Mark Brooks

The head of Europe's monetary authority said in a speech delivered in Amsterdam that the central bank had already warded off "fire sales" by investors through emergency measures.

The precious metal extended its decline after plunging on Friday, when the U.S. government reported that wholesale prices fell in March by the most in 10 months.

Weak U.S. economic reports Friday followed on the heels of reduced forecasts for oil demand. Oil dropped 2 percent.

The Houston-based company said in its weekly report Friday that 1,387 rigs were exploring for oil and 377 for gas. Seven were listed as miscellaneous. A year ago, there were 1,950 rigs.

Gold for June delivery plunged $64 to close at $1,501 an ounce Friday, the largest drop since February 2012. It was the lowest price since July 2011.

The ruling lets the department store operator sell the items until a lawsuit by rival Macy's is fully decided.

In their attempts to make progress to stabilize the economy of the 17 nations sharing the euro currency, the ministers also approved a 10-billion-euro ($13 billion) rescue loan package to stop Cyprus from sliding into bankruptcy.

The bill, approved on a mostly party line 219-209 vote, is a response to a federal appeals court decision in January which ruled that President Barack Obama violated the Constitution by filling vacancies on the board without Senate confirmation.

On Thursday, the Cabinet brokered a deal with unions that scraps planned salary freezes for government and healthcare workers.

The Constitutional Court last week declared some of this year's tax hikes unlawful, leaving the government with a 1.3-billion-euro hole in its 2013 budget.

That's according to three sources briefed on the meetings, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly on the issued.

Federal prosecutors and the Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday filed criminal and civil charges against fired KPMG partner Scott London for conspiracy to commit securities fraud through insider trading.

Gold for June delivery rose $6.10 to $1,564.90 an ounce. May silver picked up 4.4 cents at $27.6970 an ounce.

The government said Thursday that 80.3 percent of flights by U.S. carriers arrived on time in January and February. That's down from a record 84.9 percent during last year's storm-free winter.

A court filing Wednesday by Kurt Mix's defense attorneys asks a judge to bar prosecutors from making any references to nearly 350 voicemails that couldn't be recovered from Mix's phone.

The benchmark oil contract for May delivery was down $1.18 to $93.46 a barrel in afternoon trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Obama's budget proposal includes a mix of tax increases and benefit cuts in an effort to reduce government borrowing and spark the still-fragile economy.

The White House said Wednesday that four of the 11 divisions under the Executive Office of the President have sent furlough notices to their staff.

Lew says in prepared testimony to the House Ways and Means Committee that the budget request put forward Wednesday represents a balanced approach.

House Republicans are expected to vote this week to prevent the board from conducting business until the Senate confirms new members constituting a quorum or the Supreme Court decides the board has the authority to act.