GOLD

U.S. stock index futures point to a lower opening on Friday as investors are cautious ahead of key U.S. monthly non-farm payrolls and unemployment data from the government.

China has kicked four-times Olympic gold medalist Wang Meng out of the national short track speed skating team and disqualified her from competitions for her part in a brawl with her team manager last month.

Her fate looked sealed when her family began organizing the nuptial celebrations. But the bride-to-be, a shy schoolgirl from a remote village in western India, wasn't ready to say "I do."

Gold edged up more than half a percent on Friday as investors used bullion to shelter from the storm engulfing financial markets on concerns that the United States may be facing another recession and Europe's debt crisis is spreading to some of its largest economies.

Investors fled U.S. stocks and dumped commodities on Thursday, rushing to the safety of government bonds on growing fears the global economy was weakening.

World stock markets fell for the eighth straight session on Friday to the lowest since late 2010, with more losses feared if policymakers do not come to the rescue soon to stabilize the euro zone's debt crisis and prevent the U.S. economy from sliding back into recession.

Los Angeles' restless and ever-changing food scene is hard to define, but it has forced U.S. diners to rethink their concept of what a restaurant is.

Fears of a new recession caused the stock market to take a deep plunge on Thursday making it the worst day since the financial crisis in 2008. The Dow Jones industrial average declined 512.76 points, or 4.13 percent, closing at 11, 383.68.

South Africa's National Union of Mineworkers said on Thursday Impala Platinum had improved its wage offer in a bid to avert a strike which could impact production at the world's second-largest producer of the precious metal.

South African government bonds extended a recent rally on Thursday, gaining sharply on the back of worries about the global economy that saw investors running to safer assets.

?The damage this week is more than last week ? translation, more damage from economic fears than debt fears.?

U.S. stocks plummeted Thursday, following a similarly huge sell-off in Europe, on growing fears that the global economy is sinking into a recession, ahead of worries about tomorrow?s July jobs report.

Hedge fund titan John Paulson's flagship funds performed poorly in July and sank further into the red for the year.

Nashville Predators captain Shea Weber, one of the top defenseman in the National Hockey League (NHL), was awarded a record $7.5 million one-year contract by an arbitrator, the team said on Wednesday.

The U.S. sell-off follows even greater declines in Europe.

Toronto's main stock index slumped more than 3 percent on Thursday, as rising concerns about global growth more than wiped out the previous session's late-day rally and knocked world markets lower.

Nashville Predators captain Shea Weber, one of the top defenseman in the National Hockey League (NHL), was awarded a record $7.5 million one-year contract by an arbitrator, the team said on Wednesday.

Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, is already known for her keen fashion sense, and her mastery of recycling looks from her own closet, but when it comes to hats, well, it seems the new royal is willing to spend a pretty penny.

Shares of the following companies are actively trading in the pre-market hours Thursday on Nasdaq. The companies are Dendreon, Entropic Communications, Cadence Pharma, Zipcar, On Assignment, GT Solar and Randgold Resources.

The global economy is more sluggish than first thought, government bonds offer no real return, gold is super expensive and stock markets sell off at the slightest setback.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has extended the use of 3D imaging technology to screen oesophageal and colon cancer. The new imaging system is based on Optical coherence tomography (OCT) and has the advantage of detecting underlying microscopic pre-cancerous tissues.