COPPER

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.

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.

Asian equities and U.S. stock index futures fell, with South Korean shares tumbling as much as 5 percent, while the dollar gained on safe-haven appeal after news of the death of North Korea leader Kim Jong-il raised fears of regional instability.

Gold found a bottom to bounce off Friday as investors, especially those focused on bullion, responded to the bargains emerging from this week's huge price drops.

Chile-focused Cerro Grande Mining Corp., which produces gold, silver and copper, swung to a profit in the fiscal year ended Sept. 30 on lower costs and higher sales.

Asian shares rose and the euro edged higher Friday, as signs of strength in the U.S. economy temporarily broke through gloom over the European debt crisis that had driven a selloff in riskier assets over the past three days.

Gold prices extended losses to a fourth session Thursday but the decline was far less than the previous day's plunge as weaker crude oil prices offset support from dollar weakness.

Wall Street was set to open slightly lower on Wednesday with traders focused on a sliding euro and rising Italian bond yields as market anxiety over Europe persisted.

Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. and its Indonesian union signed a pay deal on Wednesday to end a three-month strike that had paralysed output at the world's second-biggest copper mine, a union official and the company said.

Stock index futures fell in light Wednesday trading, pressured by a decline in the euro and by rising Italian bond yields.

The secrets of the hidden inner chamber inside the Great Pyramid of Giza, also called the Pyramid of Khufu, have long since puzzled researchers, for well over a century. However, they may finally be unraveled next year, according to a research team exploring the site.

Asian shares drifted lower and the euro idled near an 11-month low on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve failed to take any new steps to stimulate growth and offset the chilling effects of Europe's still-unresolved sovereign debt crisis.

Striking workers at Freeport Indonesia will return to work on Saturday after agreeing to a pay deal to end a three-month dispute that has paralyzed output at the world's second-biggest copper mine, a union official said on Wednesday.

Papua New Guinea's governor-general decided on Tuesday that the two men claiming to be the resource-rich country's prime minister must negotiate a solution, leaving a tense political deadlock unresolved.

Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc and its Indonesian workers' union expect to sign a pay deal on Tuesday to end a three-month strike that has crippled production at the world's second-biggest copper mine, two sources told Reuters.

An independent arbitrator cleared the way on Tuesday for mining group Rio Tinto Plc/Ltd to take over Ivanhoe Mines Ltd, saying the $16 billion Canadian group's poison pill defense was not valid.

Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc and its Indonesian workers' union expect to sign a pay deal on Tuesday to end a three-month strike that has crippled production at the world's second-biggest copper mine, two sources told Reuters.

Spain's pre-historic burial chambers have survived invasion, war, a long dictatorship and a property bubble which paved over vast tracts of the country.

African Barrick Gold Plc (ABG) has agreed with the Tanzanian government to raise the royalty rate it pays on gold exports, the country's minerals ministry said on Monday.

Stocks fell on Monday on lingering concerns over a deal for economic integration in Europe and after Intel cut its revenue outlook.

By appointing Valdes, Humala may be seeking to impose a more authoritarian-style government in Peru.