Consumer confidence in Germany is rising again, buoyed by the European Central Bank's recent decision to cut interest rates, a new poll found on Wednesday.

"The additional cut in interest rates by the ECB and the decision to charge banks for parking their money at the central bank has given the consumer climate an extra boost and is the main reason behind the rise in consumer confidence," market research company GfK said in a statement.

Oil markets have staged only a muted reaction to the bloody insurgency gripping OPEC's number two producer Iraq, but analysts warn any disruption to supplies could push prices to record peaks.

The offensive led by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) that has swept through the north of the country and is now threatening to rip Iraq apart has sent prices to nine-month highs but they remain $30 below the peaks hit in 2008.

Japanese auto giant Toyota will start selling its first fuel cell sedan this financial year, with a price tag of around 7 million yen ($70,000), the company announced Wednesday.

The vehicles will be rolled out by March and beyond the home market during the summer of 2015, it said, in a move that will see the environmentally friendly cars available in the United States and Europe.

New Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's promises to revive the economy face a gathering threat from inflation, which is creeping up again due to oil prices, weak monsoon rains and hoarding, analysts say.

Food inflation, one of the reasons voters resoundingly ejected the previous Congress government in elections in April and May, is gathering pace with troublesome onion prices in the spotlight.

French President Francois Hollande called Tuesday for "flexibilities" in applying EU budget rules, as Italy's prime minister said on the same day that a shake-up was needed in Europe's approach to growth.

"France proposes that budgetary rules be applied in a manner favorable to investment and employment," Hollande wrote in a letter to European Council President Herman Van Rompuy, in extracts published in daily Le Monde.

Participants of the ‘New Levant’ Conference would like to extend their gratitude to Government of Lebanon for hosting an important and highly beneficial meeting in Beirut on seeking ways and means to move to a better integrated New Levant Region. The conference is attended by government officials, private sector representatives, international investors, and bilateral and multilateral institutions.

A better integrated New Levant Region would help create the conditions for increased trade and investment in the Levant and put each country on a higher path of growth, job creation, and prosperity.

Running up new debt would be "the worst possible" thing to do, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said on Tuesday as a debate resurfaces over an easing of EU fiscal rules.

"Running up new debt would be the worst possible mistake we could make," Schaeuble told German public radio InfoRadio in an interview. 

The German Ifo business confidence fell to a six-month low in June, data showed on Tuesday, as companies fret about the impact on their business from the crises in Ukraine and Iraq. 

The Ifo economic institute's closely watched business climate index fell to 109.7 points in June -- its lowest level since December 2013 -- from 110.4 points in May. 

Algerian oil and gas earnings, which account for nearly all of the country's exports, fell by 2.26 percent on year in the first five months of 2014, data showed Monday.

Hydrocarbons exports generated 27.36 billion dollars in January-May, compared with 28 billion dollars for last year, and represented 96.91 percent of total exports, according to the national center for customs statistics.

The price of oil fell Tuesday as fears receded that the insurgency roiling Iraq would affect its oil production and exports.

Islamic militants have been steadily expanding their grip on the country's north, where they control a broad swath of territory. But the bulk of the country's production and export operations are in the south, which have so far been spared in this month's advance by the al-Qaeda inspired group. Iraq's daily oil production hit 3.5 million barrels this year, up from nearly 2.4 million a day in 2009.