Market Survey

SHANGHAI, CHINA ?China will consume a record 350 tons of gold this year amid surging sales of gold bullion, up 17 per cent from 2005, the official Xinhua News Agency reported Tuesday. Gold output in China is likely to top 240 tons this year, with industry profits exceeding 5.5-billion yuan, or $700-million (U.S.), the report said, citing the chairman of the China Gold Association, Cheng Fumin. China is the world's third-biggest consumer of gold after India and the United States. Gold use in..

Washington��If Santa only knew. Instead of knocking out items on their work to-do lists, employees may well be holiday shopping at their desks today, a new survey suggests.With Black Friday now over, the holiday shopping frenzy has moved online with expected to draw 60.7 million consumers shopping from home or work today, according to a Shop.org survey conducted this weekend by Big Research. Today, expected to be one of the biggest online shopping days of the year, starts the holiday season i..

Washington��The holiday shopping season is off to a strong start, says surveys released this weekend, as consumers across the country clamored for Black Friday bargains on everything from clothing to electronics.According to ShopperTrak RCT Corp.'s National Retail Sales Estimate, Black Friday sales totaled $8.96 billion, up 6 percent compared to 2005, due in large part to extended Black Friday discounts and a recent decline in energy costs that left consumers with more disposable income. Shopp..