INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND

Policymakers in advanced economies should use all available tools to boost growth, International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde said on Friday, calling for bold action to weather a dangerous new phase of recovery.

When politician Dominique Strauss-Kahn arrived in France last week, cleared of a New York sex scandal, he returned home smiling despite facing a frosty reception. Maybe he should have gone to Mexico, instead.

Germany's highest court said on Wednesday that parliament must have a bigger say in euro zone rescue packages, in a landmark ruling that may make it more difficult for Europe to respond swiftly in delivering aid to crisis-hit member states.

Nigeria's central bank plans to diversify its $33 billion in foreign exchange reserves away from the dollar by switching a tenth of the stockpile into yuan, underlining the momentum behind China's drive to internationalise its currency.

Sarkozy, who has attempted to establish his credentials as a 'global statesman' by, among other things, aggressively pushing for a NATO bombing campaign in Libya, remains controversial and unpopular in France.

Iceland's president accused European countries on Sunday of having bullied it into agreeing to guarantee repayment of the debts of a failed bank, reviving a dispute with Britain and the Netherlands whose citizens are owed billions.

Dominique Strauss-Kahn, his presidential hopes shattered by a sex assault scandal that rocked his homeland, returned on Sunday to France facing a frosty public reception and unease among his political allies.

Former International Monetary Fund (IMF) head Dominique Strauss-Kahn returned to Paris on Sunday after New York prosecutors dropped serious sexual assault charges against him last month. He spent about a week in jail after being pulled from the flight, about six weeks under house arrest and nearly two additional months barred from leaving the U.S.

It should be a wildly interesting and lively political saga in France over the next year.

The former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn returned back to France on Saturday, after getting his passport back.

France's Socialists are distancing themselves from Dominique Strauss-Kahn as the ex-IMF chief, once their best-placed presidential contender but now dogged by sex assault accusations, prepares to return from the United States.

Gold fell on Wednesday after a near 3 percent rally the day before sparked by Federal Reserve comments on possible measures to boost U.S. growth, and the bullion price is still set for its biggest monthly gain in nearly two years.

Gold edged higher on Tuesday, following its worst weekly performance in two months last week, supported by improving physical demand and some investor uncertainty ahead of minutes from the U.S. Federal Reserve's recent policy meeting.

Profit-taking plus a renewed appetite for risk chipped away at gold's early gains Monday, sending the yellow metal slightly into negative territory.

Gold rose 1.4 percent Monday in early U.S. trading as investors inclined toward the view that the decision of the top U.S. central banker to extend by a day a key September meeting might indicate an intent to intervene in the bond market, an action that is bullish for gold.

Stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Wall Street on Monday, with futures for the S&P 500 up 1 percent, Dow Jones futures up 0.8 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures up 1 percent at 0930 GMT (5:30 a.m. ET).

Star Jones lashed out on Twitter regarding the ruling of the Dominique Strauss-Kahn case, which cleared DSK of sexual assault charges against a maid. I don't feel sorry for DSK..he can take his SLEAZY butt back to France...I feel sorry for other women who will be scared to report a rape, Jones tweeted on Wednesday.

Family of accuser says that justice was not done.

A New York judge dropped all criminal sexual assault charges against ex-IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn on Tuesday, leaving him free to return to Franceand rebuild a shattered career.

A New York Supreme Court judge dismissed charges against former IMF head Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who was accused of sexually assaulting a hotel maid in May.

A New York judge dropped all criminal sexual assault charges against ex-IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn on Tuesday after prosecutors lost faith in the credibility of his accuser.