Currency traders were given a green light to continue selling the US dollar, as the International Monetary Fund said the greenback "remains overvalued" and rejected claims the euro had risen too far

  The US replaced UK as biggest recipient of foreign direct investment as global FDI flows rose to $1,306bn in 2006, the highest since 2000, according to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.

  Russia accused Estonia of violating a UN maritime convention by refusing permission for a seabed survey linked to the construction of a gas pipeline from Russia to western Europe

  Vladimir Putin is reported to have invited Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad to talks in Moscow in a move that could increase tensions between Russia and the US

  Crude oil prices soared to a fresh record above $88 a barrel as the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries suggested it would not increase its production in the short-term

  The healthy food lobby stands little chance of altering subsidies to foster production of fruit and vegetables

  Analysts doubt whether officials of the seven leading industrialised nations will have a co-ordinated response to the severe strains in global currency markets

  Social networking will take on a new dimension with the launch of a website that uses DNA testing to help users find family members through the ages

  Only a month after breaching $80, the price for a barrel of oil is now heading towards $90, scaling heights barely conceivable a few years ago

  Although oil prices nudged $88 a barrel, apart from stock markets trading lower, it was difficult to detect any great sense of foreboding

  The improvement in the functioning of credit markets since the Federal Reserve cut interest rates has reduced the risk to the near-term economic outlook, Ben Bernanke said

  The risk of a disorderly adjustment of global ­economic imbalances has increased after the turmoil in credit markets, Rodrigo Rato, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, said

  The European parliament is expected to endorse a plan to allocate carbon permits on a per capita basis after the Kyoto protocol expires in 2012.

  A World Trade Organisation panel, ruling in favour of Brazil in a landmark international challenge, has found that the United States has not done enough to reform its cotton subsidies