EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK

The Federal Reserve showed on Wednesday it was in no rush to cut short its rescue of the U.S. economy, saying high unemployment still justified its $600 billion bond-buying plan even though the economy has

Gold fell to its lowest in ten weeks on Tuesday, putting the price on course for its worst monthly performance in 13 months as safe-haven demand evaporated and investors booked further profits on the 2010 rally.

Asian stocks rose on mild bargain buying after a sell-off last week, while the euro hovered near a nine-week high before a Fed meeting this week where it is expected to paint a cautious view of the world's biggest economy.

Europe's financial system is a mess right now compared to the US financial system. However, it doesn't have to be this way, according to hedge fund heavyweight David Tepper.

Reports that some financial institutions have started to exit their gold positions have been circulating this week, says French bank and London bullion dealer Natixis in its latest commodity analysis. Physically-backed ETF trust funds shrank almost 1% this week on Natixis' data - the sharpest weekly drop since we started keeping records in 2008.

Gold rebounded slightly on Monday from a one-percent fall in the previous session, after China further tightened its monetary policy to curb inflation, and holdings in the gold-backed exchange-traded fund continued falling.

Bullion rebounded on Friday as the euro lost strength despite better-than-forecast debt auctions by Spain and Italy, while purchases from jewellers and investors, which sent premiums for gold bars to two-year highs, offered additional support.

Inflation risks in the euro zone could well move to the upside and the 17-country region's economic outlook has clearly improved, European Central Bank Governing Council Axel Weber said on Friday.

Gold fell in Europe on Friday after China's central bank raised lenders' reserve requirements by 50 basis points, with softer haven demand for the metal after solid bond sales by Portugal and Spain also weighing on prices.

The Euro extended its rally on the currency markets, spiking to a 4-week high vs. the Dollar of $1.3450 before easing back. Thus, Gold priced in Euros dropped almost 5% from Monday's near-record high.

Spain and Italy staged successful bond sales on Thursday, easing concerns about an escalation of euro zone debt strife and buying the bloc's leaders more time to come up with a new package of anti-crisis measures.

Gold holdings rose because of purchase by the central bank of Estonia to cover its contribution to the ECB's foreign reserve assets, the ECB said.

The extra fiscal stimulus in the form of tax cuts approved in December could produce a 4 percent growth rate for the U.S. economy in the first half of 2011, but there are lingering risks that could lead to a cold shower in 2012, according to the American Enterprise Institute (AEI).

The European Union's top economics official called on Wednesday for a strengthening of Europe's financial safety net as Portugal, widely seen as the next candidate for a bailout, returned to the market for funds.

The Gold Price in Euros whipped within 1.5% of last month's all-time record highs in London trade on Monday, as weaker-economy Eurozone bonds fell sharply on a raft of bail-out rumors and leaks.

Douglas C. Borthwick, Managing Director of Faros Trading, reviews the global currency markets from 2010 and provides some outlook and guidance for 2011

Euro zone reforms designed to penalize spendthrift peripheral nations are still not adequate to alleviate the currency bloc’s problems, said European Central Bank (ECB) governing council member Yves Mersch.

Unless the European Union (EU) formulates an effective response to the ongoing debt crisis in Europe, the continent faces a new wave of bank failures and a string of sovereign defaults, according to Willem Buiter, the chief economist at Citigroup.

The euro crisis is far from over and the peripheral members of the euro zone should temporarily exit the currency bloc and get their financial houses in order, said a Pimco bond fund manager. Otherwise, current policies are ineffective in the absence of fiscal unity and will likely lead to a break-up of the euro.

Consumer confidence in Germany is slipping, as people are unsure about the economic recovery in the region and their personal income, a survey said on Tuesday.

The European Central Bank (ECB) has expressed concerns about some of the points in the Credit Institutions Bill that is being proposed by Ireland as part of a restructuring of its banking system.