GOLD

Zimbabwe has instructed bankers for Impala Platinum's local unit Zimplats to pay $28.3 million in outstanding royalty payments, which the platinum miner is disputing, state media reported on Monday.

Norwegian oil firm Statoil has made a second big oil discovery in the Barents Sea in less than a year and predicted more discoveries to come in the region, further boosting the remote Arctic region's oil prospects.

A weakening dollar combined with bargain hunting, short covering and Chinese physical demand to lift gold prices Monday for the fifth time in the last six trading sessions.

Bell'O International, an award-winning designer and manufacturer of A/V furniture and consumer electronic accessories, is all set to launch a new range of in-ear headphones and surge protectors under the brand name Bell'O Digital.

The Khartoum stock exchange on Sunday launched a long-awaited computer trading system that will bring to an end an era of scribbling stock prices on white boards and also marks Sudan's efforts to attract more investment.

A one-cent copper coin minted in 1793 - the year in which the newly-independent United States of America first began minting its own currency - has fetched a record $1.36 million at a Florida auction.

In the constant game of thrones that is the Silicon Valley tech giants' battle for dominance, 2012 could be the year that Microsoft comes back from exile.

Hedge fund manager John Paulson lost more than half of the capital in one of his firm's biggest funds, people familiar with the number said Friday.

Canadian mining company Claude Resources Inc.'s proposed acquisition of St. Eugene Mining Corporation Limited will be voted on at a St. Eugene shareholder's meeting on Jan. 17. , the companies announced on Friday.

There are no heroes in stories like this. Everyone comes out looking bad.

The United States Mint said Friday public tours of its production plant in Philadelphia are being closed until this summer so the facility can be renovated.

As the Iranian rial hits all-time lows against the United States dollar in the wake of imposed international sanctions, Iranians seek safer havens in more global currencies like gold, according to a leading economist at the National Commercial Bank in Saudi Arabia.

The deteriorating global growth outlook has meant the underperformance of the platinum group metals relative to gold, although supply disruptions could provide some relief to weaker demand. Of the PGM group, palladium is more likely to outperform in 2012, given its stronger links to U.S. and Chinese demand.

Shares of companies that mine precious metals drifted lower Friday along with the broader equity market and the price of gold.

Deutsche Bank said Friday negative real interest rates, central bank buying, dollar weakness and prospects for a European Central Bank balance sheet expansion augur well for gold prices to achieve a 12th consecutive annual gain.

Heavily armed robbers tried to steal a stack of gold bars from a plane at an airstrip near a mine in Tanzania owned by AngloGold Ashanti but were thwarted by the country's police.

Gold prices rose Friday as concerns about the Eurozone's economy and the health of its banks offset the effect of a stronger dollar.

Michael Phelps has reportedly split with his longtime girlfriend Nicole Johnson. According to reports the couple split a few weeks ago right before the holiday season.

Two South African gold mining companies have reported workers deaths.

Gold mining stocks fluctuated around the unchanged mark during regular-session trading on Thursday, as miners tracked the price of physical gold, which saw some choppy trading itself.

Barclays Capital released its 2012 price outlook for precious metals Thursday. Despite short-term hurdles, a clouded macro-economic environment against a backdrop of low interest rates and political uncertainties continue to stoke investor appetite for a more diversified and less riskier portfolio.