EGYPT

Gold prices inched up on Monday, underpinned by inflation concerns, but a more optimistic economic outlook and worries about interest rate hikes kept bullion from rising further.

Political unrest in Egypt and Tunisia may discourage Western job seekers from moving to the Gulf region as Arab governments focus more on youth unemployment, a recruitment agency report showed.

The German newspaper Der Spiegel is reporting that the U.S. government has devised a plan for the president of Egypt Hosni Mubarak to exit the country gracefully by going to a hospital in Germany to seek medical treatment and a “prolonged health check.”

The government of Egypt – which remains the target of continued violence from protesters seeking to remove the regime’s head, President Hosni Mubarak, has approved a 15 percent pay hike for government employees – no doubt to appease the concerns of its base of support.

Google’s marketing executive in Egypt, Wael Ghonim, has been released by authorities according to several news reports.

Physical delivery times for wholesale Silver Bars in London – heart of the world's physical bullion markets – have improved. But major dealers continue to offer three-day settlement or longer, compared with the more normal two-day terms.

U.S. stocks advanced in early trade on Monday with the S&P 500 Index gaining 4.88 points, or 0.37 percent, to trade at 1,315.75 at 9:50 a.m. EDT. The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 36.63 points, or 0.30 percent, to trade at 12,128.78. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.31 percent.

President Barack Obama called on U.S. businesses on Saturday to do more to boost the economy by hiring more workers and making investments.

As dust settles down after a 12-day uprising from citizens of Egypt, leaving scores of people dead and many injured, citizens have come up with a novel idea to remember the martyrs of the uprising.

U.S. crude futures edged above $89.05 a barrel on Monday, recovering from a near 2 percent drop in the previous session, supported by the political crisis in Egypt and a drop in the U.S. unemployment rate to a 21-month low.

The rupee steadied on Monday after rising early, tracking the domestic sharemarket and some dollar inflows, but traders expected it to remain range bound during the day.

Tunisia suspended activities of the former ruling party Sunday, saying it acted to prevent a breakdown in security after some of the worst unrest since the president was ousted in a revolt last month.

President Hosni Mubarak held onto power Monday, defying a popular uprising against his autocratic rule, after the government opened talks with opposition groups to resolve Egypt's deepest crisis in 30 years.

An Algerian man doused himself with fuel and tried to set himself on fire on Sunday during a small protest outside a government ministry in the capital to demand more jobs.

Astonished by the uprising in Egypt, Western countries anxious to be on the right side of history have started to reassess ties to army-backed Arab strongmen stubbornly opposed to democracy.

Gas supplies from Egypt to Israel could resume within a week after a fire at a gas metering station, an Israeli partner in the pipeline said on Sunday, without referring to sabotage as reported in Egypt.

The Egyptian pound fell on Sunday when trade resumed after a week-long suspension due to political unrest, but the drop was less sharp than many traders had feared as the central bank appeared to support the currency.

Egypt's Banks opened for the first time in a week to queues of customers seeking to access their accounts on Sunday, but the Egyptian pound weakened only modestly after violent protests gave way to calmer political talks.

The United Nations on Sunday drove home the warning from Western nations that a transition to democracy in Egypt should not be rushed to avoid worsening the crisis and destabilising the entire Middle East.

Egypt's new vice president, Omar Suleiman, has long sought to demonize the opposition Muslim Brotherhood in his contacts with skeptical U.S. officials, leaked diplomatic cables show, raising questions whether he can act as an honest broker in the country's political crisis.

Egypt tried to get the nation back to work on Sunday with banks reopening, and the vice president held unprecedented talks with a banned Islamist group and other opponents about their demand that President Hosni Mubarak quit.