Reuters – Iraq declared a curfew on Saturday in
the capital Baghdad, ordering all cars off the streets and
telling people to remain in their homes.

The Kiwi dollar saw a tumultuous week of trading, as an early bullish run pushed it to fresh 7-month highs, while a later reversal saw it below the previous week’s close. Earlier hawkish commentary from RBNZ Governor Alan Bollard was enough to push the Kiwi towards its highs, but subsequently dovish commentary from Finance Minister Michael Cullen allowed Kiwi-bears to pull the currency lower.

Reuters – President George W. Bush’s former
chief of staff tried twice to persuade Bush to fire Defense
Secretary Donald Rumsfeld but failed, according to a new book
by investigative reporter Bob Woodward.

Reuters – U.S. intelligence cannot confirm
that al Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Hamza al-Muhajir is the man
whose voice appeared this week in an audio message urging the
kidnapping of Westerners, officials said on Friday.

AFP – The US Congress approved the defense budget for 2007, which boosts spending to 447.6 billion dollars, including 70 billion dollars for the war in Iraq.

AP – It is still possible to defeat the entrenched insurgency in Iraq’s western Anbar province but probably not until U.S. troops leave, the American commander of forces in the provincial capital said Friday.

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — The pace of appreciation of the Chinese currency has picked up significantly recently, leading some in the market to speculate that a widening of the yuan’s trading band is likely imminent.

AP – A West African man admitted Friday that he tried to extort $2 million from the Christian Science Monitor by promising to win the release of journalist Jill Carroll, who was captured in Iraq.

Reuters – President Bush, facing election-year
criticism that the Iraq war is a distraction from efforts to
stabilize Afghanistan, insisted on Friday allied forces were
making headway against a resurgent Taliban.

The Montreal Exchange could start its planned emissions trading by year-end if the federal government soon brings in the required environmental framework, President and Chief Executive Luc Bertrand said.