The most active gold contract for August delivery lost 11.1 dollars, or 0.9 percent, to finish at 1,198.7 U.S. dollars per ounce.

Traders noted that the stronger dollar was the major factor behind the precious metal’s decline on Monday, as investors remained cautious with the approach of second-quarter earnings reports, and the U.S. equity markets remained narrowly mixed.

The dollar index, which measures the U.S. unit against a basket of six major currencies, climbed 0.4 percent to 84.25.

The strength in the greenback made the purchase of dollar- denominated futures contracts more expensive for investors using other currencies. It also eroded gold’s appeal as an alternate currency.

Traders noted that investors continued to lock in profits after gold jumped above 1,200 dollars per ounce last Friday and eked out a 0.2-percent gain for the week, as there was no important news on Monday to spur demand for safe haven financial assets like gold.

September silver was down 15.6 cents, or 0.9 percent, to settle at 17.917 dollars per ounce. October platinum dipped 17.9 dollars, or 1.2 percent, to settle at 1,515.3 dollars per ounce.

Banks will be fined if they fail to take good care of the foreclosed homes they own, City Council President Eric Garcetti said.

Angelenos should report foreclosed properties that have fallen into disrepair, so the city can fine the banks that own them, Garcetti said.

Under an ordinance that took effect Thursday, banks can be fined 1,000 dollars per day for failing to maintain a foreclosed home. The maximum fine is 100,000 dollars per year.

The ordinance calls for creating a registry of foreclosed properties, whose owners will be instructed to keep them “clean and free from accumulation of debris, rubbish, garbage, trash, overgrown vegetation and other similar material.”

Banks will have 30 days to fix problems before being fined.

“If you see a home that is in your neighborhood, that is full of weeds and maybe broken windows, beginning to be neglected, and you know it’s because it’s going through a foreclosure, contact the city,” Garcetti said.

After the retail sales report released in June, the non-essential consumer goods segment strong. Warehouse retailer Costco (Costco Wholesale, COST) closed high, the company’s same-store sales in June rose 4% slightly below the average market forecast of 4.2%.

General Motors Co. sold 195,380 in June and 223,410 in May. Ford Motor Co. sold 170,900 in June compared to May’s 196,671. Chrysler Group LLC sold 92,482 in June and 104,819 in May.

Ford reported a 15 percent increase in sales in June over the same month last year. For the year, sales at Ford are up 28 percent. New products continue to drive Ford’s success, according to Ken Czubay, Ford vice president in charge of U.S. marketing, sales and service.

GM reported a 10.7 percent sales increase for the month of June, when compared to June 2009.

More importantly for the automaker, however, its four remaining brands — Buick, Cadillac, GMC and Chevrolet — reported a 36 percent sales increase compared to last June. For the year, sales of GM’s four core brands are up 32 percent.

Honda Motor Co. reported a 6.2 percent increase in June sales over last year, selling 106,627 units last month. In May, the Japanese automaker sold 117,173 units.

Toyota Motor Corp. reported a 6.8 percent increase in June sales over the same month last year. It sold 140,604 units in June. In May, Toyota sold 162,813 units.

In the sub-index of PMI in June, the employment index in May rose to 54.2 from 49.2, output index increased to 64.2 from 61, which hit a new high since February of this year.
ISM will publish an important index of national manufacturing sector tomorrow, according to a Reuters’ survey, economists forecast in June that the average national PMI will fall to 59, it will be lower than May’s 59.7, as of December 2007 within five years, the national average PMI reading is 53., from December 2007, the U.S. economy into the worst recession since the Great Depression of the 1930s.

The average estimate of June is that the total U.S. non-farm employment will drop 110,000 chains,

Many temporary staffs because of the decennial census by the government have begun to be dismissed, however, according to a Reuter’s survey, analysts expect on average that private-sector jobs in the employment report will increase by 11. Million.
Economists often adjust their expectation of non-agricultural employment subsequent released based on the ADP report, but the ADP report does not always help them to predict the specific outcome of the employment report accurately.