COPPER

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.

An Indonesian workers' union plans to extend a three-month strike at Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold's Grasberg mine until Jan. 15, union official Virgo Solossa told Reuters on Saturday.

Australia-listed Indophil Resources, which holds a 37.5 percent stake in Southeast Asia's largest undeveloped copper-gold prospect, said on Monday it was considering also listing its shares in the Philippines, where a key shareholder is based.

Zambia, which said last month its 2012 budget would hike mineral royalties, could cut back those rates if commodity prices collapse next year, the mines minister in Africa's top copper producer said on Friday.