On the day of a deadly attack against US troops, Iraq’s finance minister said he saw signs of improvement in his country’s security.

Fluctuating oil prices should not cause alarm, but are a key source of global instability, participants in a round-table discussion on economic issues at the World Economic Forum said today.

BRITISH companies must have a “level playing field” to bid for contracts for rebuilding Iraq once the war is over, British Trade and Industry Secretary Patricia Hewitt said yesterday.