BERLIN - CHANCELLOR Angela Merkel said on Saturday the German government would take 'a further step' in January to boost the economy after passing a stimulus package two weeks ago that was widely criticised as insufficient.

In her weekly podcast, Dr Merkel said the government will do everything possible next year to keep the country's economy on a sound footing. She then went beyond previous signals by saying a second stimulus step would be taken in January.

LONDON - THE British government could arrange loans to help luxury carmaker Jaguar Land Rover within days, the Financial Times said on Saturday, as a top Labour peer said he was confident of a deal 'fairly soon'.

Jaguar Land Rover, owned by India's Tata Motors, has been in talks with the government about a deal to help it cope with plunging demand because of the credit crunch.

NEW YORK - ONE of the United States' leading educational philanthropies announced that it would close in the coming months, brought down by the alleged financial fraud orchestrated by Bernard Madoff.

Barbara Picower, who along with her husband, Jeffry, established the Picower Foundation in 1989, said in a statement on Friday that the foundation's grant-making would cease 'effective immediately' and that it would 'close its doors in the coming months'.