International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde Saturday welcomed China's announcement that it would widen the daily trading band of the renminbi against the U.S. dollar in the inter-bank foreign exchange market to 1.0% from 0.5%. "I would like to welcome this important step by the People's Bank of China to increase the flexibility of their currency. This underlines China's commitment to rebalance its economy toward domestic consumption and allow market forces to play a greater role in determining the level of the exchange rate." The People's Bank of China made the announcement early Saturday. ... (full story)