VENTURE CAPITAL POST

A rare five-dollar gold piece and a prized silver dollar each could fetch $10 million or more in upcoming auctions, making the American rare coin market as attractive, though not nearly as glamorous, as fine art.

Yamana Gold Inc offshoot Brio Gold has big plans for 2015 that could include a public listing and acquisitions of modest assets, possibly from big miners who are selling non-core operations, Brio Chief Executive Gil Clausen said on Sunday.

European stocks dipped and low-rated bond yields rose on Monday after dismal Chinese trade data and signs of increasingly fraught relations between Greece and its international creditors kept investors cautious.

Japanese stocks rallied and the dollar stood tall on Wednesday thanks to surprisingly robust U.S. economic growth, helping investors head into the Christmas holidays in a more relaxed mood after the global markets turbulence of the past two weeks.

The cost of lending gold returned to positive territory on Friday for the first time in over a month, capping a dramatic week-long recovery, as robust U.S. jobless data reinforced expectations of higher interest rates next year.

Asian equities gained on Tuesday as a rebound in the crude oil price gave resource-related sectors a breather, but Tokyo shares bucked the trend and slipped as the yen's losing streak was tempered.

Asian equities gained on Tuesday as a rebound in the crude oil price gave resource-related sectors a breather, but Tokyo shares bucked the trend and slipped as the yen's losing streak was tempered.

Oil prices fell to their lowest in five years on Monday, hit by slowing factory activity in China and Europe and hammering emerging market stocks and commodity-linked currencies.

Gold prices tumbled on Monday after Swiss voters overwhelmingly rejected proposals to boost gold reserves in a referendum, joining the broad rout in commodities that sent oil prices to five-year lows and copper to four-year lows.

World stock markets and oil prices rallied on Friday, fueled by hopes for global growth after China rolled out a surprise interest rate cut and the European Central Bank indicated it would step up asset purchases to boost the euro zone economy.

Asian shares took solace from data showing broad U.S. economic strength even as signs of spreading weakness in China and Europe checked risk appetite, while the yen nursed its losses after sliding to multi-year lows against the dollar and euro overnight.

Russia's central bank has been forced to step up its gold buying this year to absorb domestic production that Western sanctions are making it hard for miners to sell abroad, and to boost liquidity in its foreign reserves, sources said.

A sudden swell in China's exports of gold and jewelry may signal a resurgence of speculative currency inflows through inflated trade receipts, raising the prospect the central bank could again act to weaken the yuan and punish speculators.

European stocks, low-rated government bonds and the single currency all rose on Monday as financial markets gave a tentative thumbs-up to euro zone bank health checks.

A proposal to prohibit the Swiss National Bank from selling any of its gold reserves has the support of 44 percent of the public, a closely watched survey showed on Friday, though that result falls short of the backing it needs to pass into law.