NEW YORK - THE US dollar fell against major currencies on Wednesday after Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said he was open to expanding the use of the International Monetary Fund's special drawing rights.

Investors initially interpreted his remarks as an endorsement of China's proposal on Monday to eventually replace the dollar as the world's reserve currency by the IMF's SDRs.

NEW YORK - BRITISH Prime Minister Gordon Brown on Wednesday lashed out at corporate greed, saying he would work to set global principles and standards for salaries in the finance sector at next week's G20 summit in London.

Mr Brown promised 'detailed results' from the summit as he stopped in New York during a three-continent tour intended to drum up support for a coordinated international response to the global economic crisis.

BRUSSELS (Belgium) - THE prime minister of the Czech Republic, which holds the European Union presidency, described President Barack Obama's stimulus measures as the 'way to hell.'

Addressing the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek argued that the Obama administration's fiscal package and financial bailout 'will undermine the stability of the global financial market.'