The Australian Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, has claimed that the government has plans to pay compensation to nine out of 10 households to help families absorb the cost of a carbon- emissions trading system.

Yesterday, the Prime Minister had claimed that she is willing to tackle climatic changes by imposing a price on carbon pollution, big polluters will pay. Besides penalty, she suggested to use the gathered money for offering support and assistance to Australian families.

Spanish banking giant Santander, has announced that it plans to cut down 1,900 jobs in its three British arms in the coming year.

Earlier this year, Europe's second-biggest bank, Santander has acquired two banks .

According to reports, the company’s third quarter net profit rose 4.3 per cent to 2.2 billion euros.

JPMorgan Chase & Co, a leading worldwide financial services major, has announced that it intends to cut its investment banking staff by 10 percent, or about 3000 employees.

According to the sources, the company is taking this step to cope with the economic slump.

The sources further disclosed that JPMorgan shares slipped as much as 18percent as the lay offs could reflect greater-than-expected weakness at the bank.

The conglomerate is having assets of US$ 2.3 trillion and functions in more than 60 countries,