AUCKLAND, New Zealand - September 30, 2011 - New Zealand has lost its AAA grades on local-currency debt at Fitch Ratings and Standard & Poor’s, which both cited concerns about the nation’s fiscal burden. Benchmark government yields rose the most this year.

The outlook is stable after the long-term local-currency rating was reduced one level to AA+ and the foreign-currency rating was cut to AA from AA+, S&P said in a statement, matching actions announced yesterday by Fitch.

PERTH, Australia - September 29, 2011 - Emerging market countries are continuing to top up their gold reserves, with Russia, Thailand and Bolivia among those to add to their holdings in August, as developing economies continue to diversify away from traditional reserve currencies, including the U.S. dollar.

Recently, emerging market central banks have bought gold in reaction to the sovereign debt crises affecting both the U.S. dollar and the euro, analysts say. Demand has also risen strongly in recent quarters as some seek to diversify foreign exchange reserves that have grown along with emerging market export industries.

NEW YORK - September 28, 2011 – While unemployment rates fell in some large U.S. cities in August, there remained zero job growth nationwide, as the Second Great Depression in the United States continues.

NEW YORK - September 26, 2011 - New home sales fell once again in August, the fourth straight month of declining sales for the beleaguered home building market.

PALM CITY, Florida - September 25, 2011 - Holly Purkey, 28, is one of many Floridians trying to sell her pre-purchased burial plots for some quick cash. She is selling two burial plots in Forest Hills Memorial Park in Palm City.

GENEVA, Switzerland - September 24, 2011 - Is gold becoming the new currency? The Swiss stock exchange will soon offer clients the possibility of having post-trade profits paid out in gold.

Introducing the new service, post-trade specialists operating on the Swiss stock exchange Six Securities Services (a subsidiary of Six Group, owner of the Swiss stock exchange) said the new payment versus delivery service using gold was the first of its kind in the world and would operate “exactly like” a new currency.

London, England - September 23, 2011 - Moody's credit rating agency issued two credit downgrades in the crisis-hit eurozone on Friday, marking down leading Greek banks by two notches and Slovenian debt by one notch.