BERLIN - GERMAN Chancellor Angela Merkel urged companies on Sunday not to slash jobs as a result of the global financial crisis, warning that businesses will not be able to rebound once the turmoil eases.

LONDON - BRITISH-BASED carmaker Jaguar Land Rover is in secret talks with the UK government over a 1 billion pound (S$2.26 billion) loan, just nine months after the Indian conglomerate Tata Group bought the luxury carmaker, the Sunday Times newspaper reported.

PARIS - INVESTORS braced on Sunday for another topsy-turvy week on trading floors as leading economies prepared new plans to emerge from a financial crisis that world leaders warned would take time to overcome.

US president-elect Barack Obama was expected to unveil his economic braintrust on Monday after announcing a plan to create 2.5 million jobs by 2011, while the British government pledged swift tax relief to households, with both countries staring at recession.