UK fund managers expect the gold price to return to record highs despite the dip seen over the past month.

Last week the price of bullion fell below $1,190 an ounce; $67 below the mid-June high. The fall has been attributed to July being a seasonally weak month for gold and to some degree a more bullish investor looking to take on more risk.

Bad news for the world's biggest economy. US growth has dived from 3.7% in the first quarter of 2010 to 2.4% in the second quarter, according to just-released statistics from the US Commerce Department.

The news gave markets a bump with the dollar knocked back and a surge in US bond prices. Responding, the Dow Jones index gave up 0.7% of its value.

Any system insane enough to reward people more for living on benefits than going out to work needs reform. So it should have been good news that Conservative minister Iain Duncan Smith has announced a benefits overhaul.

Unfortunately, his reforms all remain rather vague. And there's the small matter of finding jobs for all these people poised to join the labour market. At a time when even people who've been grafting for decades are finding it hard to get work.

Confusing though it is, it appears that Google's management are the good guys again. The company has been cleared of helping itself to sensitive data whilst passing WiFi hotspots in this country.

The incident originated from Google's decision to take pictures for its Google Maps application. During the process it apparently hoarded all sorts of information from unwary people who'd left their WiFi connections unguarded. The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO ) has said that Google was wrong to collect the data (no kidding) but it appears not to have collected loads of personal data, and there's no suggestion it was going to use the information for any gain.

Nobody's saying anything official but reports on Bloomberg are suggesting Facebook might delay its much-mooted IPO (initial public offering) until 2012.

I say "delay" - nobody has ever announced an official date - although founder Mark Zuckerberg (pictured) has confirmed he believes a flotation would make sense. He has three things to sort out first: more profits to boost the price, the timing as compared to the economy's performance - and how much of it is his to sell.

It's an impressive start: 6,000 bikes-for-hire - even bike-hire-for-free if you pedal quickly - have been dotted around the capital. It's claimed 11,000 people have already signed up to use the new Barclays Cycle Hire Scheme, backed by Boris Johnson and Transport for London.

Will it get people off the Tube and buses and encourage more people to get fit, weaving in and out of bus lanes and London cabs? Well, the scheme certainly wins plaudits for being "green" and cheap, even if it's also potentially life threatening for the inexperienced.

Almost a third of people in their 50s have switched to a different career, mainly after being made redundant, according to a new study.

Some just wanted a change of direction in their life or wanted a less stressful job, a survey of 2,000 people aged over 50 by HSBC also found.

By teaming up together, PartyGaming and Bwin of Austria will create the world's largest listed online gambling business. The corporate equivalent of a full house?

The deal occurs as experts place bets on US politicians softening their opposition to online gaming. The new company will be better positioned to try its luck across the pond.

It would appear that bankers are being attacked from all sides this week. The Financial Services Authority (FSA HQ pictured) has today confirmed plans to update guidelines on bankers' pay, following the agreement of new European rules earlier this month.

The rules include tighter restrictions on bonus payments and pension deals, and will now apply to more than 2,500 City firms.

Quarterly beer sales have climbed for the first time since 2006 according to the British Beer and Pub Association. But sadly it's not about more people returning to their local. More people are drinking their pints at home.

Supermarket beer sales soared almost 14%, a 4.4% rise in year-on-year sales, helped in large part to the World Cup and soaring temperatures. Pub beer sales, in comparison, plummeted, down 6.3% on the same period in 2009.