DUBAI - BUSINESSES in the United Arab Emirates are more confident of a brighter trade outlook than their peers in financial hubs Hong Kong and Singapore, world banking giant HSBC said in a survey published on Sunday.

Almost three-quarters of UAE importers and exporters expect trade volumes to increase or stay the same, compared to 53 per cent in Hong Kong and 64 per cent in Singapore, according to the HSBC Trade Confidence Index.

LECCE (Italy) - THE world's rich nations, heartened by signs the credit crisis is easing, have started to consider how to unwind rescue steps for their economies once recovery is certain, their finance ministers said on Saturday.

Meeting in southern Italy, the ministers described their economies in the most positive terms since the collapse of Lehman Brothers nine months ago ushered in the world's worst financial crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s.

LECCE (Italy) - US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Saturday it was too early to start withdrawing stimulus for the world's top economies, but governments should pledge a return to more sustainable fiscal policies in the future.

'Growth should remain the principal focus of policy among the G8 and broader G20 economies,' Mr Geithner told a news conference after finance ministers from the Group of Eight economies finished a two-day meeting here.