Gold analysts are the most bullish in a year on speculation that investors are reducing near-record bearish bets after the biggest plunge in prices since 1981. Fifteen analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News expect gold to rise this week, two are bearish and four neutral, the highest proportion of bulls since December 2012. Short positions held by hedge funds and other large speculators jumped almost fourfold from October to Dec. 24 as the bear market deepened, the latest U.S. Commodity Futures Trad

DETROIT (AP) ― Automakers are going to have to work a little harder for your business in 2014. After four years of strong sales increases ― and limited discounts ― as the economy improved, U.S. demand for new cars and trucks is expected to slow this year. That could mean better deals for buyers as car companies fight to increase their share of the market. U.S. sales rose 8 percent to 15.6 million in 2013, thanks largely to a surge in pickup truck sales from the home construction and energy indus

Machinists in Seattle area approve a contract that would secure work on new 777X

WASHINGTON (AFP) ― U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew will call on Europeans to boost demand to strengthen economic growth during official visits to France, Germany and Portugal next week, an official said Friday.With the United States still concerned over the weak rebound in Europe, the senior Treasury official said Lew “will focus on the importance of pursuing policies to support the recovery and demand by stretching out the fiscal consolidation path in countries where feasible.”In addition, Le

NEW DELHI (AFP) ― India cancelled on Wednesday a 556 million euro ($753 million) contract with Anglo-Italian firm AgustaWestland to buy luxury helicopters for VIPs amid bribery allegations.The deal signed in February 2010 was scrapped after Defense Minister A. K. Antony held a meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh whose Congress-led government has been buffeted by a string of corruption scandals.A defense ministry statement said the government had “terminated with immediate effect the agree

The richest people on the planet got even richer in 2013, adding $524 billion to their collective net worth, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, a daily ranking of the world’s 300 wealthiest individuals. The aggregate net worth of the world’s top billionaires stood at $3.7 trillion at the market close on Dec. 31, according to the ranking. The biggest gains came in the technology industry, which soared 28 percent during the year. Of the 300 people who appeared on the final ranking of 2

Google Inc. Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt said missing the rise of social media was the biggest mistake he made at the world’s largest search-engine operator. “In our defense, we were busy working on many other things but we should have been in that area and I take responsibility for that,” he said in an interview on Bloomberg Television Tuesday. Schmidt led Google as chief executive officer from 2001 until 2011 when he became executive chairman, during which time the Mountain View, California

Company denies working with U.S. National Security Agency to create iPhone backdoor program

Gold futures, which reached a six-month low Tuesday, posted the biggest annual slump in three decades as an improving economy cut demand for wealth protection. Silver touched the lowest since July. Bullion futures for February delivery fell 0.1 percent to settle at $1,202.30 an ounce at 1:39 p.m. on the Comex in New York, after touching $1,181.40, the lowest since June 28. Prices fell 28 percent this year. Investors lost faith in the metal as a store of value as equities rallied and an economic