Gold price rises over $1,000

Gold prices rose above $1,000 per ounce on Tuesday to its highest since March 2008 -- suggesting investors are wary of the U.S. dollar's weakness and expect international interest rates to remain low for some time.

The gold contract for December delivery traded up $6.50, or 0.7 percent, at $1,003.20 per troy ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It had gone as high as $1,009.70; that is the highest since it hit a record of $1,033.90 on March 17 last year.

Gold is typically bought as an alternative to the dollar among safe-haven assets favored by investors seeking to preserve capital. So its rise often correlates to a drop in the value of the American currency.

That is what happened in spring of 2008, when worries about the financial crisis brewing in the U.S. helped drive gold to a record. Gold last went over $1,000 in February.

"It is mainly the reflection of the weakness of the dollar," said Julian Jessop, economist at Capital Economics.

The dollar fell to 92.32 yen on Tuesday from 93.05 yen the night before, while the euro strengthened to $1.4467 from $1.4332 as stock markets rose and investor sentiment improved.

Jessop noted, however, that gold was also being boosted by market expectations that global central banks would keep their interest rates low for some time to come. One disadvantage to holding gold is that no interest is earned -- but rates on dollar-denominated assets such as government bonds have fallen sharply, lessening that disadvantage.

"Near-zero interest rates in many of the world's largest economies reduces the opportunity cost of holding gold," Jessop said.

The fact that 20 of the world's rich and developing nations promised over the weekend to keep in place their stimulus measures -- which include both spending as well as low interest rates -- reinforced the appeal of gold.

Jessop was not convinced gold could sustain such high prices for very long or push much higher, since consumers quickly start selling gold items to take advantage of stronger prices.

JDS Uniphase shares jump after 4Q results

Shares of JDS Uniphase Corp. climbed Thursday after the communications equipment maker posted a smaller-than-expected loss for its fiscal fourth quarter.

The company posted a wider loss than the year-ago period, and its revenue fell slightly below expectations. But it said it has "successfully navigated through the global economic turbulence that took place in fiscal 2009" and it's in a good position to grow when the economy rebounds.

RBC Capital Markets analyst Mark Sue said JDS Uniphase is "is the latest company to point to stabilizing trends, as evidenced by its improved order rates."

Improving trends in North America, offset by challenges in Europe led to the company's revenue guidance $283 million to $300 million for the current quarter, Sue added. This compares with analysts expectations of $287.7 million, according to a Thomson Reuters poll.

"Notably, through the first seven weeks of (the fiscal first quarter), JDSU saw a sequential increase in demand across all businesses," the analyst wrote. Sue rates the company "sector perform."

Shares of the Milpitas, Calif.-based company rose 45 cents, or 8 percent, to $6.24 in late trading. The stock has traded in the 52-week range of $2.01 and $11.98.

HK listing application lifts Las Vegas Sands

Las Vegas Sands shares in the US rose on Thursday after the cash-strapped company announced it had applied for a possible listing in Hong Kong that is estimated would raise as much as $2bn this year.

The casino operator, controlled by tycoon Sheldon Adelson, said it had filed an application with the Hong Kong stock exchange but no decisions had been made regarding the timing or terms of any such offering, according to a filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Las Vegas Sands has been considering a Hong Kong public offering of its Macao assets for some months as the company aims to raise funds to complete its partially built projects in the world’s biggest casino market.

The spin-off had been made possible after its bankers agreed to amend a $3.3bn credit facility last week, which allowed the company to sell a minority interest of its Asian businesses, while $500m of the proceeds must be used to repay debts.

Las Vegas Sands, which has been struggling to service its debts, also said its lenders had agreed to give it six quarters of relief from its covenants and the option of issuing up to $1.5bn in bonds.

While the company did not say how much it planned to raise in Hong Kong, JPMorgan analysts said the size of the listing, which could take place in late November or early December, was likely to be from $1bn to $2bn.

“We believe this moves LVS one step closer to a clearer path of much-needed improving liquidity and balance sheet de-levering,” said the analysts, who estimated that the company could sell 25 per cent to 30 per cent of the operations.

The share sale would be an important boost to the company’s balance sheet. Las Vegas Sands, which has opened two of the world’s largest casinos in Macao, has been forced to halt construction on some projects and slash thousands of jobs because of its financial problems.

Macao casino companies are experiencing a tough operating environment as the global financial crisis and Beijing’s visa policies dissuaded people from gambling. First-half gaming revenues dropped 12.4 per cent year on year to $6.4bn.

Las Vegas Sands shares rose 3.5 per cent to $13.19 on Thursday after earlier reaching a high of $13.47. The stock has jumped about 40 per cent this month.