EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK

The euro rebounded on Friday as an early sell-off lost steam on central bank demand and technical buying, although the currency was vulnerable due to fears about euro-zone banks and a gloomy global outlook.

Gold charged to a record high early Friday in electronic trading as a host of bad economic news from around the world drove investors away from stocks for the safety of the yellow metal.

Robert Gibbs, a former spokesman for President Barack Obama, on Wednesday sought to clarify the role in public policy the Tea Party faction of the Republican Party is playing: counter-productive, to put it diplomatically.

Sarkozy and Merkel Face Ever Grimmer Choices to Save Euro

The World Bank chief Tuesday called for national governments to seek long-term debt curbs to solve the current sovereign debt crises in Europe and the United States, but said it was too early for special action by the Group of 20 nations.

Bund futures dipped Monday following overnight trading that saw equities rebound after a hefty drop last week.

This week investors should focus on the performance of European sovereign debt markets.

World stocks and the euro fell back Thursday, prompting a rush to safe-haven government bonds as concerns resurfaced about the euro zone banking system and signs of funding stress.

U.S. stocks tumbled more than 4 percent on Wednesday, almost wiping out gains from a relief rally the previous day, as rumors about the health of French banks sparked concern that the euro zone's debt crisis could claim new victims.

The global central bank community is uniting to put a halt to the current bout of financial volatility.

It took S&P until Monday to downgrade Fannie Mae ? years after the troubled federal housing agency doled out thousands of loans to deadbeats who never had the ability to repay them.

The Swiss franc hovered near record highs against the dollar and euro in Asia on Tuesday, having surged on the back of a global stock market rout as a crisis of confidence gripped investors.

Bank of America Corp (BAC.N) shares fell as much as 9.5 percent to their lowest level since April 2009 on Monday morning over fears of a slowing U.S. economy and challenges to a multi-billion dollar mortgage settlement.

Shares of major gold mining companies notched fresh gains in midday trading Monday as the price of the precious metal topped $1,700 per ounce.

U.S. stock index futures tracked a sharp drop in global equity markets on Monday after rating agency Standard & Poor's cut the top-tier AAA credit rating of the United States, rattling already-jittery investors.

Gold vaulted above $1,700 an ounce for the first time on Monday after pledges by the G7 and the European Central Bank to quell the turbulence in the financial markets did nothing to put investors at ease.

A first-ever debt downgrade of U.S. government bonds plus worries over contagion in Europe drive investors to the safety of gold.

Global investors flock to precious metal as safe haven.

The European Central Bank said on Sunday it would "actively implement" its controversial bond-buying programme to fight the euro zone's debt crisis, signaling it will buy Spanish and Italian government bonds to halt financial market contagion.

U.S. gold futures and cash gold struck records in early Asian trade on Monday after the United States lost its top-tier AAA credit rating from Standard & Poor's in an unprecedented blow to the world's largest economy.

The European Central Bank stepped into bond markets on Monday, backing up a pledge to support Spain and Italy with the aim of averting financial meltdown in the euro zone, while the G7 and G20 offered soothing words to investors shaken by a historic downgrade of the U.S. debt rating.