GoldQuest shares pop 313% thanks to Dominican Republic drill discovery

MONTREAL — An 82-year-old Quebec man has been arrested in the Dominican Republic for the alleged sexual exploitation of children. Quebec provincial police say they arrested Joseph-Charles-Philippe Cote and escorted him back to Canada on Thursday. Cote had been the subject of a Canada-wide arrest warrant since Feb. 8. A report in a Dominican newspaper says he was arrested in Sosua, in the Puerto Plata region. Cote is expected to be formally arraigned in Montreal this afternoon.

2012 featured more of the same from skittish investors. They shunned risk. Instead, anyone interested in equities stuck to blue chips. Stocks paying a decent dividend received plenty of attention, while smaller companies were virtually ignored. Hesitant, fearful buying defined the collective attitude toward equities. But something changed after the market began moving higher three months ago…

Officials in the Dominican Republic on Sunday reported the first death from a cholera outbreak that had spread from neighboring Haiti, local media said.Health officials were quoted as saying the victim had been in Haiti and lived in the Dominican city of Higuey.A health ministry statement said Renauld Francois, 53, died Thursday, and that an autopsy would be performed to learn the exact cause of death but that his symptoms were "consistent with the disease."The Dominican Republic has reported 152 cases of cholera since the outbreak in Haiti last year.

By FXstreet:Many commodities traders are still in shock after the recent volatility in the metals sector over the last few sessions. Let's put this in perspective, over the past two days gold has lost 13.33%, and silver is down 17.84%. Platinum, palladium, and copper have also been under serious pressure. The wide trading ranges and excessive volatility has futures exchanges getting involved to help reinforce confidence for investors.

By The Gold Report:The Gold Report caught up with Alexander Medina, the newly appointed director of mining for the Dominican Republic. With gold discoveries popping up all over Hispaniola - the country shares the metal-rich island with Haiti - Medina is a very busy government minister. But he was happy to spare a little time to talk to The Gold Report about what his office is doing to ensure that mining companies get the gold carpet treatment under the new administration.

By Marco G.:With a new year blooming the general stock markets appear to have shaken off the uncertainties with Europe and the recession fears of last year. The large-cap S&P 500 (SPY) has gained about 20% since the October lows.

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) — A team of experts from the U.N. on Tuesday began evaluating a proposed nickel mine expansion in the Dominican Republic that has been halted by a court over environmental concerns.

More than 20 Venezuelans returned from a wedding last weekend in the Dominican Republic with cholera-like symptoms and are being quarantined at clinics in Caracas, officials said Wednesday."It has been confirmed that they were infected in the Dominican Republic," Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said as he sought to reassure his nation that there was little to no risk of the disease spreading.