LONDON - THE US Federal Reserve still has 'powerful tools' at its disposal to tackle the economic crisis even if its main interest rate has been lowered to near zero, chairman Ben Bernanke said on Tuesday.

'The global economy will recover, but the timing and strength of the recovery are highly uncertain,' he said in a speech at the London School of Economics.

NEW YORK - CHIEF executive officers (CEOs) at six major United States companies have lost their jobs in the last eight days, in a sign of more turmoil to come, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Mr William Watkins, who was ousted on Monday at hard-drive maker Seagate Technology, is the sixth CEO of a publicly held company to be replaced in eight days, the newspaper noted in a report on its website on Tuesday.

THE Health Ministry will speed up its recruitment plans to help provide jobs to those who may be retrenched in the recession, said Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan on Tuesday.

It is now looking to fill 4,500 positions in the public health sector over the next two years.

These jobs range from health-care professionals like nurses and pharmacists, to administrative staff like counter staff and telephone operators.

SINGAPOREANS are preparing for the worst, with one in three expecting to lose their jobs during this downturn. A poll by TNS and Gallup International found that workers' confidence have been dented by the global financial crisis.

Almost eight in 10 Singaporeans believe unemployment will rise this year as the country's economy decreases, with GDP expected to be fall anywhere between -2 per cent and 1 per cent this year.