November 8: President Bill Clinton has said he would name Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan to a new five-year term as US alternate governor of the International Monetary Fund. Governors of the IMF participate in the fund's decisions on policy questions. Under terms of agreements establishing both the IMF and the World Bank, the president is authorised to appoint an alternate US governor for both institutions. The posts are usually filled by the Federal Reserve chairman and the under secretary of state for economic, business and agricultural affairs respectively.

US jobless rate plunges to 24-year low: The US jobless rate plunged to its lowest level since 1973 last month but analysts say Asia's wobbly financial markets should induce the Federal Reserve to leave monetary policy alone. The labour department reported that a surging US economy pushed the jobless rate down to 4.70 per cent, from 4.90 per cent in September, by creating 284,000 jobs.

Bakrie group to merge three banks: Indonesia's Bakrie group of companies will merge three of its banks to strengthen their capital and operations. Group chairman Aburizal Bakrie said the three banks to be merged are Pt Bank Nasional, Pt Bank Tabungan Pensium Nasional and Pt Bank Perniagaan. He, however, did not mention when the merger will take place. Bakrie's other bank, Pt Bank Nusa, might be merged in the long run after the merger of the three banks are finalised, he added.

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