast after three Lithuanian yachtsmen spent three days adrift on a breakwater.

All three were rescued Thursday night by the Latvian coastguard after enduring 72 hours of stormy seas and freezing temperatures without food and water trapped off the Latvian port of Liepaja.

According to local media reports, the three Lithuanians were a man, 46, his 22-year-old son and a 20-year-old friend.

After buying the yacht in Sweden, they sailed for the Lithuanian port of Klaipeda on the opposite side of the Baltic Sea, but were surprised by a storm off the Latvian coast and shipwrecked.

Riga - NASDAQ OMX Group announced Thursday that it plans to extend the trading hours at its three Baltic exchanges in Tallinn, Riga and Vilnius.

The move comes as the tiny stock exchanges try to attract back investors who fled in the face of a sharp economc downturn in the region.

Trading hours will be extended by two hours from the current 2 pm closing time to give traders a six-hour day starting at 10 am.

At present, traders in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania enjoy one of the shortest working days among financial centres.

The new regime will come into effect from February 2 next year.