S&P

S&P published a report today that shows how its ratings downgrade of America?s debt is affecting bond spreads, issuance volume, and the corporate default rate.

The continuing sovereign debt crisis in the eurozone and S&P?s downgrade of the U.S. credit rating have increased the safe haven demand for gold and the prices have reached new highs. But investors remain skeptical whether there could be further rally in the price.

Hollywood actress Jessica Alba gave birth to her second baby girl. Alba and her husband Cash Warren welcomed the baby, who was named Haven Garner Warren, in a hospital on Saturday.

Gold and silver prices retreated Friday as investors shrugged off weak consumer sentiment data to step back into stocks and give the S&P 500 a two-day winning streak for the first time since mid-July.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC ) is now looking into potential insider trading by Standard & Poor's employees before the rating agency's decision to downgrade the U.S.'s long-term debt, according to Financial Times.

There?s a chance that S&P could downgrade America?s rating another notch to AA if no serious action is taken on the deficit.

There is one thing that the doomsayers have gotten wrong: They aren?t nearly worried enough.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has asked rating agency Standard & Poor's (S&P) to disclose which employees knew of its decision to downgrade U.S. debt before it was announced last week, the Financial Times said, citing people familiar with the matter.

The S&P 500 index has not endured such a roller-coaster since in almost three years.

Gold and silver settled lower Thursday after investors returned to stocks amid encouraging news from the Labor Department and stricter margin requirements from the CME Group Inc., which runs US futures markets.

The schizophrenic Dow and other major U.S. markets indexes were having a good day Wednesday, up more than two percent across the board.

Investors will abandon stocks and continue to chase gold over the next few years, based on an analysis of the spot gold to S&P 500 .SPX ratio, Reuters market analyst Wang Tao said.

These two iconic corporations are going in decidedly different directions.

U.S. stocks took another tumble Wednesday, as fears of the weak global economy took hold.

Gold and silver prices rose Wednesday, but a falling stock market pulled down shares of silver mining companies and left gold mining company stocks mixed in midday trading.

An extremely powerful solar flare, which is the largest in the current solar weather cycle, rocked the Sun on Tuesday, resulting in coronal mass ejection (CME). But as the gigantic bursts of radiation occurred near the western limb of the sun, it is unlikely to wreak any serious havoc on Earth.

Standard & Poor's, whose unprecedented downgrade of U.S. debt triggered a worldwide stocks sell-off, is pushing back against a U.S. government proposal that would require credit raters to disclose "significant errors" in how they calculate their ratings.

Apple Inc on Tuesday surpassed Exxon Mobile Corp, if only briefly, to become the most valuable company in the United States. With a market cap of almost $342 billion, Apple's sales have been increasing 80 percent a year, coupled with even faster profit.

The amount of negative attention Standard & Poor's has received since its decision to downgrade U.S. long-term debt, would make it seem like the rating agency is public enemy number one.

Gold rose Tuesday to another record high as U.S. stocks fluctuated in a narrow range and crude oil fell below $80 a barrel.

The Dow advanced slightly Tuesday after the Fed pledged to keep its benchmark interest rate at a record low through at least mid-2013.