MARKETS / FINANCE

Shares of Novagold rose 13.4 percent on Wednesday morning after the mining exploration company said it is exploring a possible sale of its 50 percent stake in the big Galore Creek copper/gold project in northwestern British Columbia.

Stocks fell early Wednesday as policymakers warned Europe's debt crisis posed dangers to the global economy and on signs the contagion was starting to spread to larger European nations.

Ghana will increase its corporate tax rate for mining companies to 35 percent from 25 percent, and will collect a 10 percent windfall profit tax from miners, according to a text of the 2012 budget delivered to parliament on Wednesday.

Striking union workers at Freeport Indonesia's giant Grasberg copper mine are sticking to pay demands for $7.50 an hour, pouring cold water on government claims that they are nearing a deal to resolve the country's longest-running mining dispute.

Newmont Mining Corp's Indonesian unit said output was unaffected at its copper and gold mine even though 400 workers had gone on strike in a dispute over working shifts.

Stocks were set to open lower on Wednesday as policymakers warned Europe's debt crisis posed dangers to the global economy and on growing signs the contagion was starting to spread to larger European nations.

Euro zone inflation held at 3.0 percent for a second month in October, with economists saying it had likely peaked and would soon fall in a struggling economy, giving the European Central Bank room to cut interest rates and focus on growth.

The Swiss cabinet approved on Wednesday an amendment to a tax agreement with the United States to ensure that bank clients are properly informed about requests from U.S. authorities for data on suspected tax dodgers.

Pakistan's Baluchistan province has rejected a mining lease application from Chilean copper producer Antofagasta and Canada's Barrick Gold , raising questions over the future of their Reko Diq copper-gold project.

U.S. consumer prices fell in October for the first time in four months as Americans paid less for new cars and gasoline, although prices outside of food and energy posted a slight increase, the Labor Department said on Wednesday.

Industrial conglomerate Tyco International Ltd reported higher-than-expected quarterly earnings on Wednesday amid higher sales and margins in its security systems business.

China's Shandong Gold Group, the parent of Shandong Gold Mining and a big gold producer, has made a $1 billion offer to acquire Brazil's Jaguar Mining, two sources close to the deal told Reuters on Wednesday.

Latin American gold production should increase more than 10 percent this year, Metals Economics Group said Wednesday.

U.S. stock index futures fell on Wednesday as policymakers warned Europe's debt crisis posed dangers to the global economy and on growing signs the contagion was starting to spread to larger European nations.

Gold prices regained some early losses Wednesday after the European Central Bank intervened in the bond market to cap dangerously high yields on Italian, Spanish and French bonds.

Britain is on the brink of a contraction as the euro crisis weighs heavy, and inflation w ill fall well below target, Bank of England forecasts showed on Wednesday, leaving the door wide open for more stimulus to boost growth.

U.S. stock index futures fell on Wednesday as policymakers warned that Europe's debt crisis posed dangers to the global economy and Italian bond yields remained at elevated levels in a sign of ongoing risk aversion.

President Barack Obama said on Wednesday he was deeply concerned about the continued euro zone crisis, blaming it on a lack of political will, and that market turmoil would continue until Europe has a concrete plan to deal with its debt woes.

Japan's disgraced Olympus Corp is preparing to take legal action, including possible criminal complaints, against any executives found responsible for the accounting scandal engulfing the firm, according to an internal staff email.

Newt Gingrich is the latest of the anti-Romneys: the constantly churning field of candidates who, for a few days or weeks, are trumpeted as the definitive conservative challenger to Mitt Romney before falling back into the abyss. But can he maintain his lead where others didn't?

President Barack Obama on Wednesday said he was deeply concerned about the euro zone crisis and market turmoil would continue until Europe has a concrete plan to deal with its sovereign debt woes.

A European Union plan to impose tougher rules on credit rating agencies is dangerous as it is bound to limit the quality and independence of the rating process, the president and chief operating officer of Moody's Investor Services told Le Figaro newspaper.

Foreign direct investment into China climbed nearly 16 percent in the first 10 months of 2011 from a year earlier as foreign investors continued to flock to the world's fastest-growing major economy despite the global economic malaise.

Citigroup In c is planning to cut as many as 900 jobs from its securities and banking division as it grapples with turmoil in equity and debt markets, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.

Australia's Qantas Airways is hopeful of reaching an agreement with three key unions by a November 21 deadline, its chief executive said on Wednesday, after it grounded its fleet last month in a desperate bid to end industrial disputes.

Samsung Electronics said late on Tuesday that it had purchased U.S. provider cardiac testing solutions provider Nexus, marking its second healthcare acquisition as the technology giant pushes into new growth areas.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac , the largest sources of U.S. housing finance, both said on Tuesday they would relieve lenders from certain risks associated with refinanced loans in an effort to help a government program reach more distressed homeowners.

Text messages about buying drugs mistakenly sent to a Nebraska state trooper led to the arrest of a 23-year-old man on marijuana possession and other drug charges, police said on Tuesday.

France came under heavy fire on global markets Tuesday, reflecting fears that the euro zone's second biggest economy is being sucked into a spiraling debt crisis.