INFLATION

Consumer price inflation in the euro zone remained at 2.7 percent for the second straight month in January, data showed on Wednesday, off last year's peak and supporting bets that the European Central Bank will cut rates to help revive the economy.

Consumer confidence unexpectedly fell in January as more Americans worried about the country's weak job market, according to a private sector report released on Tuesday.

New York State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver has proposed raising the minimum wage to $8.50 an hour, and tying it to inflation.

In a remarkable statement to CNBC this morning, one of the most important dissenting voices within the Federal Reserve said the U.S. central bank's assesment of the economy is too pessimistic, and will likely change as the year progresses. Even more notably, he stated the Fed will likely begin raising benchmark interbank lending rates before mid-2013 -- a direct contradiction on a statement by the Fed last Wednesday.

India, the world's fourth-largest oil consumer, will not take steps to cut petroleum imports from Iran despite U.S. and European sanctions against Tehran, finance minister Pranab Mukherjee said on Sunday during a visit to Chicago.

It has only been a few days since the Federal Reserve adopted a formal goal for inflation, and already policymakers are missing their target.

Gold prices posted a modest gain Friday, capping a three-day rally as well as a week in which the yellow metal jumped 4.15 percent.

Stocks slipped on Friday as data showed the U.S. economy grew less than expected in the fourth quarter, while some disappointing earnings added pressure to the market.

The U.S. economy grew at its fastest pace in 1-1/2 years in the fourth quarter, but a strong rebuilding of stocks by businesses and weak spending on capital goods hinted at slower growth in early 2012.

Treasury debt prices rose on Thursday, and five-year note yields dipped to the lowest level since at least the 1960s, a day after the Federal Reserve said it will likely hold interest rates near zero at least through late 2014.

Japan's core consumer prices fell for the third consecutive month in the year to December, and mild deflation is expected to persist this year as energy prices stabilize and worries about Europe's debt crisis suppress wage growth and economic activity.

The Chinese New Year celebration is expected to increase strong demand for gold in Asia, according to industry experts.

Gold rallied 2 percent on Wednesday, rising above $1,700 an ounce for the first time since mid-December after the U.S. Federal Reserve said it will likely not raise rates for longer than previously expected due to a sluggish economic recovery.

Global growth is slowing rapidly and the possibility of ample economic slack means risks of damaging deflation are rising in some G20 member economies, the International Monetary Fund said in a paper published on Wednesday.

The Federal Reserve took the historic step on Wednesday of setting an inflation target, of 2 percent, a victory for Chairman Ben Bernanke that brings the Fed in line with many of the world's other major central banks.

The U.S. Federal Reserve on Wednesday said it will not raise interest rates until at least late 2014, even later than investors expected, in an effort to support a sluggish economic recovery.

Gold prices struggled Wednesday to hold recent gains as the dollar rose and investors awaited results of the Federal Reserve's two-day meeting on interest rates.

The Federal Reserve is expected to break new ground this week by providing a clearer window into official thinking on monetary policy and is expected to signal that interest rates will be held near zero into 2014.

The Federal Reserve opened a two-day meeting on Tuesday that is expected to end with a signal that interest rates will be held near zero into 2014.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said the growth outlook and business climate have weakened but warned of upward risks to inflation, a day before it is widely expected to keep policy interest rates on hold.

The Federal Reserve could take the historic step this week of announcing an explicit target for inflation, a move that would fulfill a multi-year quest of the central bank's chairman, Ben Bernanke.