Paris  - The French labour market shed nearly 80,000 jobs in February, the Labour Ministry announced on Wednesday.

As a result of the tenth consecutive monthly rise in French unemployment, more than 2.38 million active job-seekers are now registered as unemployed in France.

The announcement follows France's worst-ever monthly increase in unemployment in January, when more than 90,000 new jobless were registered.

The French government is predicting the loss of some 300,000 jobs for 2009, but many observers feel that this forecast is far too optimistic.

Washington  - US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner sent the US currency tumbling Wednesday by saying he was open to enlarging the International Monetary Fund's currency reserves, but rallied again as he clarified the dollar will remain "the world's dominant reserve currency."

His comments at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York were in response to China's suggestion that a new global currency reserve should replace the dollar in order to guard against fluctuations in economic crises.

Amsterdam - The Dutch government on Wednesday announced a 6- billion-euro (8.1-billion-dollar) economic stimulus plan that will see investment followed by cost-cutting in 2011 to tackle the economic crisis.

Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende, presenting the plan to parliament, said the funds would be spent over six years, primarily on infrastructure projects, unemployment prevention and sustainable energy over the next six years.

Belgrade  - Serbia reached a deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on a three-billion-euro (4.06 billion dollars) loan over two years, Serbian Minister of economy Mladjan Dinkic said Wednesday.

"The agreement was reached and I expect it to be made public tomorrow by both Serbian government and the IMF," Dinkic told journalists and added that 2.2 billion euros of the loan will be used in 2009.

Amsterdam  - The Dutch government on Wednesday announced a 6- billion-euro (8.1-billion-dollar) economic stimulus plan that will see investment followed by cost-cutting in 2011 to tackle the economic crisis.

Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende, presenting the plan to parliament, said the funds would be spent over six years, primarily on infrastructure projects, unemployment prevention and sustainable energy over the next six years.

Amsterdam  - Eight years after so-called "polder model" politics was officially carried to its grave in the Netherlands, the economic crisis has revived the typically Dutch socio-political tradition of compromise and pragmatism.

Wednesday the labour unions and employee organisations deliberated on the government's proposal for measures to fight the economic crisis.