U.S.

A top U.S. trade official said on Wednesday he will raise industry concerns about China's indigenous innovation policies that threaten U.S. intellectual property rights when he visits Beijing next week. What we're trying to do with the Chinese is address the very serious concerns that have been raised, Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Demetrios Marantis said in remarks to the Washington International Trade Association.

U.S. gold rose to its highest since January on Wednesday, rising toward $1,150 an ounce, as renewed worries over Greece's ability to resolve its debt crisis prompted investors to pile into the metal as a safe haven.

U.S. gold rose to a one-month high on Tuesday in the face of a stronger dollar, boosted by safe-haven demand driven by currency uncertainties and worries about Greece and other euro-zone economies.

U.S. palladium and platinum futures rose to their highest since 2008 on Monday on strong physical demand and better sentiment, and gold contracts hit a two-week high in thin post-holiday trade.

UAE's largest oil company, Abu Dhabi National Oil Co (ADNOC) followed Saudi Arabia's Aramco in raising crude oil prices for Asia and US. In a statement, Adnoc said it raised March crude selling prices more than 5 percent to the highest since November. The Abu Dhabi-based company increased the price for Murban crude, its largest export grade, to $78.30 a barrel. Lower Zakum crude rose the most, adding $4.20 a barrel, or 5.7 percent, to $78.15 a barrel.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner will try to strengthen bilateral ties with India during talks in New Delhi this week, but his visit may be overshadowed by Washington's tense relationship with China. Both the United States and India will be simultaneously pushing trade and foreign exchange agendas with China, as they discuss cooperation on infrastructure development and financial markets.

The Obama administration will defer a decision on whether to name China a currency manipulator until well after President Hu Jintao visits Washington for a nuclear proliferation summit, the New York Times reported on Friday.

In a bid to corner more profits for cash-scarce oil companies, the US president Barack Obama has today announced that his administration would consider offshore drilling in the mid and south Atlantic and in the Gulf of Mexico. The move is expected to help increase employment and ease gas prices in the country. However, Obama, who needs bipartisan support to pass a bill that would set limits on US greenhouse gas emissions, cautioned that expanding drilling was not a catch-all answer to US energy ...

The U.S. economy is still in a tough spot but is gradually regaining its balance after a series of policy mistakes that made the country weaker and less secure, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Wednesday. We are coming back, and we are coming back faster and stronger than most people predicted -- faster and stronger than Europe and Japan, Geithner said after meeting with steel executives and union leaders here.

U.S. Department of Energy announced that it will work with organizations in China on joint research initiatives over the next five years. A total of $37.5 million will be invested in the joint research, said the department, adding that around $75 million will be used for the improvement of energy efficiency, clean coal technologies, carbon sequestration and green vehicles.

Facing enormous energy shortage, Vietnam on Tuesday signed an agreement with the US to boost nuclear energy production in the country. According to Vietnam's energy ministry, the deal will help the country to meet growing energy demand as it allows U.S. firms to help build nuclear plants in the country.

Sustained inflation has rised the denomination values of US coins over the years, according to National Inflation Association which has launched 'Coin Melt Values' as a new feature in its website http://inflation.us/coins. It is updated daily with the latest melt values of U.S. coins that are currently in circulation or were previously in circulation. The purpose of NIA's new feature is to demonstrate how over time, inflation makes U.S. coins worth more than their denomination values, a NIA pres...

U.S. gold futures finished Thursday with moderate gains, bouncing from a 6-week low hit overnight, and ending a choppy session in which prices were batted around by gyrations in the euro, oil and U.S. equity prices as well as impact from gold options expirations. * For the latest detailed report, click on [GOL/].

Over the past 18 months, the inverse relationship between the US dollar and global equities markets has proven to be the single constant in an otherwise uncertain economic climate. When equities markets reached their nadir in March, 2009, the US dollar was sitting atop its highest levels, though much of that value would be lost in the equities-rebound that would follow.

* COMEX April GCJ0 down $12.20 at $1,091.50 an ounce at 9:48 a.m. EDT (1348 GMT). * Ranged $1,106 to $1,087.80 - lowest since Feb. 12. * Gold pressured as dollar jumped over 1 percent against the euro and a basket of currencies .DXY. [USD/] * Weak euro, losses in equities markets drag gold lower - Peter Buchanan, senior economist at CIBC World Markets. * U.S. currency extends gains after data showed new orders for durable goods rose for third straight month in February.

With Google expected to decide soon whether to close its Chinese search engine, students at one of the schools cited by some reports for being behind hacking attacks on the Internet giant are decidedly ambivalent.

The Federal Communications Commission wants speed up the U.S. average from the current 4Mbps to 100Mbps, and plans to have broadband in every U.S. home by 2020.

U.S. gold futures rose above $1,120 an ounce on Tuesday, gaining 1.5 percent, as an oil rally prompted commodity funds to buy ahead of an interest rate decision and policy statement by the Federal Reserve.

Noted global investing advisor Marc Faber says people need to accumulate some gold every month as the yellow metal is the best bet against plunging currencies. He said since gold is the only 'currency and commodity' that can withstand economic turmoils and large fiscal deficits of nations, it is imperative that people continue to buy gold. Gold is the best and soundest investment in the world, he said.

The United States should not make a political issue out of the yuan, a Chinese central banker said on Friday, as the two countries lurched toward a potential bust-up over Beijing's currency regime.

U.S. energy reform has stalled now that the Democrats have lost their filibuster-proof majority in the Senate and Republicans drift to a more negative position, a top industry executive said on Saturday.