MARKETS / FINANCE

Gold rose more than 1 percent on Monday as the dollar fell versus the euro after France and Germany pledged to strike a proposal to recapitalize euro zone banks, while traders remained cautious ahead of further details of the plan.

Greece's central bank said on Monday it activated a bank rescue fund to save Proton Bank, effectively nationalizing the small lender that is under investigation for possible violation of the country's money-laundering laws.

The euro rose on Monday after German and French leaders promised to announce fresh steps to tackle the euro zone debt crisis by the end of the month, but the lack of details kept government bonds supported and world stocks gave up brief early gains.

European index futures rose on Monday, following small gains for Asian shares, and the euro firmed 1 cent after the leaders of France and Germany pledged to unveil a plan to solve the euro zone's sovereign debt crisis by the end of the month.

Franco-Belgian bank Dexia agreed early on Monday to the nationalization of its Belgian banking division and secured state guarantees in a rescue that could pressure other euro zone governments to strengthen their banking sectors.

British Prime Minister David Cameron has called for safeguards to prevent France and other eurozone countries from distorting the EU's single market in an attempt to shift financial services from Britain to the single currency area, the Financial Times reported on Monday.

The Belgium government offered to buy Dexia's Belgian banking business for 4 billion euros ($5.4 billion) and would provide the bulk of guarantees for the parent group's leftover assets, the Belgian prime minister said on Monday.

The Belgium government offered to buy Dexia's Belgian banking business for 4 billion euros ($5.4 billion) and would provide the bulk of guarantees for the parent group's leftover assets, the Belgian prime minister said on Monday.

Global banking regulators will press ahead with the first worldwide effort to force banks to hold more liquid assets, the chairman of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision said in an interview with the Financial Times on Monday.

Franco-Belgian bank Dexia was set to be broken up and partly nationalised after being slammed by a funding squeeze in the latest warning sign about the health of Europe's struggling lenders.

For the last few years, a widely circulated joke about Jerry Yang was that he had the best tan in Silicon Valley from all the time he spent on Stanford University's golf course.

Elevated audit fees can be a red flag of problems to come for a company, say three recent academic studies that together warn about increased chances of fraud, stock price declines or financial restatements.

Top French banks BNP Paribas and Societe Generale denied a report that they could seek to raise a combined 11 billion euros ($14.8 billion) as part of a broader European bank recapitalization plan.

France, Belgium and Luxembourg agreed to a rescue plan for Dexia SA on Sunday ahead of a planned board meeting expected to decide on a break-up of the first lender to fall victim to the euro zone crisis.

Incredibly, U.S. home mortgage rates continue to trend lower -- the average 30-year, fixed rate is now 4.07 percent, and they could drop even lower. Still, given soft home prices, jumping into the housing market is hardly a slam-dunk no-brainer, and here are five factors to consider before buying a home.

Investors tiring of the euro zone's debt crisis dragging the market all over the place are hoping to focus on something else this week -- earnings.

The leaders of Germany and France promised Sunday to unveil a new comprehensive package for solving the euro zone's debt crisis by the end of the month, but offered no details and papered over differences on how to shore up European banks.

General Motors Co said it was recalling about 6,000 Chevrolet Corvette Coupes over a concern they may fail to meet a federal safety standard covering rear hinges.

For the last few years, a widely circulated joke about Jerry Yang was that he had the best tan in Silicon Valley from all the time he spent on Stanford University's golf course.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel will thrash out differences with French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Sunday over how to use the euro zone's financial firepower to counter a sovereign debt crisis threatening the global economy.

South Africa's gold reserves fell last month by 11.3 percent, or $827 million, as the result of a stronger U.S. dollar, the nation's central bank said. Their value declined despite a small increase in the physical amount of those reserves.

France, Belgium and Luxembourg agreed a rescue plan for Dexia SA on Sunday ahead of a planned board meeting expected to decide on a break-up of the first lender to fall victim to the euro zone crisis.

The International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes has advised Crystallex International Corp. that proceedings in its $3.8 billion case against Venezuela for nationalizng gold-mining assets has begun.

French and Belgian prime ministers began talks aimed at finalizing a rescue of Dexia bank ahead of a planned board meeting expected to pave the way for a breakup of the first lender to fall victim to the euro zone crisis.

Sudan said Sunday it expects its mining industry to produce around 7 metric tons (tonnes) of gold this year, and it plans to launch a gold refinery next year.

Greece is at a crossroads and will need to implement much stricter structural reforms than seen so far, IMF mission chief to Greece Poul Thomsen was quoted as saying by a German paper on Saturday.

Saudi Arabia's inflation levels are not worrying and will continue to decline, the country's central bank governor Muhammad Al-Jasser said on Saturday.

France and Belgium were set finalize the break-up Sunday of Dexia, the first bank to fall victim to the euro zone sovereign debt crisis, with global credit risk exposure of 512 billion euros ($691 billion).

European banks may need more than 100 billion euros ($135 billion) to withstand the sovereign debt crisis, Ireland estimated on Saturday ahead of a meeting between German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy to work out how to recapitalize the lenders.