GOLD

Futures on major U.S. stock indices point to lower opening on Tuesday after North Korea shelled a South Korean island, triggering worries that the lingering tensions between the countries could worsen.

Key technical supports make the way downward bumpy for gold and silver, probably aided by the long-term bullishness for the precious metals while many also expect the US dollar to weaken further.

Using particles of gold, ultrasound and an infrared laser, scientists can now see into the body in m,ore detail than ever before.

A BIS study found the market judges risks of uncontrolled inflation to be relatively low for the U.S and euro zone, despite the expansion of their central banks' sheets and soaring gold prices.

In an eventful week, that passed through uncertainty about Ireland's response to a bailout offer, an unexpectedly higher Chinese inflation number and its policy response and largely mixed US data, investors remained cautious about the changing 'risk-friendliness' of commodities. In a mixed precious metals segment, silver rose 5 percent in the week and palladium was up by 4.4 pct while gold fell 1.1 percent and platinum dropped by 0.9 percent from previous Friday.

U.S. stocks finish a volatile week with modest gains on Friday, finishing flat for the week as a whole. In the absence of major economic data in the U.S., investors focused on moves by China to rein in their inflation, while Ireland continues to negotiate a bailout arrangement from the European Union and International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Precious metals slid from their day's highs on Friday in New York as fears that China will soon raise rates eroded the investment appeal commodities gained on good news from Europe.

S&P 500 Index slid 5.63 points, or 0.49 percent, to trade at 1,190.71 at 09:50 a.m. EST. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 44.77 points, or 0.40 percent, to trade at 11,136.46. The Nasdaq Composite Index fell 0.44 percent to trade at 2,503.47.

Silver and palladium futures posted sharper gains on Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) on Friday after stronger than expected data from the world's largest economy on Thursday weakened the US dollar and increased investment appeal for risky assets.

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.

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.

S&P 500 Index gained 13.19 points, or 1.18 percent, to trade at 1,192.55 at 09:50 a.m. EDT. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 122.79 points, or 1.12 percent, to trade at 11,130.67. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 1.29 percent to trade at 2,508.13.

Silver rallied sharper than gold on Thursday and some analysts see the trend to continue as many big global players are yet to cover their huge short positions in the white metal. A broadly weak US dollar, growing expectations that Ireland will soon be bailed out by the EMU and an absence of fresh cues from China about it raising the policy rates also helped an across-the-board rise of commodities on the day.

Futures on the S&P 500 gained 11.80 points to 1,189.30, futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average are up 87.00 points to 11,082.00 and Nasdaq100 futures are up 25.50 points to 2,122.50.

A day after cutting the weighting of US dollar and yen in the SDR, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said it did not include China's yuan in the basket as the currency does not meet the freely usable criteria.

Stocks finished mixed in choppy trading, after four days of losses, as investors become worried that Ireland will likely receive a huge bailout to clean up its banking system and repay its debt.

S&P 500 Index edged up 0.68 points, or 0.06 percent, to trade at 1,179.73 at 09:53 a.m. EDT. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 8.47 points, or 0.08 percent, to trade at 11,015.03. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.24 percent.

Futures on the S&P 500 gained 3.50 points, futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average are up 23 points and Nasdaq100 futures are up 7 points.

Commodities slid across the board on Wednesday on fresh signals from China that it will soon raise rates with lingering Euro area debt woes also helping keep investors away from risky assets. Gold and silver traded near their 2-week lows while copper and platinum fell to their lowest since late September. Also, December and January crude fell to its lowest since Oct. 29.

The US dollar and Japanese yen lost a part of their weighting while that of euro and British pound increased in the basket of currencies that make up the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) Special Drawing Right (SDR), the Fund said on Tuesday. The changes will be effective on January 1 next year.