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The proposed introduction of a bank levy and possible ways to control cross-border capital flows will top the agenda at this week's G20 finance ministers meetings, host South Korea said on Tuesday.

Advanced economies face years of anemic growth and the risk of a double-dip recession as their citizens cope with sluggish employment and highly indebted governments, economist Nouriel Roubini said on Monday.

China warned on Monday that Europe's struggle to contain ballooning debt posed a risk to global economic growth, raising the specter of a double-dip recession.

Greece will not restructure its debt and will not need more cuts to achieve fiscal targets set in the emergency funding programme it agreed with the European Union and the IMF, its finance minister told a Sunday paper.

European Central Bank policymaker Lorenzo Bini Smaghi said on Friday the euro zone's problems were an early warning to the rest of the world and took a swipe at Germany for fanning the flames of the crisis.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said that financial markets wanted to see how a $1 trillion EU/IMF plan to provide back-up financing for euro zone governments put into action.

The European Commission's chief accused Germany on Monday of making naive proposals to combat the euro zone debt crisis, while financial markets took fright after Spain bailed out a small savings bank.

The IMF said Sunday it expects to record a profit of $ 5.1 billion from the sale of gold in the financial year ended April 30, 2010. In a statement, the International Monetary Fund, which sold gold to member countries including India last year, said gold sales is a part of the multilateral lending agency's new income model, mainly aimed at increasing its resources to lend to low-income countries.

Europe's debt crisis poses a potentially serious risk to the U.S. economic recovery because it threatens global credit markets and large American banks, a top Federal Reserve official said on Thursday.

The leaders of Germany and France pledged on Thursday to work together on financial regulation and the euro zone crisis after European discord over debt and new market rules rattled investors worldwide.

Germany said restoring confidence in the euro was its top priority, demanding tougher regulation and oversight on Thursday to protect the single currency, and joint EU action on withdrawing support for its economies.

Advanced economies face a herculean task to restore public debt to pre-crisis levels, and failure to do so will drive up borrowing costs and curb economic growth, the IMF warned on Friday.

Countries within the euro zone should implement a new system of cross-border budgetary co-ordination, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund told the Financial Times in an interview.

The AUD is fairly unchanged from yesterday's close to be currently trading around USD0.9030 despite the huge gains posted in the offshore equity markets.

With the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and European Union chipping in to rescue Greece from the financial mess by announcing schemes worth billions of dollars, the biggest beneficiary is metal market.

Financial markets climbed away from a potential abyss on Monday after the European Union and International Monetary Fund agreed a bumper rescue package to prevent a sovereign debt crisis spreading.

Financial markets climbed away from a potential abyss on Monday after the European Union and International Monetary Fund agreed a bumper rescue package to prevent a sovereign debt crisis spreading.

Financial markets stepped back from a potential abyss on Monday after the European Union and International Monetary Fund agreed a bumper rescue package to prevent a sovereign debt crisis spreading.

Global oil prices advanced in Asian trade Monday mainly on IMF's aid pack approval for Greece, that might boost energy demand. Light sweet crude for June delivery was seen trading at 76.74 a barrel at 11.30 a.m Singapore time while Brent crude was at $ 79.76 a barrel at the same time in London.

Gold prices eased in Asian trade Monday after Greek aid pack approval by EU eased concerns over debt crisis in the region. Gold for immediate delivery was seen trading at $1195.31 an ounce at 11.30 a.m Singapore time while U.S. June gold futures was at 1200.69 an ounce at the same time.

The European Union agreed on a 500 billion-euro ($670 billion) emergency fund in the early hours of Monday to protect highly indebted eurozone countries from the wolfpack of financial markets.

European Union finance ministers on Sunday promised to counter the wolfpack of the financial markets as they sought agreement on a 600 billion euro ($805 billion) plan to keep Greece's debt crisis from spreading.

The Group of Seven rich countries is concerned about Greece's debt problems, a Canadian official said on Friday, and hinted that there may be other countries that will also need help.

Euro zone leaders approved emergency loans for Greece on Friday and governments around the world tried to calm financial markets hit by fears that Athens' debt crisis could cause havoc in other European economies.

Governments around the world tried on Friday to calm financial markets shaken by fears that Greece's debt crisis could cause difficulties for other European economies.

Shock waves from the relatively small Greek economy reverberated around the world, as investors worried about the chances of other European governments facing a similar debt crisis.

Greek lawmakers approved the government's 30 billion euro ($40 billion) austerity bill in a vote in parliament on Thursday, paving the way for a record bailout from the European Union and International Monetary Fund.

World oil prices recovered in Asian trade Thursday and moved past $80 a barrel as the dollar eased amid signs of improvements in US economy. Light sweet crude for June delivery was seen trading at $80.21 a barrel at 11.30 a.m Singapore time while Brent crude was at $ 82.81 a barrel at the same time in London.

European leaders warned on Wednesday that the euro zone debt crisis could spread like a bushfire beyond Greece, and investors sold stocks and the euro as Greek anti-austerity unrest claimed its first lives.