MARKETS / FINANCE

Gold prices fell 2.7 percent Monday, its fourth day in a row to decline, as investors raised cash to cover losses and a touch of optimism about Europe drew investors back into the stock market.

Sales and prices of new single-family U.S. homes fell in August despite historically low mortgage rates, underscoring the difficulties policymakers face in efforts to boost the moribund housing sector.

Two top Federal Reserve officials on Monday defended the central bank's most recent effort to boost growth, with one suggesting further steps may be justified.

The top two UBS executives on Monday told U.S. brokers that the sudden departure of group chief executive Oswald Grubel will not lead to a sale of the unit.

Boeing has delivered its first 787 Dreamliner to All Nippon Airways and a company vice president told employees in a ceremony they are part of a once-in-a-lifetime experience. It's a signature moment for the company, aviation, the flying public, and even America.

Stocks were mixed in volatile trading on Monday as euro zone officials played down reports of plans to slash Greece's debts and recapitalize European banks to cope with the fallout and after a decline in U.S. home sales.

Silver prices, which have lost more than a quarter of their value in the last four trading sessions, clawed back Monday into positive territory as bargain hunters took advantage of the white metal's recent discount.

Euro zone officials are working on ways to magnify the financial firepower of the euro zone's rescue fund to fight a sovereign debt crisis more effectively, a senior European Central Bank policymaker said on Monday.

Stocks rose in a choppy session on Monday on optimism euro zone officials would develop plans to slash Greece's debts and recapitalize European banks in the latest effort to tackle the region's debt woes.

New single-family home sales in the United States fell in August to a 6-month low in a sign the crippled housing market will not provide much support for the flagging economy anytime soon.

Expanded Federal Reserve efforts to boost tepid growth and cut high unemployment are justified as broken housing markets and depleted household wealth act as a brake on the recovery, a top Fed official said on Monday.

Record high gold prices will allow Mali and its partners to continue producing from the country's top gold mine until 2020, seven years past the initial closure date, the government said on Monday.

U.S. advertising-technology companies Donovan Data Systems Inc and MediaBank LLC plan to merge and create a new company called MediaOcean, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Gold will continue to serve as a hedge against risk on a longer-term basis despite recent falls, given the lack of other safe-haven assets to protect investors against global economic uncertainty, a manager at Stenham Asset Management said.

Gold's toppling from record highs, culminating in Monday's unprecedented $120 price plunge, has investors asking whether a decade-long bull run is over. History would suggest that while gold has taken a beating, it is far from down and out.

Warren Buffett's conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway said it will launch a share buyback program, an extremely rare move from Buffett that comes after months of investor complaints that the stock was undervalued.

Gold prices, which lost 20 percent of their value since early this month, will rise for four reasons, say analysts.

Former Bundesbank chief Axel Weber has asked the German central bank if he can join UBS earlier than planned, in a sign the chairman-designate wants to exert his grip on the bank following a trading scandal, two financial sources with direct knowledge of the matter said.

Amazon has unveiled its Kindle Fire tablet, so how will Apple keep its iPad customers loyal?

Many celebrities, including politicians, actors, musicians and even athletes have been named to corporate boards over the decades.

Dow Jones Indexes said on Monday an issue that delayed price quotes at the open on the widely followed Dow Jones Industrial Average <.DJI> had been resolved and feeds were showing live quotes.

Expanded Federal Reserve efforts to boost tepid growth and cut high unemployment are justified as broken housing markets and depleted household wealth act as a brake on the recovery, a top Fed official said on Monday.

The United Auto Workers union and Ford Motor Co will begin high-level financial discussions on Monday in an effort to reach a new labor deal that workers expect to be richer than one with General Motors Co .

Macy's Inc will hire about 4 percent more seasonal workers this holiday season as it anticipates higher sales.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> did not reflect its components' stock prices for more than 10 minutes at the open on Monday, as Dow Jones Indexes said it had faced a technical problem.

New single-family home sales in the United States fell in August to a 6-month low but the supply of homes available on the market dropped to a record low.

Goldgroup Mining Inc. said Monday it will buy Almaden Minerals Ltd.'s 30 percent stake in the Caballo Blanco project in a deal that will make Goldgroup the 100 percent owner of the Mexican gold project.

EU antitrust regulators are investigating whether a group of banks, including Deutsche Bank, HSBC and Spain's BBVA, is blocking new players from entering the European online payments market.

Wall Street stocks were set to open about 1 percent higher on Monday on hopes euro zone policymakers were putting together new measures to help ease the region's debt crisis, but the lack of clarity on their potential effectiveness was seen keeping markets volatile.