The European Commission has insisted that the next leader of the International Monetary Fund must come from the European Union, a stance backed by Germany, the continent’s economic heavyweight.

THE ECB’s decision not to increase the availability of debt to boost growthin the eurozone has resulted in the euromaking strong gains in recent days.

Brazil’s ruling politicians have been shaken by a scandal involving prostitutes, suitcases full of lobbyists’ cash and an apparent violation of bank secrecy laws that brought down the finance minister and again raised questions about the leadership of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.