The decision by the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) managing director, Horst Koehler, to quit has sparked speculation that UK Chancellor Gordon Brown may replace him.

Europeans and others who oppose US plans to reform the World Bank's aid program for the world's poorest countries are ignorant of basic finance principles, said US Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill.

The value of the Argentine peso fell by more than 39% in its first day as a free-floating currency.