Economy

President Barack Oba ma’s economic adviser said it’s impossible to pre dict when the recession will end and cautioned that monthly job losses of 600,000 are unlikely to end soon. Lawrence Sum mers, director of the White House’s National Economic Council, said that job cuts are “proba bly not going to stop im minently.”

Sitting still

OPEC agreed to keep oil-production quotas un changed it said yester day, deciding against a further output cut that risked damaging the ail ing global economy. OPEC members still need to trim about 800,000 barrels a day to comply with the record output cuts decided in December.

Saving Opel

Germany’s Economic Minister is on his way to the US for talks aimed at securing the future of GM’s Germany-based Opel unit. Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg is sched uled to meet with Trea sury Secretary Timothy Geithner and GM Chief Executive Rick Wagoner.

Group effort

Finance chiefs from the G20 pledged a “sustained effort” to end the global recession and to cleanse banks of toxic assets. Treasury’s Geithner said there was a “clear com mitment to do what’s necessary, to keep at it, to get the economy on track.”

Holder anger

Lloyds Banking Group shareholders are forming a group to represent their interests after the bank agreed to cede control to the UK government.