*Freeport first project approved since 2011.
NEW YORK/ LONDON, May 17- Gold fell for a seventh straight session on Friday, its longest losing streak in four years, as the dollar rose to the highest since 2008 after some Federal Reserve officials said the central bank should end its stimulus for the U.S. economy.
LONDON, May 17- After months of speculation, Vodafone's Vittorio Colao will be under pressure next week to set out whether he may sell its prized stake in Verizon Wireless in what would be one of the biggest deals ever.
WASHINGTON, May 17- Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday Turkey had already significantly reduced its oil imports from Iran, which is under the choke of Western sanctions, and further cutbacks would depend on his country's energy needs.
The approval of natural gas exports from Freeport LNG's Quintana Island, Texas, terminal ends nearly a two-year pause in the Energy Department's review of export applications, as the administration sought to address concerns that sending U.S. gas abroad could harm U.S. manufacturers.
*Gold prices set to end the week down 5 pct. LONDON, May 17- Gold fell for a seventh straight session on Friday, its longest losing streak in four years, as speculation that the Federal Reserve may soon rein in monetary easing lifted the dollar.
MUMBAI, May 17- Standard& Poor's reiterated its negative outlook on India's credit rating, which is one notch above "junk", warning of the need to follow through on reforms and dealing a blow to a government that had recently pitched for an upgrade.
MUMBAI, May 17- Standard& Poor's reiterated its negative rating outlook on India's credit rating, which is one notch above junk status, warning of risks if the government carries out less reform than the agency says is needed to boost growth. India's benchmark 10- year yield rose 4 basis points to 7.41 percent from levels before the statement.
*Gold prices set to end the week down 5 pct. LONDON, May 17- Gold fell for a seventh straight session on Friday, its longest losing streak in four years, after comments from a Federal Reserve official that the bank may soon rein in monetary easing lifted the dollar.
*Gold's 7- session drop is longest losing streak in 4 years. SINGAPORE, May 17- Gold fell on Friday for a seventh straight session, in its longest losing streak since March 2009, as the dollar strengthened and investors cut exposure to the precious metal, fearing further drops and choosing equities instead.
LAUNCESTON, Australia, May 17- Not even renewed physical gold demand from India and China, the world's top buyers, appears to be enough to spark the precious metal's rally, but may be sufficient to stem further losses.
May 17- Caterpillar Inc has reached a deal to cut $135 million from the price owed for a Chinese mining equipment maker, after accounting irregularities were discovered at the acquired company that forced Caterpillar to take a $580 million impairment charge.
*Gold down for 7th straight session, near 4- week low. SINGAPORE, May 17- Gold fell for a seventh straight session on Friday as the dollar strengthened and investors cut exposure to the metal, sending holdings in exchange-traded funds to their lowest in four years.
SINGAPORE, May 17- London copper futures edged lower on Friday to remain on course to end a three-week upward streak, undermined by a firmer dollar and indications that demand from top consumer China is unlikely to pick up strongly as Beijing shuns stimulus measures.
WASHINGTON, May 16- The percentage of global investment that goes to developing countries should triple in the next two decades as emerging economies catch up to richer nations and become more integrated into financial markets, the World Bank predicted in a report on Thursday.
*Cisco shares rise 9 pct in early trading. Aug 16- Shares of Cisco Systems Inc jumped 9 percent on Thursday as a dividend hike and share buyback plan overshadowed comments that business conditions in Europe would not improve anytime soon for the network equipment maker.
With a talking-point imbroglio after Benghazi, the IRS's discriminatory practices and the Justice Department's procurement of Associated Press phone records, the Obama administration and its allies are right to be worried. The past few years have proved that dysfunction in Washington has almost no effect on America's attractiveness to investors.
*Gold finds some relief as U.S. data hurts stocks, dollar. LONDON, May 16- Gold hit a four-week low on Thursday, declining for a sixth straight day for the first time in more than four years, as investors spooked by recent price falls favoured other assets.
"You want to be in sectors that sell to the people who benefit from wage inflation: consumers," said John Lomax, head of emerging equity strategy at HSBC. Russian supermarket chain Magnit saw profits jump 28 percent in the first quarter and its shares have returned 190 percent since April 2010, according to Morgan Stanley.
May 16- Kohl's Corp on Thursday said it expects sales to pick up in the current quarter, and the retailer reported a better-than-expected first-quarter profit, helped by cost-cutting, sending its shares up 7 percent in trading before the bell.