INVESTMENT

Gold prices slipped modestly Wednesday after posting small overnight gains as investors sought a safe-haven for their money, traders picked up bargains and Asian buyers purchased coins, bars and jewelry.

Europe's never-ending debt saga has investors girding for volatile, unsteady currency markets for years to come.

Japanese households stayed put in gold during the market turmoil this month, in sharp contrast to a selling rush when prices surged in August, reflecting gradually spreading recognition of gold as an investment asset.

Amid the second-largest gold sell-off since 1983, the casual observer could be forgiven for thinking that investors were dumping bullion in droves.

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso urged the European Central Bank to do everything in its power to maintain financial stability in the euro zone, saying the EU faced the biggest challenge in its 50-year history.

Five technology companies, which include International Business Machines Corp (IBM) and Intel Corp, have agreed to invest $4.4 billion in New York State over a period of five years for creating a research and development hub for nanotechnology, as said by the state's Governor Andrew Cuomo.

Gold slipped 1 percent in volatile trade on Wednesday as the U.S. dollar regained strength on doubts over the progress of Europe's efforts to tackle the region's debt crisis, while this week's brutal correction also kept investors at bay.

Four hedge funds appealed on Tuesday a ruling in the Washington Mutual Inc bankruptcy that found viable claims they had engaged in insider trading, an opinion one fund called a gross injustice.

A look at who could provide an offensive spark for the Titans after they lost their most productive offensive weapon this past weekend.

Reaction to the Icahn rumor may reflect the immense amount of investor frustration over a company that has rapidly lost its way.

Health care costs rose sharply this year, further underscoring the problem of uninsured and underinsured Americans, The New York Times reported on Tuesday.

The brunt of job cuts will likely occur in Europe and The United States.

Gold prices are plunging in September partly because struggling Eurozone sovereign states are dumping [it] in the open market, speculated Michael Pento, president of Pento Portfolio Strategies.

Gold surged nearly 4 percent Tuesday on bargain hunting and increased Asian purchases of bullion, both of which were aided by a sharply lower U.S. dollar.

A Libyan commander leading the attack on Muammar Gaddafi's hometown of Sirte said on Tuesday he was in talks with elders inside the city about a truce, but the head of another anti-Gaddafi unit rejected negotiations.

The long-beleaguered search engine company Yahoo! Inc. would probably be better off selling off pieces of itself rather than submit to a takeover in whole, given that the separate segments of the firm probably have more value than the sum of the individual parts. However, any such potential transaction won’t happen overnight.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc may cut $1.45 billion in expenses by year's end, $250 million more than it indicated in July, in a move that could lead to more job cuts, according to The New York Times.

It's hard to be upbeat about gold these days, but technical analysts are keeping their faith in the long-term bull run -- just barely.

Despite Chris Christie, and those who sometimes speak for him, reiterating his line of not running for president, that, “no means no, and he means it,” that, “short of suicide” he won’t be doing it, speculation has renewed.

Others have pondered that perhaps Warren Buffett – who's now 81 years old – is simply preparing for his exit and planning to bequeath his legendary company’s management to younger warriors.

European government officials and financial institutions are starting to make dramatic steps needed to manage their way through a debt crisis that threatens to drag the world economy into recession.