FEDERAL RESERVE

A surge in food prices propelled Chinese consumer prices to a 25-month high in October, despite the government's efforts to control inflation. Food prices in the world’s second largest economy went up by 10.1 percent in October year-on-year.

Futures on the S&P 500 lost 3.70 points to 1,194.00, futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average are down 31.00 points to 11,145.00 and Nasdaq100 futures are down 5.00 points to 2,129.25.

Regional manufacturing activity in Philadelphia improved during November, according to the Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index, which touched its highest reading since Dec. 2009.

The University of Michigan forecasts the U.S. economic recovery to be sluggish in the near term due to the weak jobs market, deleveraging, belt-tightening within state and local governments, and the still-felt impact of the housing collapse.

Stocks surged, buoyed by the successful huge initial public offering of General Motors (NYSE: GM), reports that the Republic of Ireland will receive a bailout to solve its troubled banking system and better-than-expected manufacturing activity data.

In the following interview of IBTimes with Jonathan Rose, President and CEO of Capital Gold Group, he talks about the recent cool down of the gold price, the impact of the non-results of the G-20 summit, the different mentality of investors in the U.S. and Britain regarding gold, and says that the Federal Reserve and gold ETFs should be properly audited.

Boston Federal Reserve's Chairman Eric Rosengren defended the Fed's second round of quantitative easing, stating that it was necessary to avoid deflation and help unemployment. The fact that the U.S. Treasury yields have risen since the Federal Reserve announced a second round of quantitative easing does not mean that the QE2 is failing, Capital Economics said in a note.

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday announced guidelines for evaluating whether or not banks will be allowed to take actions that could result in a diminished capital base in 2011.

Construction of new homes touched an 18-month low in October, falling much more than expected, according to a report by the U.S. Commerce Department.

The US dollar dropped against its major counterparts on Wednesday after data showed October consumer price inflation was slower than expected with housing starts data for the same month also coming in at a weaker-than-expected level.

The Federal Reserve is likely to spend the entire $600 billion allocated for the second round of quantitative easing (QE2) and is open to a third round (QE3) if the economy performs worse than expected.

New York Fed President William Dudley said loose monetary policy from the Federal Reserve was not the chief cause of the subprime mortgage crisis.

William Dudley, president of the New York Federal Reserve, downplayed the charge that the Federal Reserve is monetizing U.S. government debt. The Fed is accused of doing so because it is engaged in quantitative easing.

U.S. industrial output remained unchanged in October, following a drop for the first time in September since the recession ended in June 2009, the Federal Reserve data showed on Tuesday.

President Barack Obama's 10-day Asian tour has been dubbed a failure by media owing to key failures in binding together the much-awaited free trade pact with South Korea and the inability to persuade a majority of the G-20 nations to support the U.S. position on current account imbalances.

Manufacturing activity in the New York area worsened in November with the corresponding index going into negative territory for the first time since mid-2009.

A major question emerging here in Seoul on the final day of the G-20 Summit, as world leaders personally powwow on global dilemmas, is this: Can the U.S. and China play nice?

U.S. consumer sentiment rose more than expected in November, boosted by stronger holiday sales, according to the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan survey.

There has been “big progress” in the negotiations between world political leaders as they seek to hammer out an agreement and compromise on major economic issues on the final day of the G20 summit in Seoul, South Korea.

The much anticipated, talked about, and at times criticized program of the second round of quantitative easing has begun.

Stocks, through quantitative easing, are pushed higher and into bubble territory. In a few years, the market could crash and fall as much as 50 percent, said Jeremy Grantham of GMO LLC.