Greece sneezed, and now most of Europe has a cold. The European debt crisis has already spread like a virus from Greece to Ireland and Portugal, and other countries are now at risk: Spain, and Italy are probable candidates for financial problems.

Contagion also has much to do with actual economic links among countries. Researchers have identified financial ties in particular as responsible for the “fast and furious” spread of crisis from one country to another. Trading activity between countries, however, can propagate economic sickness more slowly.

GENEVA (Reuters) - The growing danger of a currency war is threatening the recovery in global investment, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) said on Thursday.

Disputes between different countries about their exchange rates were adding to uncertainty which was deterring businesses from investing abroad, said James Zhan, director of UNCTAD's investment and enterprise division.

The original study in 2008 depicted a direct correlation between the spike in prices of food products and the increased global use of biofuels.

The report argued that: “Without the increase in biofuels, global wheat and maize stocks would not have declined appreciably and price increases due to other factors would have been moderate.”