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"To stimulate their economies, governments in countriesaround the world such as Brazil, China, Germany, the UnitedKingdom, South Korea and Australia are acceleratingimplementation of infrastructure projects," said Michael Nolan,lead manager of the fund U.S. President-elect Barack Obama, meanwhile, laid outplans for massive investment in energy, schools, health careand other infrastructure as a way to revive the economy. All that activity is expected to fuel business at companiesthat build, operate or service assets such as highways, portsand other public facilities. Giannone; Editing by Derek Caney) Stocks Bonds Funds News ETFs News.

Jan 15 (Reuters) - For details of the U.S. Treasury'soffering of 3-month and reopened 6-month bills this week, see: Bonds IPOs 3-month bills:here 6-month bills:here Bonds IPOs. By David Lewis ABIDJAN, Jan 15 (Reuters) - Ivory Coast held ceremonies to mark northern rebels officially returning local tax collecting and administrative powers to the central government on Thursday but true reunification and post-war polls remain elusive. New revenues would boost an economy that has been hit by a poor cocoa harvest, and provide a tonic for a peace process that the United Nations said "remained plagued by considerable funding gaps," jeopardising progress already made. Despite promises, New Forces (FN) rebels have resisted returning power to civilians and continue to collect millions of dollars in monthly revenues from customs duties and local taxes Technical and financial problems meant a Nov. 30 election date was missed and the head of President Laurent Gbagbo's party said the country could not hold polls before October 2009.

"This Thursday, 15 January, 2009, is the day of truth as to whether Ivorians will trust the Secretary General of the FN but also the head of state," Soir Info, a privately-owned Abidjan newspaper, said in an article on Thursday. "The FN haven't fulfilled their promises since the (previous) launch of reuniting the treasury (in 2008) so their credibility is on the line. If they carry it off, they will have taken an important step in restoring the state," it added. As ceremonies to mark the return of tax collectors and judges were held in Bouake, the former northern rebel capital, FN officers were still discussing how to implement agreements. A pro-Gbagbo newspaper said Prime Minister Guillaume Soro's FN were calling for delays in handing over the money and power "January 15 will not be an event but a process. You will not see the administration fully redeployed," said a regional diplomat. In 2007, resource watchdog Global Witness estimated the rebels had been earning around $30 million a year from illicit cocoa taxes.