News Roundup -- TGIF Edition

METALS

Cash gold nears $1,000 level hit by U.S. futures - Spot gold jumped on Friday and held within sight of the $1,000-an-ounce barrier broken on the futures market after the dollar hit a record low against the euro, boosting the metal's appeal as an alternative investment.

The stars are aligned to keep gold aloft Let's consider the multitude of positives that have led gold to the thousand-dollar promised land, many of which could remain in place for at least the next few months

Power crisis causes 15.9 percent drop in production Output of platinum group metals (pgm) in South Africa dropped by 15.9 percent during January compared with the same month in 2007, official data has revealed.

Copper in Shanghai Gains on Dollar Drop, Supply Disruptions; Zinc Advances Copper on the Shanghai Futures Exchange increased as a slumping dollar renewed demand for commodities as a hedge against inflation. Zinc also gained.

US DOLLAR

Dollar's Slide Puts Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs on `Intervention Watch' The dollar's record-breaking slide may trigger the first coordinated effort to shore up the currency in 13 years, according to strategists at Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

FINANCIALS

Betting the Bank Monetary policy can have magical effects; but sometimes the magic doesn’t work. And this is one of those times

Gross, Ross, SEC Fail to Ease Auction-Rate Paralysis With Failures at 60% Billionaires Bill Gross and Wilbur Ross and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission failed to restore confidence in the $330 billion auction-rate bond market, as borrowing costs for states and municipalities rose.

Economy Hammered by Toxic Blend of Ailments On Thursday, the dollar plumbed new lows, the price of gold jumped above $1,000 for the first time and lenders raised home loans once again.

CHINA

China Factory Spending Rises 24.3%, Fueling Concern Economy Is Overheating China's factory and property spending rose 24.3 percent in January and February, maintaining pressure on Premier Wen Jiabao to prevent the world's fastest- growing major economy from overheating.

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