Many Asian currencies have risen against the U.S. dollar this year, making exports more expensive and their foreign exchange reserves less valuable. But economists say regional governments should not be too worried about the trend.

Federal Reserve policymakers at their September meeting felt compelled to act aggressively in lowering a key interest rate for the first time in over four years.

US share prices surged to a record high overnight. On the New York Stock Exchange, the Dow Jones industrial average closed 192-points ahead at 14,088, a gain of 1.4 per cent, while the high-tech Nasdaq composite index rose 39-points to 2,741.

West Australian farmers say the continued strength of the Australian dollar is forcing them to cut their prices in order to compete overseas.

India's Central bank has announced a series of measures aimed at slowing the rupee's rise against the dollar. The strong rupee is hurting several sectors of the economy. The Central Bank recently relaxed limits on overseas investments by Indian mutual funds, domestic companies and individuals.

Financial markets have steadied since the September 18 cut in short-term US interest rates. But the dollar continues to fall while the prices of raw materials rise.

The US Federal Reserve moved to cut rates and add liquidity to the financial system in recent weeks in the face of "significant market stress", chairman Ben Bernanke has told Congress.

The US Federal Reserve's interest rate cut of half a percentage point have delivered the best that financial markets could have hoped for. The first easing in US monetary policy for four years has come in response to the credit market crisis as the federal funds rate lowers to 4.75 per cent.

New center to provide fellowships for aspiring entrepreneurs from the developing world

IBM (NYSE: IBM) and Red Hat (NYSE: RHT), the world's leading provider of open source solutions, today announced a new algorithmic trading platform to help financial services firms take advantage of accelerated streaming data, real-time analytics and complex multi-path calculations in real-time trading and risk environments.

S&P Releases August Global Stock Market Review.

President Bush is moving to help keep thousands of American homeowners from defaulting on their home loans in a growing crisis that has affected worldwide financial markets. VOA White House Correspondent Scott Stearns reports, the chairman of the U.S. central bank says he will also act to keep the credit crisis from hurting the economy.