Gold falls to three-week lows on stronger dollar London: Gold fell for the fifth straight session on Wednesday, hitting a three-week low as the dollar strengthened to a six-week high versus the euro after weak euro zone data. While gold has recovered around 7 per cent from a two-year trough of $1.321.35 an ounce hit in mid-April, its safe-haven appeal has been battered by record-high US equities and signs of an improving US economy.

Spot gold fell 0.8 per cent to $1,414.56 an ounce at 1000 GMT, having touched its lowest since April 23 at $1,408.19 earlier. Bullion was on track to post a daily fall for a fifth consecutive session, its longest run of losses since January 2011. It has fallen more than 14 per cent so far in 2013 after gaining for the past 12 years. US gold futures for June fell 0.8 per cent to $1,413.70 an ounce.

"The dollar is very robust and seems poised for more strength in the coming months, adding further pressure to technically weak gold prices," VTB Capital analyst Andrey Kryuchenkov said. The dollar rose to a six-week high against the euro after surprisingly weak first-quarter economic growth numbers from Germany and France, while European shares were mixed, taking a breather from a sharp rally.

While a weak European growth outlook lifts the chance of another interest rate cut by the European Central Bank, the US economy showing signs of a recovery underpins expectations that the Federal Reserve may wind down its asset purchases programme by the 
05:10 PM, May 15, 2013

Proposed US immigration bill gives preference to better educated people Washington: US immigration authorities would give preference to better-educated and trained visa-seekers who can contribute to the American economy under a less-noticed provision of the immigration bill in the US Congress. The bi-partisan bill in the US Senate would rewrite the half-century-old standards that control legal immigration to favor skills over family ties. The winners of this proposed "merit-based" system, experts say, would be primarily from Asia, particularly from India,...  
01:07 PM, May 05, 2013

Obama to contribute 5 pc of his salary to US Treasury Washington: At a time when the US is facing economic strain and automatic budgetary cuts is in place, President Barack Obama will return five per cent of his salary amounting to $20,000 to the Department of Treasury. The salary of the US President is $400,000 per annum (over Rs 2 crore) and in a show of solidarity he will return $20,000 (over Rs 10 lakh). "Obama instructed his staff he...  
09:46 AM, Apr 04, 2013

US: Dow Jones soars to an all-time high With US stock market indices more than doubling since the financial crisis and the American housing market recovering, there are increasing hopes on Wall Street that a wider "wealth effect" could set in. ...  
08:30 AM, Mar 06, 2013

Obama presses Congress for deal to end US spending cuts Just hours after across-the-board spending cuts officially took effect, President Barack Obama pressed Congress on Saturday to work with him on a compromise to halt a fiscal crisis he said was starting to "inflict pain" on communities across the United States. ...  
08:01 PM, Mar 02, 2013

Growth of Indian middle class good for US economy: Kerry US Secretary of State John Kerry on Wednesday said that emerging middle class in countries like India means more jobs and income for America while making his first major foreign policy speech as the top US diplomat. ...  
12:35 AM, Feb 21, 2013

Sensex, Nifty end at 2013 lows Key equity benchmarks ended trade in the red however off the day's low. The BSE Sensex closed down 61.97 points at 19435.21 after touching an intraday low of 19,381.82. ...  
09:39 AM, Feb 15, 2013

Barack Obama pushes for stronger economy, growth

US President Barack Obama delivered his second State of the Union address on a positive note. While speaking of a resurgent America, he said that it was time to bring more manufacturing jobs to US shores, which got a shout-out from Apple CEO Tim Cooks in the audience. ...
09:10 AM, Feb 13, 2013

Full text: Obama's State of the Union address The text of US President Barack Obama's State of the Union address, released by the White House as prepared for delivery. ...  
08:17 AM, Feb 13, 2013

Obama presses for jobs in his first State of the Union address US President Barack Obama declared the nation is unquestionably stronger on Tuesday night in in his first State of the Union address since winning re-election, though he conceded America's economic revival is an "unfinished task". ...  
07:59 AM, Feb 13, 2013

The aspirations of a billion people of India will ensure prosperity: Mukesh Ambani In an exclusive interview to CNN, Reliance Industries Limited Chairman Mukesh Ambani said that he was bullish on India and that he was more than thrilled with the India growth story. ...  
11:21 AM, Feb 11, 2013

US: Barack Obama says fiscal deficit top priority

Flush with re-election vigor, US President Barack Obama took on the fiscal deficit issue calling for the House of Republicans to immediately pass a bill already approved by the Senate that would maintain current tax rates for middle-class Americans, while increasing taxes of wealthier citizens. Obama also said that fiscal deficit was a top priority. "Our work is made that much more urgent because at the end of this year ...
09:56 AM, Nov 10, 2012

Can President Barack Obama save the US economy?

The Republicans have offered newly re-elected US President Barack Obama a short-term fix to the so called fiscal cliff, but insisted they would not cave in to tax increases to boost revenues. ...
11:15 AM, Nov 08, 2012

US: Obama heads back to a divided government Washington: One day after a bruising, mixed-verdict election, President Barack Obama and Republican House Speaker John Boehner both pledged on Wednesday to seek a compromise to avert looming spending cuts and tax increases that threaten to plunge the economy back into recession. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev said "Of course" an agreement is possible. While all three men spoke in general terms, Boehner stressed that Republicans would be willing...  
07:09 AM, Nov 08, 2012

How Obama victory could affect areas of US economy
by
Washington: Upper-income Americans may face a tax increase. Auto fuel economy standards might be raised. Stocks of construction and engineering companies could benefit. America's decision to re-elect President Barack Obama over Mitt Romney will affect all that and other elements of the U.S. economy and financial system - from the health care law to the overhaul of financial rules. At the same time, a gridlocked Congress will limit Obama's influence....  
03:40 AM, Nov 08, 2012

US Obama faces fresh challenge with 'fiscal cliff' Washington: Barack Obama won re-election on Tuesday night, but the president faces a fresh challenge confronting the "fiscal cliff," a mix of tax increases and spending cuts due to extract some $600 billion from the economy barring a deal with Congress. At stake are two separate issues - individual tax cuts due to expire at year's end and tens of billions of dollars in across-the-board federal spending cuts due to...  
11:50 AM, Nov 07, 2012

Watch: Highlights of Obama vs Romney debate

In a showdown at close quarters, President Barack Obama and Republican Mitt Romney sparred aggressively in their first campaign debate on Wednesday night over taxes, deficits and strong steps needed to create jobs in a sputtering national economy. The economy dominated the evening, as it has the race for the White House all year. Pre-debate opinion polls showed Obama with a slight advantage in key battleground states and nationally. With ...
09:15 AM, Oct 04, 2012

Obama says created millions of jobs, Romney says 23 mn jobless Denver: In a showdown at close quarters, President Barack Obama and Republican Mitt Romney sparred aggressively in their first campaign debate on Wednesday night over taxes, deficits and strong steps needed to create jobs in a sputtering national economy. "The status quo is not going to cut it," declared the challenger. Obama in turn accused his rival of seeking to "double down" on economic policies that actually led to the...  
08:59 AM, Oct 04, 2012

Romney defends tax cuts, Obama says they won't help Denver: In the first face-off between US President Barack Obama and Presidential candidate Mitt Romney, the two leaders took on each other over the US economy. While Romney pushed for more tax cuts, saying middle class Americans were burdened by increasing costs, Obama vouched for tax breaks for companies that invest in the US. Obama accused his rival of seeking to "double down on the top-down policies" that led to...  
07:58 AM, Oct 04, 2012

US Fed set to launch third round of stimulus Washington: The US Federal Reserve appears set to launch a third round of unconventional monetary stimulus on Thursday while signaling that a weak US economy may warrant ultra-low interest rates for at least another three years. Not everyone believes the Fed will embark on another bond-buying spree, and plenty of doubts remain about the likely efficacy of such a move. But Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke has made clear the central...  
06:00 PM, Sep 13, 2012