MARKETS / FINANCE

China will keep the yuan's exchange rate at a basically stable level, the central bank said on Sunday, suggesting that the country's new currency regime will look a lot like the old one.

One of the largest investors at British insurer Prudential will on Monday call for the resignation of chairman Harvey McGrath, the Sunday Times reported, citing sources.

Tensions in global financial markets stemming from the euro zone's sovereign debt crisis appear to be easing, setting the stage for investors to dip back into risky assets in the second half of this year.

BP is planning to raise $50 billion to cover the cost of the largest oil spill in U.S. history, London's Sunday Times reported without citing sources. The paper said BP planned to raise $10 billion from a bond sale, $20 billion from banks and $20 billion from asset sales over the next two years.

China's decision to end the yuan's nearly two-year peg against the dollar will boost its stock market heavyweights, as it heralds a long-term yuan appreciation based on robust productivity growth and aids an economic adjustment toward less reliance on exports.

SAIC Motor Corp , China's biggest automaker, said it was planning a private placement of new shares and trading in its stock will be suspended from Monday.

China will gradually make the yuan's exchange rate more flexible, the central bank said on Saturday, indicating that it was ready to break a 23-month-old U.S. dollar peg that has come under intense fire from abroad.

China said on Saturday it would gradually make the yuan more flexible, in a gesture that may deflect foreign criticism at next week's G20 summit but will not quickly yield a big move by its currency.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner welcomed China's decision on Saturday to make its yuan exchange rate more flexible, but said the test is how far and how fast they let the currency appreciate.

China on Saturday said it would gradually make the yuan more flexible, in a gesture that may deflect foreign criticism at next week's G20 summit, but will not quickly yield a big move by its currency.

China will gradually make the yuan's exchange rate more flexible, the central bank said on Saturday a week before a G20 summit, strongly suggesting that it was ready to break the currency's 23-month-old dollar peg.

Europe will push for a swift exit from fiscal stimulus programs and a focus on budget consolidation at the G20 meeting next week, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Saturday.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Saturday he welcomed China's decision to make its yuan exchange rate more flexible, and called for vigorous implementation of the change.

Gold prices are set for yet another bull run on the back of concerns running high about European economy and investors rushing for gold under haven buying. The movement well understood when most of the investors opined that gold persist as the most safe investment instrument above all commodities and equities.

As excitement mounts over the ongoing World Cup in Johannesburg, more than 2,000 residents formerly without access to electricity can plug into the soccer competition at 36 solar-operated television viewing points that SolarWorld has installed in remote African villages.

Once engorged to peak levels, the sugar prices have recently bottomed out at ten-month low levels on weak demand due to monsoon season and anticipation of higher-than-expected sugar production this year trimming the gains of the sugar stocks on the bourses.

It was a week of rise and rise for gold as the precious metal scaled new heights by gaining strength from the safe haven buying. And, it seems there is no end to the gold rally as the metal is expected to cross new barriers in the coming week.

According to World Gold Council (WGC) figures, India has retained its position as world's largest gold consumer in the first quarter owing to a 49 percent recovery in demand, thanks to peak wedding and festival season. Gold imports stood at 739 tonnes during the period April 2009 - March 2010.

The budget deficit of debt-stricken Greece is declining and will meet its target, Economy Minister Louka Katseli said on Saturday, adding that she was optimistic of seeing some resumption of growth in 2011.

Crude oil futures held on to strong gains for the week in lackluster Friday trading, after higher-than-expected inventories earlier in the week threatened to cut short the rally. At the same time, with the front-month July contract set to expire on Tuesday, analysts didn't see much incentive for prices to move above current levels next week.

U.S. stocks have momentum on their side next week, though seesawing sentiment could roil the markets and investors will scrutinize comments from the Federal Reserve to gauge the strength of the economic recovery.

Relational Investors LLC, which owns 4 percent of Charles River Laboratories International , has warned the company that its directors will likely be booted off the board by angry shareholders if it proceeds with its plan to acquire Chinese contract research organization WuXi PharmaTech for $1.6 billion.

U.S. stocks ground higher in another lightly traded session on Friday, ending a nervous week with gains despite signs of economic weakness at home and worries about public debt in Europe.

With the U.S. team playing in the World Cup tournament, Wall Street traders are taking advantage of mediocre volume to focus on the games, with trading floor atmosphere anything but dull.

Stocks were little changed on Friday as energy shares gained modestly and investors took a breather from the financial crisis in Europe.

As early word of BP's Deepwater Horizon blowout began spreading, investors panicked. After closing above $60 before the April 20 disaster, the energy giant's shares plunged almost 20 percent in New York, to below $50, in just two weeks.

The United States pressed China on Friday to move toward a market-based exchange rate but Beijing said not to meddle with its management of the yuan, setting the stage for a clash at next week's G20 summit.

BP CEO Tony Hayward may cling on after Thursday's mauling by U.S. lawmakers over the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, investors and analysts said, while chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg looked less secure.

CVS Caremark Corp and Walgreen Co ended an 11-day standoff over reimbursements for drug prescriptions, saving a relationship worth billions of dollars and lifting shares of the two biggest U.S. drugstore chains.