GOLD

Canadian exploration and development company Detour Gold Corp said its Detour Lake gold project in northern Ontario has received a go-ahead from the federal government.

Denver-based Royal Gold Inc. agreed to pay $60 million for payable gold and silver produced from the Tulsequah Chief project, which is owned by Chieftain Metals Inc.

Asia'a markets rose more than 1 percent and U.S. index futures also gained on Friday, as signs of a strengthening economy in the United States encouraged a year-end bounce for riskier assets.

Sweden-based Nordic Mines AB will begin trading on the Stockholm Stock Exchange Mid Cap list on Jan. 2, just days after its Laiva gold mine in Finland reaches full production.

Gold demand in India, the world's top buyer, remained subdued on Friday after prices edged higher, tracking a rebound in the world market and as the local currency pared early gains, dealers said.

Asian stocks rose more than 1 percent and U.S. index futures also gained on Friday, as signs of a strengthening economy in the United States encouraged a year-end bounce for riskier assets.

Asian stocks edged up Friday, as signs of a strengthening economy in the United States encouraged a modest year-end rally in riskier assets.

With Brook Lopez's injury, the Lakers might be the frontrunners for the Magic center.

The TSX finished higher for a third-straight session on Thursday as worries over European bank lending eased and U.S. economic data pointed to gradual economic improvements, sending financial and energy issues up sharply.

There will be no holiday cheer for hedge fund manager John Paulson this month, as his dismal performance in 2011 is capped off by another miserable performance so far in December.

First Colombia Gold Corp. said Thursday it agreed to buy a Lincoln County, Montana, gold prospect known as the Boulder Hill Project.

Gold struggled Friday as fund managers booked profits on the yellow metal's gains this year, offsetting the lift it normally would have gotten from rising crude oil prices and stocks.

Interest in arctic oil has climbed in recent years when industry, government and third party researchers independently made realizations that the amount of recoverable world-class oil deposits was greater than previously thought. That has yet to be properly tested with a drill bit.

The inflows into gold-backed exchange-traded funds that helped drive bullion demand sharply higher during the financial crisis have more than halved this year, according to Reuters data, and are unlikely to recover in 2012 as appetite grows for other assets.

Catalyst Metals Ltd. agreed to evaluate a gold mine in southeastern Australia for up to 12 months with the option of acquiring a stake in the property, Catalyst said Thursday.

The Los Angeles mansion that is featured on FX's hit series will likely go up for sale in 2012 for $17 million.

Gold prices in India, the world's top buyer, eased tailing soft overseas prices, but not enough to attract buyers in a traditionally lean demand period, dealers said.

Rising European stocks and a weaker dollar supported gold Thursday, but the yellow metal remained tethered to the previous day's closing price on light volume and a lack of anything that encouraged risk taking.

Environmentalists fear oil prospecting in the region will lead to oil discoveries, prompting greater interest in the Arctic oil found underneath sensitive and hard-to-reach areas like ice-locked seas, and further endangering regional ecosystems.

Gold lost early gains Friday, along with stocks and the euro, as an unexpectedly high number of Eurozone banks queued up for low-interest loans reminded investors of just how widespread Europe's sovereign debt crisis has become.

Thanks to monster hits like The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn -- Part 1 and art-house breakouts such as The Artist, many of the major players in the independent film market racked up an impressive year despite the industry-wide box office decline.