World Bank president Paul Wolfowitz broke bank rules in arranging a hefty compensation package for his girlfriend, a situation that has caused a ”crisis in the leadership” at the institution, according to a report released by a special bank panel. Wolfowitz described the report’s findings on Monday as ”unfair and unwarranted”.

Casting off an end-of-year lethargy, the United States economy bounded ahead in the opening quarter of this year at a 4,8% pace, the fastest pace of growth in two-and-a-half years. The increase in the gross domestic product marks a vast improvement from the feeble 1,7% annual rate registered in the final quarter of 2005.

Skyrocketing energy prices will figure prominently on the agenda of the world’s seven largest economic powers when they gather on Friday. Discussions on worldwide economic matters will carry over into the weekend meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

The global economy, which has coped amazingly well with fallout from natural disasters and lofty energy prices, is expected to pick up a little more speed in 2006 and log another year of brisk growth. Still, risks remain, the International Monetary Fund indicates in its latest World Economic Outlook, released on Wednesday.

The United States economy grew at a lively 4,3% pace from July to September, the best showing in more than a year. The performance offers fresh testimony that the country’s overall economic health managed to improve despite the destructive force of Gulf Coast hurricanes.

The United States’s trade deficit swelled to an all-time high of ,5-billion in October as imports — including those from China — surged to the loftiest levels on record. Skyrocketing crude-oil prices also contributed to the yawning trade gap. The trade imbalance widened by a sizable 8,9% in October from the previous month.