COPPER

Equities, commodities and the euro extended gains Thursday after the U.S. Federal Reserve said it would keep interest rates low for a much longer-than-expected period, providing ample liquidity to help spur growth.

Caterpillar Inc., the world's largest maker of construction and mining equipment, is expected to beat Wall Street's consensus profit estimates in the fourth quarter due to a rebound in domestic markets and consumers' need to replace their dated fleet.

The BSE Sensex nudged higher on Wednesday, a day after the RBI indicated it would support growth, raising expectations for more foreign fund investments.

Global miner Rio Tinto has raised its stake in Canada's Ivanhoe Mines, owner of Mongolia's massive Oyu Tolgoi copper-gold project, to a majority holding but said on Tuesday it had no current plans to buy more shares.

Anglo Asian Mining reduced its gold production in Azerbaijan by 15 percent year-on-year to 57,068 ounces in 2011 from 67,267 ounces in 2010, the company said on Tuesday.

Gold rose 1 percent on Monday to a six-week high, boosted by technical buying and as the euro rallied ahead of the outcome of a euro zone meeting on Greek debt restructuring.

The fourth annual Wanderlust Festival lineup has been released. Wanderlust Festival 2012 in Squaw Valley USA/North Lake Tahoe will be held from July 26-29. It's a one-of-a-kind yoga and music event that drews several thousand each year. The 2012 Wanderlust Festival will be headlined by Ziggy Marley and Ani DiFranco. Yogis scheduled for the 2012 festival include John Friend, Rodney Ye, Baron Baptiste, and Gurumkh Kaur Khalsa.

A rally for European stocks and the euro ran out of steam on Friday, with markets focused on debt talks between Greece and its private creditors that may prove the trigger for the next leg of the euro zone's debt crisis.

Russian miner Norilsk Nickel is expecting to reduce production this year to adapt to a slight fall in global metals demand, its CEO said on Thursday, but does not see a slump into another global economic crisis.

A long, sometimes violent strike at the world's biggest gold mine slashed output and cut earnings in the fourth quarter of 2011 for Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc., but full year 2011 results still marked an increase.

Asian shares rose to a two-month high and the euro firmed Thursday after news that the International Monetary Fund was seeking to boost its resources to tackle the euro zone debt crisis helped ease worries about Europe's funding difficulties.

Global miner Rio Tinto is clear to take over Mongolia's coveted Oyu Tolgoi project, which promises to be one of the world's largest copper-gold mines, after project owner Ivanhoe Mines decided to scrap a controversial poison pill.

Miner Rio Tinto, which owns a 49 percent stake in Ivanhoe Mines, welcomed a decision by the owner of the massive Oyu Tolgoi copper mine to scrap a poison pill provision, and said it was now free to raise its holding.

Hong Kong shares held firm on Wednesday supported by short-covering and gains by insurers, even as markets in Shanghai gave up some of the previous session's strong gains as investors turned cautious ahead of the week-long Lunar New Year holiday.

Canada's main stock index looked set to open higher on Wednesday after reports that International Monetary Fund could boost its European lending facility by $1 trillion to help ease the euro zone debt crisis.

Mercator Minerals Ltd said it has obtained permits to start mining at its wholly owned El Pilar Project in Mexico.

European shares and the euro gradually recovered on Monday from early losses triggered by the mass downgrade of euro zone sovereign ratings last week, but they still looked vulnerable amid rising fears of a disorderly Greek debt default.

Mining and exploration company Straits Resources and its partner Argonaut have lost a court appeal to explore an area in South Australia that they believe holds huge copper and gold resources, the companies said on Monday.

Euro zone bank shares fell but stocks seen as resilient to an economic slowdown gained on Monday in the wake of Standard and Poor's mass downgrade of euro zone sovereign ratings, while the euro hovered near 17-month lows against the dollar.

Global miner Xstrata Plc's Philippine unit said on Friday it was extremely disappointed with a government decision not to clear for now its planned $5.9 billion copper-gold Tampakan project, potentially the biggest in Southeast Asia.

Goldman Sachs said it expected upside in prices of oil, gold and copper this year, citing greater supply risks and stronger fundamentals.