GOLD

Fitch Ratings says OAO Severstal's (Severstal) decision to separate Nord Gold N.V. (Nord Gold) is neutral to its ratings.

South Africa's National Union of Mineworkers said on Friday it had sealed a 2-year wage deal with Lonmin, averting a possible strike against the world's third largest platinum producer.

A gold ATM machine selling jewellery and 31,000-rupee gold coins, but for more than just window-shopping, it faces stiff competition from traditional jewellery shops.

Palladium prices are on a tear, with the white metal rocketing up more than 10 percent in the last week on growing optimism about European and U.S. economic prospects.

The spectacular bull run in gold prices is unlikely to end soon, with bullion retaining its appeal in 2012 due to the uncertain global economy, analysts and industry officials said on Friday.

Yukon-Nevada Gold Corp said the U.S. federal mine regulator put its Jerritt Canyon mill on safety watch list for alleged violations.

Teenage girls pose for pictures beside the latest arrival in Mumbai's modern Phoenix Mills mall -- a gold ATM machine selling jewellery and $600 gold coins -- but for more than just window-shopping, it faces stiff competition from traditional stores.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel called on Friday for rapid EU treaty change to remedy the root causes of the euro zone's debt crisis but warned that Europeans faced a long, hard marathon to restore lost credibility.

Gold purchases in India, the world's largest bullion consumer, slowed down as the festival season ended, and business was lackluster elsewhere in Asia as concerns of global growth weighed on sentiment.

Russia's MMC Norilsk Nickel, the world's largest palladium producer, will sharply cut sales from its stockpile in the next two years before ending them altogether in 2014, a company executive said Thursday.

Gold prices slipped modestly Thursday as investors booked profits from this week's 3.3 percent rally in the yellow metal.

HSBC Securities is raising its forecast for the average price of silver in the next two years on strong retail investment demand and a narrowing market surplus.

India gold futures eased a tad from a 2-week high, weighed by a stronger Indian rupee, but the losses were not enough to attract physical players seeking to stock up for the wedding season.

Gold shot higher Wednesday after the world's top central banks launched a coordinated plan to provide liquidity to struggling Eurozone banks and China did likewise for its banks.

Billionaire philanthropist and investor George Soros is seen investing at least $50 million to subscribe for shares in the initial public offering of Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group Ltd, Ming Pao Daily News reported on Wednesday citing sources close to the deal.

Newmont Mining has temporarily suspended work on its $4.8 billion Conga gold project to calm violent protests and restart talks with the local community, the company's Peru chief said late onTuesday.

Morgan Stanley said it prefers exposure to gold, silver and livestock in the coming year, as such commodities perform well in a global economic slowdown.

Severstal, Russia's biggest steelmaker, is set to spin off its Nord Gold unit and could list the standalone business in London, less than a year after being forced to pull a planned $1.5 billion public offering.

Precious metals prices jumped Wednesday, with palladium surging nearly five percent, after the world's top central banks announced a coordinated rescue of the Eurozone's rapidly deteriorating finances.

India gold futures rose by more than half a percent on Wednesday to hit their highest level in two weeks on firm global leads fanned by a weaker rupee at home.

Gold prices barely moved Tuesday as investors waited to see if Eurozone finance ministers meeting in Brussels will agree to strengthen the continent's bailout fund to insure sovereign debt.

China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has ordered local governments to shut small gold mines with a daily ore processing capacity of less than 50 tonnes and is working on a plan to consolidate the sector, the Shanghai Securities News said on Tuesday.

Simone Bora is contemplating the unthinkable -- an Indian wedding without lavish amounts of gold after record high prices and a sinking rupee have dimmed her hopes of sparkling at the party.

Gold prices barely moved Tuesday as investors awaited the outcome of a critical Eurozone meeting expected to approve a boost to the continent's bailout fund and OK the next tranche of aid to debt-choked Greece.

Simone Bora is contemplating the unthinkable - an Indian wedding without lavish amounts of gold - after record high prices and a sinking rupee dimmed her hopes of sparkling at the party.

Credit rating agency Standard & Poor's could change the outlook for France's triple-A rating to negative within the next 10 days, a French newspaper reported on Monday, citing several sources. Such a move would signal a possible downgrade.

Gold prices surged Monday along with equities on hope that drastic action by France and Germany can save the Eurozone from its two-year-old sovereign debt crisis.

Silver mining company shares rocketed higher Monday as the price of the gray metal surged and the broader stock market indexes rose more than three percent.

Gold miner Polyus Gold's plans for a premium listing on the London Stock Exchange have been delayed, after an investment committee chaired by prime minister Vladimir Putin said it would not consider approval for the move until 2012.