Shares of silver mining companies got hammered Monday as the futures price of the metal fell on dimming prospects from China and Europe that next year will bring any improvement in demand.
Prices for silver and palladium, the two precious metals with the most industrial applications, fell Monday on growing evidence of weakening demand from China and a possible recession in Europe.
The euro zone will tackle its debt crisis this week by offering more cash to the IMF and long-term liquidity to banks, while moving toward tighter fiscal rules, after ratings agency Fitch cast doubt on its capacity to respond decisively.
Credit rating agency Fitch told the Eurozone on Friday it thinks a comprehensive solution to the bloc's debt crisis is beyond reach, as it put an number of the bloc's economies including Italy on watch for potential downgrades.
Crude oil prices advanced in Europe trade on Thursday, after plunging to their lowest level in more than five weeks in the previous session.
The International Monetary Fund stepped up pressure on Greece on Wednesday, saying promised reforms were behind schedule in most areas and the delays were stalling recovery from years of recession.
Italian government bond yields eased on Wednesday after the country sold 3 billion euros of five-year debt in the first longer-term auction since the European Union took steps towards greater fiscal integration last week.
The Federal Reserve on Tuesday pointed to turmoil in Europe as a big risk to the U.S. economy, leaving the door open to a further easing of monetary policy even as it noted some improvement in the U.S. labor market.
Gold and gold receivables held by euro zone central banks fell by 1 million euros to 419.822 billion euros in the week ending Dec. 9, the European Central Bank said on Tuesday.
Decisions reached by the European Union summit last week are radical and will lead to harmonization of policies which has not been possible so far, European Central Bank Governing Council Member Marko Kranjec said on Monday in a TV interview.
Investors were bracing for a possible mass downgrade of euro zone countries as soon as this week after EU leaders failed to come up with decisive measures to tackle the region's debt crisis.
With European Union leaders implementing measures to stabilize government finances at a Galacial pace, what represents the best asset class in the event of a government default by Italy?
A European summit deal to strengthen budget discipline in the Eurozone failed to restore financial market confidence on Monday, forcing the European Central Bank to step in again gingerly.
The euro slid and European stock markets dived Monday as investors judged that last week's pact to bind EU economies closer together would fail to quell its financial crisis.
Gold prices dropped 1.8 percent Monday as the dollar rose on disappointment with last week's Eurozone summit and key price support for gold failed.
It was billed as a summit to save the euro. It may be remembered as the day Europe lost patience with Britain, as most of the continent threw its lot in with European Union founding members France and Germany and committed to binding their economies ever more tightly.
Stocks rose on Friday as European Union leaders agreed on measures to tackle the region's sovereign debt crisis and data showed U.S. consumer confidence rose to a six-month high.
Stocks advanced on Friday as European Union leaders agreed on measures to address the region's sovereign debt crisis, while U.S. consumer confidence rose to its highest level in six months.
Italian police believe that the letter bomb sent to a top tax official in Rome on Friday was the work of a far-left anarchist group.
A mail bomb exploded at a tax collection office in Rome, Italy on Friday, injuring one.
Gold prices edged higher Friday after Eurozone leaders, in their eighth sovereign debt crisis summit this year, agreed to craft a treaty that will limit the ability of members to run-up unsustainable government debts.
Stock index futures pointed to a slightly higher open for equities on Wall Street on Friday, with futures for the S&P 500, for the Dow Jones and for the Nasdaq 100 up 0.1 to 0.4 percent.
