IMF

Major-economy government bonds fell further on Wednesday, extending Tuesday's sharp losses and driving 10-year US Treasury yields above 3.20%, causing liquidation in commodity markets including Gold and Silver.

German industrial production topped economists' expectations during October, a report by Destatis said, indicating the German economic recovery continues, contrary to fears of a slowdown.

On an interview today with CNBC, famed investor and hedge fund manager Jim Rogers said some European countries should be allowed to go bankrupt so that they can restructure their debt without hurting other parties.

The Irish government has presented what is likely the toughest austerity budget in its history, comprising spending cuts of 6-billion euros ($8-billion) and an increase in taxes, in addition to other measures already outlines last month in the so-called “National Recovery Plan.”

A study by IMF economists Luc Laeven and Hui Tong found that U.S. monetary policy shocks drive global stock market prices.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is urging the European Union (EU) to expand the size of its rescue fund in the wake of weakening market performance in the euro zone’s peripheral members.

The crisis-hit peripheral countries have more of a 'solvency problem' than a liquidity problem and their public finances cannot be brought to order without leading to a deep and prolonged recession, as long as they are part of the eurozone, analysts have said.

Despite the recent frenetic declarations by Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero that Spain does not need a bailout, the bond markets strongly disagree with him as traders continue to unload Spanish (as well as Portuguese and Italian) bonds, driving up the financing costs for the nation’s lenders to all-time highs.

The precious metals were mixed in November, with silver outshining the rest with a 13.6 percent jump, followed by palladium which rose 7.75 percent. Gold managed to end the month with marginal gains of 1.87 percent while platinum fell 2.7 percent from its end-October level.

After enjoying nearly two decades of an unprecedented economic prosperity at home, many Irish are now seeking to leave for greener pastures elsewhere as the nation finds itself on the brink of an economic collapse.

Surging demand from China, the world's second-largest gold buyer, is changing seasonal patterns in Gold Price trends for investors everywhere. At this current pace, private Chinese demand may overtake India's by 2014 (if not sooner).

The week to November 24 was marked by tensions in Korean peninsula that prompted investors to flee from risky assets to safer avenues like US dollar and gold, helping the yellow metal outshine its colleagues in the precious group. However, silver and palladium remained strong in the month, mainly helped by demand for cheaper alternatives in jewelry and industrial applications.

Standard & Poor’s said it cut its long-term sovereign credit rating on the Republic of Ireland to 'A' from 'AA-' and its short-term rating to 'A-1' from 'A-1+'.

The IMF published a study asserting that growing income inequality in the U.S. triggered the two most severe financial crises and economic downturns of the last 100 years by creating unsustainable imbalances.

The government of Ireland has released a grim four-year austerity budget that seeks to alleviate the country's debt crisis.

Shares of Irish banks nosedived on Wednesday driven by fears of a bank run as speculation intensified over government stake hike in the Bank of Ireland and the Allied Irish Banks, even as Dublin was putting final touches to the austerity plan the country was ordered to follow as part of its 85 billion euro bailout announced early this week.

Sovereign debt crises in peripheral Europe threaten to bring down the overall euro zone economy because European banks are heavily expose those debt.

Greece's international lenders have agreed to provide the debt-ridden country with the third installment of a loan – valued at 9-billion euros -- but warned that the Greeks must make an extra effort to address its deficit next year.

Futures on major U.S. stock indices point to lower opening on Tuesday as a fresh exchange of fire between North Korea and South Korea, and concerns over European debt crisis weighed on the sentiment.

The Irish government is busy finalizing an austerity plan that is expected to save about 15 billion euros, even as the opposition called for early elections in January.

The massive EU and IMF bailout for Ireland doesn't seem to be working as the euro currency, European stocks, and Irish stocks gave back early gains and closed with losses. Irish bonds are still up for the day, but not by much.