South Korea plans to allow state firms to borrow more abroad, the latest in a series of policy flip-flops in recent months that analysts say could undermine  already weakening confidence among investors toward the country.

The U.S. dollar was steady on Wednesday after rebounding the previous day when Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the central bank may extend its direct lending to Wall Street investment banks, soothing some worries about the financial system's health.

Oil rose toward $137 a barrel on Wednesday after falling more than $5 a day ago when the Federal Reserve chairman said that emergency cash may be available past year-end, boosting the dollar and U.S. stocks.

Oil prices fell again Tuesday, bringing it down more than $9 since Monday, while stocks rose. Following are the day's top five videos.

South Korea's foreign exchange authorities followed up on morning dollar sales to lift the won, selling a further $500 million in the afternoon on Tuesday and bringing the day's intervention to as much as $2 billion, traders said.

Oil tumbled to near $136 on Tuesday as the dollar gained and concern eased over an Atlantic hurricane.

The dollar rebounded broadly on Tuesday, lifted by comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, who said the central bank is willing to keep its emergency lending facility open beyond the end of the year for big Wall Street firms.

The almighty dollar is mighty no more. It has been declining steadily for six years against other major currencies, undercutting its role as the leading international banking currency. The long slide is fanning inflation at home and playing a major role in the run-up of oil and gasoline prices everywhere.

The dollar fell against the euro and erased gains versus the yen Monday as U.S. stocks deepened losses on worries about the credit crisis and the health of the financial sector.

Oil dropped almost $4 a barrel on profit-taking and signals that Iran will be more flexible in negotiations over its nuclear program.

Oil dropped below $145 a barrel on Friday, but was still within sight of record highs reached in the previous session when traders bought into the market ahead of a holiday weekend in the United States.

The euro hit a one-week lows versus the dollar on Friday, deflated after the European Central Bank signalled it wasn't planning another rate rise and as U.S. jobs data did not deliver a big downside surprise.

Euro-zone rates rose to 4.25% as the central bank fights inflation, but ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet's message was slightly dovish.

Payrolls likely dropped by 60,000 in June, while the jobless rate is expected to have fallen to 5.4 percent from 5.5 percent in May.

The dollar rallied on Thursday after U.S. payroll data suggested the job market was not as dire as many investors had feared while the European Central Bank president struck a less aggressive tone on prospects for rate hikes.