Gold held steady near $1,235 an ounce in Europe on Friday as buyers took to the sidelines ahead of key U.S. economic data due later in the session and a hotly awaited speech from Federal Reserve chair Ben Benanke.
Two-thirds of Japanese companies expect the yen's strength to squeeze profits and 40 percent will shift production overseas if the currency remains near a 15-year high on the dollar, a government survey showed on Friday.
Thirty-three miners trapped for 21 days in a Chilean mine may get videos of Maradona and other soccer greats to beat boredom as they face several months deep underground until they are dug out.
Gold slipped on Thursday, ending a two-day rise, as U.S. jobless claims declined more than expected, denting bullion's case as a safe-haven investment.
Russia plans to discuss after October 1 whether to extend a grain export ban into next year, First Deputy Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov told Reuters, after a severe drought ruined vast tracts of the country's grain crop.
Devastating drought in Russia and neighboring countries has reduced world wheat harvest prospects more than expected, a U.S. government report showed on Thursday, threatening to renew a blistering price rally that has revived memories of 2008.
Asian stocks slid to a near three-week low on Thursday on growing doubts about global economic growth that also helped the dollar cling to its gains after it scored its biggest rise in nearly two years.
Food groups Nestle and CSM warned of a tougher second half due to rising costs but said price increases and forward buying will mitigate the impact of higher wheat and other commodity prices.
Weak Japanese economic data and a fall in the dollar to an eight-month low against the yen on Wednesday prodded Tokyo closer to fresh action to support an already fragile economic recovery.
Asian wheat importers were reluctant to commit to deals on Tuesday, as Australian cash prices eased following two straight sessions of decline in Chicago futures from two-year highs.
Drought-devastated Russia could extend a grain export ban into next year and may cut its 2010 beet sugar output, reflecting the dimming prospects for crops in the scorched Black Sea bread basket region.
Exporters canceled major contracts of drought-hit Black Sea wheat to Bangladesh on Monday, signaling the need for Asian millers to scramble for supplies from other key growers like Australia.
Wheat prices in both the United States and Europe retreated on Friday but held just below two-year highs as markets reacted to the sudden imposition of a ban on grain exports from drought-hit Russia.
Wheat prices surged to a two-year high while shares in European brewers and food producers fell on Friday as markets reacted to the sudden imposition of a ban on grain exports from drought-hit Russia.
Suppliers of Russian wheat to Asia are edging nearer to cancelling contracts after Moscow's ban on grain exports, forcing buyers to turn to alternative origins as U.S. wheat futures soar to a 23-month high.
The dollar was on the defensive and Japanese stocks fell after weak U.S. jobless claims figures heightened worries that Friday's payroll data could paint a bleak picture of the U.S. economic recovery.
Asian stocks edged back up toward a three-month high and the dollar eased toward three-month lows on Thursday, hit by soft U.S. data that highlighted the patchy nature of the U.S. economic recovery.
Asian stocks edged down from a three-month high and the dollar eased toward three-month lows on Thursday, hit by soft U.S. data that underlined the patchy nature of the U.S. economic recovery.
Euro zone member Slovakia will have strong reasons to reconsider its help to indebted euro group member Greece, the Eurogroup Chairman Jean-Claude Juncker was quoted as saying.
McDonald's Corp reported weaker-than expected sales at established restaurants, overshadowing a profit beat for the second quarter, and its shares dropped 2 percent.
Europe's Airbus pronounced the recession over on Thursday after wrapping up a busier-than-expected Farnborough Airshow with a $3 billion-plus order for dozens of jets from Virgin boss Richard Branson.
Asian stocks slipped and the yen rose on Thursday after comments by the head of the U.S. Federal Reserve added to concern about the U.S. economy and left investors uneasy ahead of European bank stress tests.
Asian stocks rose on Wednesday as investors cheered Apple's strong earnings and on optimism that China may roll back policy tightening measures later this year, while the euro firmed ahead of euro zone's bank stress test results late in the week.
Asian stocks broadly rose on Tuesday as a firm performance on Wall Street and optimism over corporate earnings offset increasing worries about the U.S. economy.
(Corrects to say in paragraph 5 to say yen near 7-month high, not 7-week)
Asian stocks rose on Tuesday, looking past weak revenue growth at top U.S. firms and more weak U.S. economic data, as shares of resource firms and banks clawed back some of their recent losses. The Japanese yen hovered near its recent 7-week high against the dollar, amid growing talk of intervention as traders wondered if Tokyo could stomach further yen gains.
The dollar hovered near a 2- month low and the Nikkei slumped amid weak Asian stock markets as the outlook for the U.S. economic recovery worsened.
JPMorgan Chase & Co raised its commodity trading risk in the second quarter, the first time in nine months, but earned less from the sector as prices fell and the bank lost out on a large coal bet.
The euro fell while Bund futures jumped on Tuesday as ratings firm Moody's cut Portugal's rating to A1 with a stable outlook.
Alcoa Inc , the largest U.S. aluminum producer, posted a second-quarter profit on Monday, as sales rose 22 percent despite a recent drop in aluminum prices.
