IN BRIEF

Greek unions vow to fight austerity cuts

ATHENS: Greek public works yesterday vowed to defy government austerity plans aiming to save more than US$1.3 billion this year as the country confronts a grave debt crisis. Ahead of a strike tomorrow, ADEDY civil servants union chairman Spyros Papaspyros said: "We are aware of the difficult economic situation ... but targeting the incomes of employees and pensioners is just the easy way out."

No double-dip slump for US, says Geithner

WASHINGTON: The risk the US economy will slip back into recession is lower now than at any time in the past year, US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Sunday, while conceding that recovery will be slow and uneven. In an interview on ABC News' "This Week", Geithner dismissed concerns that rising US indebtedness might put pressure on the US' prized triple-A credit rating.

SAP names two new co-CEOs

BERLIN: German-based SAP, the world's largest professional software group, announced Sunday that Leo Apotheker was stepping down as chief executive officer and was being replaced by two company insiders. Bill McDermott, SAP's head of field organisation and Jim Hagemann Snabe, head of product development, were named as co-CEOs by the company's executive board, SAP said in a statement.

Swiss unemployment rises in January

ZURICH: Swiss unemployment ticked higher in January but the rise was less than economists had forecast, indicating a nascent recovery in other sectors might be filtering through to the labour market. The Swiss unemployment rate rose to a non-seasonally adjusted 4.5 per cent in January from 4.4 per cent in the previous month, the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs said.

John Thain named to head CIT

NEW YORK: The board of directors of CIT Group, a provider of financing to small and medium businesses, has selected John Thain to be chairman and chief executive officer of the company. The decision, announced Sunday, takes effect immediately. Thain, who previously headed investment firm Merrill Lynch, replaces Peter Tobin, who has been acting as interim CEO.

Spain to cut 2010 bond issues by 34%

MADRID: The Spanish government, seeking to balance its strained finances, will reduce its bond issuance this year by 34 per cent to US$106 billion, the economy ministry said yesterday. The net public financing requirement in 2010 will be reduced by 34 per cent compared with last year," the ministry said.

Yuan should remain 'basically stable'

BIRMINGHAM: China believes the yuan should remain "basically stable" in the face of international calls for it to be strengthened, Chinese Vice Commerce Minister Zhong Shan said here yesterday. "We can't allow too-large moves" in the yuan," Zhong said. He acknowledged that there was a little room for movement in China's currency but stressed that the rate of appreciation would depend on economic conditions.

UBS returns to profit: analysts

ZURICH: Swiss banking giant UBS is set to report a return to profit for the fourth quarter of 2009 today for the first time since the third quarter of 2008, analysts said. Analysts polled by Swiss financial news agency AWP yesterday said they expected a net profit of US$349 million for the quarter.

European stocks stable but debt fears linger

LONDON: Markets stabilised in Europe yesterday, but fell in Asia and the US, as investors weighed their fears of the debt crisis enveloping eurozone countries like Greece and Portugal against the temptation to buy some stocks on the cheap after last week's vicious sell-off. Sentiment remained balanced on a knife's edge, amid hopes for a bailout for Greece and worries of contagion through the wider 16-nation eurozone.Agencies