IBT Staff Reporter

Agricultural Bank of China, the country's No.3 bank by assets, has closed the books on its dual Hong Kong and Shanghai share sale and is on track to raise around $20 billion in what could be the world's largest ever IPO.

World stocks bounced higher on Tuesday from a recent five-week low in a broad risk rally that boosted oil prices, while investors sold off the dollar and government bonds.

India's investors are slowly waking up to the reality that gold is a good investment option. In fact, asset management companies' are increasingly trying to woo investors. An allocation to gold is a standard fixture in many of the recent new fund offerings and even a bullion fund which was launched recently.

U.S. stock index futures rose sharply on Tuesday, tracking gains in global equity markets, as investors looked to rebound from its worst week in two months.

Oil prices changed direction on Tuesday after several days of declines and rose to near $73 a barrel as rallying equities boosted expectations for the pace of global fuel demand growth. U.S. crude for August delivery rose 85 cents to $72.99 a barrel by 0957 GMT (5:57 a.m. EDT), after earlier falling more than $1 to its lowest level in over a month.

Gold rose back above $1,210 an ounce in Europe on Tuesday as physical demand for the precious metal recovered after last week's price dip, and as the weaker dollar encouraged some buying. Spot gold was bid at $1,210.85 an ounce at 0952 GMT (5:52 a.m. EDT), against $1,206.95 late in New York on Monday. U.S. gold futures for August delivery firmed $3.90 an ounce to $1,211.60.

The Australian dollar rallied on Tuesday after an upbeat assessment of the global economy by the Reserve Bank of Australia, which stoked short-covering demand for higher-risk currencies, including the euro.

Stock futures rose on Tuesday, pointing to a higher open for Wall Street as the market resumes trading after a holiday on Monday.

Gold rose slightly on Tuesday after a recent drop in prices spurred buying from jewelers in Asia, but a firmer U.S. dollar and volatile stock markets could prompt speculators to sell bullion to cover losses. Gold's failure to revisit a recent record could also spur some selling, though dealers expected jewelers to snap up the metal at lower levels. Platinum fell to its weakest since late May on lower equities, while palladium saw bargain buying after recent declines.

Oil reversed early losses, rising more than $1 from Tuesday's trough, as the dollar tumbled and Asian stock markets rebounded amid easing concern about the slowdown in the global economic recovery. U.S. crude for August delivery climbed 44 cents to $72.58 a barrel by 0731 GMT (3:31 a.m. EDT), after earlier falling as much as $1.05 to $71.09 a barrel, its lowest since June 8 and down 1.5 percent from Friday's settlement.

The euro and Australian dollar rebounded from early losses against the dollar and yen on Tuesday after a statement by Australia's central bank helped dispel some gloom about the economic outlook and led to short-covering.

British oil company BP has approached sovereign wealth funds with a view to securing a strategic investor to fend off takeover bids while it deals with its massive U.S. oil spill, a senior UAE source said on Tuesday.

The managers of China's hoard of currency reserves defended their investment record on Tuesday, saying they had avoided big losses during the global crisis and voicing confidence they could achieve stable long-term returns.

The dollar and the yen gained in thin trade as investors reduced risk positions on Tuesday, while the Australian dollar fell ahead of a central bank decision where it is widely expected to be keep interest rates steady.

China has boosted its purchases of Japanese government bonds this year, snapping up a net 541 billion yen ($6 billion) of mostly short-term JGBs in January-April, double the record amount logged for all of 2005, the Nikkei business daily reported.

Gold prices eased further in Asian trade Tuesday as the dollar strengthened against the euro amid weak equity markets. Gold for immediate delivery was seen trading at $ 1205.89 an ounce at 12.00 noon Singapore time while U S gold futures for August delivery was at 1206.02 an ounce.

Till now Zimbabwe was the main country which has been drawing flak from across the world for the blood diamonds from its now infamous Marange diamond fields. But now, super model Naomi Campbell is in the eye of a storm for accepting blood diamonds as gift.

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U.S. DVD rental service Netflix Inc said it has signed a deal with media company Relativity Media LLC to stream major theatrical movies to Netflix customers before they are shown on premium pay-television channels.

Asian stocks reversed course and inched up on Tuesday taking heart from gains in the Chinese market led by property and bank stocks, while the Australian dollar dribbled higher after the central bank sounded cautiously optimistic on the economic outlook.

Agricultural Bank of China, the country's No.3 bank by assets, is set to price its dual Hong Kong and Shanghai IPO late on Tuesday, determining whether it will become world's largest ever share offer.

Citigroup Inc is weighing moving about two dozen proprietary traders to desks that trade with clients as some banks try to find new positions for star traders amid financial regulation overhaul, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday.

China's property market is beginning a collapse that will hit the banking system, Harvard University economics Kenneth Rogoff told Bloomberg Television.

Fujitsu Ltd, Japan's biggest IT services firm, said on Tuesday that it would allow software developers to run their programs on its hardware free of charge so that they can examine performance.

News Corp is in talks with Google Inc, Microsoft Corp and Yahoo Inc about advertising on MySpace, as an existing contract with Google ends, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday.

SUN VALLEY, Idaho - Industry power players are getting ready for the annual post-July 4 tradition known as summer camp for moguls.

A Bank of America Corp board member wanted an outsider to take over as chief executive in December but eventually gave in to backing Brian Moynihan for the post, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday.

Asian stocks slipped on Tuesday on growing investor concerns of slower economic growth in the United States and China, the main pillars of the world economy, and fading risk appetite sent the yen up against the dollar and the euro.

Shareholders in BP balked on Monday at reports the energy giant would seek a strategic investor to ward off takeover bids while the company's massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico spread.