The rouble is continuing to fall after a top ratings agency cut Russia’s credit rating to junk status.

Russian government officials have appealed for calm after predicting budget cuts and a further surge in inflation as the country faces its worst economic downturn in 15 years.

Cypriot MPs are due to vote today on a raft of new measures they hope will qualify the country for a bailout package and avoid financial ruin next week. But officials in Brussels and Berlin gave no indication it would be enough.