Sponsored by BNP Paribas

Dutch financial services group ING is negotiating the sale of its car leasing business in a deal potentially worth 4 billion euros ($5.7 billion), a Dutch newspaper reported on Monday.

by Danielle RobinsonNEW YORK, June 16 - Greece's precarious financial position has dealt a blow to the love affair US investors have had this year with European bank issuers in the investment grade dollar market.

The Gold Price continued to hold steady Thursday morning, trading in a tight range around $1536 per ounce - 2.6% off last month's spot market all-time high - while stocks and commodities gained ahead of UK and Eurozone interest rate announcements.

Euro zone inflation slowed in May largely thanks to lower oil prices, but the dip is likely to be temporary and will not stop the European Central Bank from raising interest rates in July.

Unexpectedly weak consumer spending kept the economy stuck in a slow growth gear in the first quarter and would likely struggle to regain speed amid signs of a slowdown in the pace of job creation.

Standard & Poor's cut its rating outlook for Italy to negative from stable, citing weak growth prospects and increased risks it would fail to slash its debt mountain.

Gold Prices broke back above $1500 on Friday morning, only to fall back to $1488 per ounce in early New York trading.

Energy costs pushed up euro zone inflation in April, but core prices jumped as well, confirming ECB concerns about rising inflationary risks and adding to the case for more interest rate hikes.

Gasoline and food prices hoisted U.S. inflation to a 2-1/2-year high in April, but there was little sign of a broader pick-up in consumer prices that would trouble the Federal Reserve.

Powerful performances by the German and French economies propelled growth in the euro zone well above forecasts in the first quarter while also highlighting the yawning gap between the bloc's strong and weak.

Stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Wall Street on Tuesday, with futures for the S&P 500 up 0.2 percent, Dow Jones futures up 0.1 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures up 0.1 percent at 0818 GMT.

Inside Secure, a chipmaker hoping to benefit from technology that allows shoppers to buy goods with the wave of a smartphone, has hired two banks for a Paris flotation, people familiar with the matter said.

Silver Bullion rallied from a drop below $34 per ounce, the fifth daily plunge running and some 31% below last Thursday's new three-decade high. Dollar prices to Buy Gold whipped in a $10 range Friday morning in London, trading up to $1488 per ounce - some 5.5% below Monday's record-high spike- as European equities and global commodities stemmed their losses.

U.S. employers probably took on fewer workers in April as high energy prices sapped consumer confidence and led to doubts about the strength of the economic recovery.

The number of Americans filing for jobless aid rose to an eight-month high last week and productivity growth slowed in the first quarter, clouding the outlook for an economy that is struggling to gain speed.

The number of Americans filing for jobless aid rose to an eight-month high last week and productivity growth slowed in the first quarter, clouding the outlook for an economy that is struggling to gain speed.

The number of Americans filing for jobless aid rose to an eight-month high last week and productivity growth slowed in the first quarter, clouding the outlook for an economy that is struggling to gain speed.

Gold sat tight as Silver Prices sank once more in London trade on Wednesday morning, holding above last night's 2-session low of $1528 per ounce while silver dropped to new 3-week lows, flirting with the technical definition of bear market.

BNP Paribas, France's biggest listed bank, beat forecasts for first-quarter revenue and earnings, driven by strong retail growth and resilient investment banking.

France's biggest listed bank, BNP Paribas , posted higher-than-forecast first-quarter revenue and earnings on Wednesday, driven by strong retail growth and resilient investment banking.

The dollar slid to three-year lows on Thursday, helping U.S. crude oil up to a 2-1/2 year high, and stocks rose worldwide as investors bet ultra-loose U.S. policy will continue to drive money into riskier assets.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Wednesday will likely use his first-ever news conference on monetary policy to hammer home the case for a patient approach to withdrawing the central bank's extensive support for the U.S. economy.

New orders for long-lasting U.S. manufactured goods rose solidly in March and bookings for the prior month were much stronger than initially thought, pointing to strength in the manufacturing sector.

The euro zone's overall budget gap fell last year but deficits in Greece and Portugal were higher than expected, underlining the challenges presented by their austerity programs.

Sales of new U.S. homes rose in March and the number of new properties on the market was its lowest since the 1960s, but further gains will be hampered by the broader property glut.

Spain will sell up to 3.5 billion euros in bonds on Wednesday in an auction that should give clues on whether it can avoid the bailout contagion that has engulfed the much smaller economies of Greece, Ireland and Portugal.

They're a special breed, likened to robots or followers of a religious sect, such is their unflinching dedication.

The interbank silver market [in Asia] is dysfunctional says one Hong Kong dealer's note. Liquidity is getting worse while the price action is getting more exaggerated as a result.

US stocks ended slightly higher on Wednesday after President Barack Obama detailed his plans for cutting the deficit and the Federal Reserve reported encouraging news on the economy.