MARKETS / FINANCE

European Goldfields, which has agreed a C$2.5 billion ($2.4 billion) takeover by Canadian group Eldorado Gold, is hoping to keep an investment deal with Qatar's sovereign wealth fund as a fall back option.

Striking workers at Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc's giant Indonesian mine delayed on Saturday until next week a plan to go back to work after a three-month strike because of technical issues, a union spokesman said.

Is there something mystical about the number 69?

Stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Wall Street on Monday, with futures for the S&P 500 up 0.43 percent, Dow Jones futures up 0.26 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures up 0.38 percent at 4:45 a.m. EST.

Peruvian President Ollanta Humala's approval rating fell for the third straight month in December to 47 percent after fierce protests against a mining project sparked his government's first crisis, pollster Ipsos Apoyo said on Sunday.

European finance ministers will pursue plans to enhance the IMF's arsenal and press on with a drive for tighter fiscal rules in an attempt to assuage doubts they can overcome their sovereign debt crisis.

Gold prices will fall below $1,500 an ounce over the next three months and are unlikely to retest September's all-time highs until later 2012 at the earliest, according to a Reuters poll of 20 hedge fund managers, economists and traders.

Australia's Newcrest Mining Ltd., the world's third-largest gold producer, on Monday cut its 2011 guidance for gold output to 2.43 million ounces to 2.55 million ounces.

European Goldfields, which has agreed a C$2.5 billion ($2.4 billion) takeover by Canadian group Eldorado Gold, said on Monday an investment deal with Qatar's sovereign wealth fund remained in place.

European finance ministers will pursue plans on Monday to enhance the IMF's arsenal and press on with a drive for tighter fiscal rules in an attempt to assuage doubts they can overcome their sovereign debt crisis.

The euro zone debt crisis may be as much about the heart as it is about the head -- like a jilted lover, markets are just finding it hard to trust again.

Former Deutsche Bank Chairman Rolf Breuer agreed to make a non-penal payment of 350,000 euros ($456,600) to have fraud charges dropped that were brought against him as part of a legal dispute initiated by the late Leo Kirch.

Gold prices hovered in a tight range Monday as doubts that Eurozone banks have enough access to cash and the uncertainties about the severity of the continent's recession offset physical demand from Asian buyers.

European finance ministers will pursue plans on Monday to enhance the IMF's arsenal and press on with a drive for tighter fiscal rules in an attempt to assuage doubts they can overcome their sovereign debt crisis.

The euro and European stock markets were mostly stable on Monday as fears of rating agency downgrades over the euro zone debt crisis lingered, while news of the death of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il fed fears of regional instability in Asia.

European stocks and the euro were under pressure on Monday in the wake of a fresh rating agency warning on the euro zone debt crisis, while news of the death of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il sparked fears of regional instability in Asia.

Sino-Forest , a China-focused forestry company accused of fraud, said it received notices of default from its noteholders and set up a committee to look at options for the company that could include its sale.

European Goldfields Ltd said on Sunday that it had agreed to be bought by Eldorado Gold Corp for about C$2.5 billion ($2.4 billion).

Sino-Forest , a China-focused forestry company accused of fraud, said on Sunday it has received notices of default from its noteholders, due to the company's failure to file its financial results in a timely manner.

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning won't play for the team during its remaining two games, team vice chairman Bill Polian announced Sunday.

Gold prices will fall below $1,500 an ounce over the next three months and are unlikely to retest September's all-time highs until later 2012 at the earliest, according to a Reuters poll of 20 hedge fund managers, economists and traders.

Australia's Qantas Airways has agreed a pay deal with its engineers, one of three unions that the airline has had a stand off with for more than a year, a union representative said.

Hedge funds that have been in discussions with Eastman Kodak Co to help shore up the company's cash position, have cut the amount they are willing to finance, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday.

Germany's Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said the country may pay its full contribution to the euro zone's permanent rescue fund in 2012, a regional German paper wrote.

The drama over the meltdown of the brokerage firm MF Global pivots around a clash between two veteran traders who rose from relatively humble roots to the very top of the futures-trading business.

CME Group Inc, which has given $22 million to Chicago-area schools and charities over the past five years, has stopped making grants through its main foundation, citing the collapse of MF Global Holdings Inc.

The euro zone will pursue measures to tackle its sovereign debt crisis this week by offering more cash to the IMF and long-term liquidity to banks, while moving towards tighter fiscal rules, after ratings agency Fitch cast doubt on it ability to forge a decisive response.

CME Group Inc, which has given $22 million to Chicago-area schools and charities over the past five years, has stopped making grants through its main foundation, citing the collapse of MF Global Holdings Inc.

U.S. officials are offering 11 Swiss banks, among them Credit Suisse , a deal that allows them to avoid criminal prosecution in exchange for revealing full details of their U.S. offshore business to Washington, a paper reported on Sunday.