MARKETS / FINANCE

New Gold Inc., which mines gold in North and Australia, said Monday it is buying Canada's Silver Quest Resources Ltd. in a stock deal worth about $130 million.

British security firm G4S Plc will buy ISS in a 5.2 billion pounds ($8.2 billion) deal pulled off by the Danish company's private equity owners after a failed IPO and against the backdrop of a slump in global takeover activity.

The iPhone 4S doesn't seem to have half as much charm as it should have had; the iPhone 5, it seemed, was what all the buzz should have been about! However, if that was the case, then what was the overcrowding outside stores all about?

Silver production last quarter at Alexco Resource Corp.'s Bellekeno Mine in Canada's Yukon Territories mine rose eight percent, the Vancouver-based company said Monday.

India gold futures were steady on Monday afternoon following a similar trend in overseas markets, although a stronger rupee could weigh on sentiment later in the day, dealers said.

Wall Street stocks were set for a lower open on Monday after the market's best two-week run since 2009 as Germany's finance minister said a forthcoming summit would not yield a definitive solution to Europe's debt crisis.

Dan Wheldon crashed and died on Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway during lap 13 at the IndyCar Series finale. But drivers had reportedly been concerned about the high speeds at the track. They were hitting nearly 225 mph during practice, according to The Associated Press.

Citigroup Inc reported higher third-quarter earnings on Monday as the bank set aside less money to cover bad loans and recorded an accounting gain banks can take in turbulent markets.

Stock index futures fell on Monday after the market's best two-week run since 2009 as Germany's finance minister said a forthcoming summit would not yield a definitive solution to Europe's debt crisis.

DUESSELDORF, Germany/LONDON - - Germany lowered expectations on Monday of a breakthrough in the euro zone's sovereign debt crisis, saying a weekend summit of EU leaders would not produce a definitive solution, in comments that pushed down the euro and European stocks.

A decade ago it was Dale Earnhardt, the seven-time NASCAR champion who died on the track. This time it was Dan Wheldon, the two-time Indy winner who died on the track. And others have fallen in between. IndyCar racer Paul Dana died in a morning warmpup at Homestead in 2006, for instance. Is dying simply an inevitable part of the racing sport, or can it be avoided?

BP has accepted a $4 billion payment from partner Anadarko Petroleum toward the Gulf of Mexico oil spill clean-up, far less than it might have won in court, but a deal that could reduce the overall cost of the disaster for the British group.

DUESSELDORF, Germany/LONDON - - Germany lowered expectations of a breakthrough in the euro zone's sovereign debt crisis next weekend, saying Sunday's EU summit will not produce a final solution, and kept up pressure on banks to accept bigger writedowns on Greek debt.

A cloud of gloom hangs over Brussels ahead of yet another summit to thrash out yet another comprehensive strategy to tackle a sovereign debt crisis that Europe has failed for two years to stem, and that now threatens the world economy.

The chairman of the world's most valuable bank was once a good communist, learning from the peasants in a collectivist commune in Jiangxi province and working to raise coal production as a teenage miner in Henan during the tumult of Mao Zedong's Cultural Revolution.

BP Plc has accepted a $4 billion payment from Anadarko Petroleum toward the Gulf of Mexico oil spill clean-up, far less than it might have won in court, but a deal that locks its main partner into its share of the blame and any future fines.

The government of Guinea will use 35 percent of a $700 million windfall from Anglo-Australian miner Rio Tinto to rebuild the mineral-rich West African nation's broken infrastructure, a Guinean official said on Sunday.

Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. halted copper and gold production on Monday at its giant Grasberg mine in Indonesia because of security fears and worker blockades, in the worst supply disruption since a strike began a month ago.

LONDON - - Oil giant BP and Anadarko, its partner in the well which caused the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, have agreed a settlement on cleanup costs whereby Andarko will pay BP $4 billion -- less than half the amount it may have been forced to pay in court.

World stocks hit a 1-1/2 month high while the euro held near a one-month high on Monday after France and Germany said over the weekend they were making good progress on a plan to resolve the euro zone's debt crisis and recapitalize the region's banks.

A cloud of gloom hangs over Brussels ahead of yet another summit to thrash out yet another comprehensive strategy to tackle a sovereign debt crisis that Europe has failed for two years to stem, and that now threatens the world economy.

The United Auto Workers' tentative contract with Ford Motor Co looked assured of ratification on Sunday night after receiving overwhelming support at two major union locals, UAW officials said.

Billionaire investor Nelson Peltz's Trian Group called for change at custody bank State Street Corp and suggested the company should consider spinning off its investment management business in order to unlock value.

Citigroup may abandon its attempt to sell EMI if the U.S. bank cannot squeeze higher offers from bidders, the Financial Times reported on Monday.

Kinder Morgan Inc struck a $21 billion deal to buy rival El Paso Corp, combining the two largest natural gas pipeline operators in North America in a huge bet on the fast-growing market for that fuel.

Ford (F), which did not accept U.S. Government assistance, has rebounded after a restructuring, and is well-positioned to capitalize on U.S. job growth, when it returns with gusto. Is now a good time to consider Ford's shares?

François Hollande has won the Oct. 16 primary election against Martine Aubry, making him the Socialist Party candidate to challenge incumbent Nicholas Sarkozy for the French presidency, but his lack of experience and foreign policy know-how may still be his undoing.

With one-third of the Dow components and crowd favorite, Apple, reporting results next week, stocks are setting the stage for another week of gains.

Greece's debt crisis cannot be solved without larger write downs on Greek debt and governments are trying to persuade banks to accept this, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said on Sunday, just days ahead of a key EU summit.