These are stories Report on Business is following Tuesday, May 17. Get the top business stories through the day on BlackBerry or iPhone by bookmarking our mobile-friendly webpage. Follow Michael Babad and the top business news on Twitter Soros sells most of his gold Those who follow the comings and goings of George Soros might want to take note today of the fact that the renowned investor has sold most of his holdings of gold (GC-FT1,493.002.400.16%). Gold (GC-FT) 1,492.90 2.30 0.15% As of May 17, 2011 7:24 Range:1 Day 5 Day 1 Year View Larger Chart Add to Watchlist According to reports yesterday on the securities filing of Soros Fund Management LLC, the hedge fund divested the bulk of its holdings in SPDR Gold Trust, bringing them to just shy of 50,000 shares by the end of the first quarter compared to more than 4.7 million at the end of last year. It has also sold some 5 million shares in iShares Gold Trust. All in all, Mr. Soros has shed almost $800-million (U.S.) in gold. Mr. Soros also cut his interest in some miners, including shares in Kinross Gold Corp. (K-T13.870.060.43%). His fund now holds 1.4 million shares, compared to 4 million earlier. “Soros was sitting on a huge profit and like a lot of investors of late, he was happy to take those profits off the table,” Gavin Wendt, founding director at MineLife Pty in Australia, told Bloomberg News. “That shouldn’t surprise people. Gold has been rising for a decade for fundamental reasons, which haven’t gone away.” However, as Mr. Soros sold, fund manager John Paulson continued to bet on bullion, holding not only his stake in SPDR but also increasing his interest in miners such as Barrick Gold Corp. (ABX-T43.990.360.83%), Bloomberg said. Markets mixed Global stock markets are mixed this morning, seemingly still troubled by economic jitters and concerns over Europe's debt crisis. Tokyo's benchmark Nikkei was up just slightly, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng slipped. In Europe, London's FTSE 100 and the Paris CAC 40 were up, though just marginally, by about 7 a.m. ET, while Germany's DAX was down. Dow Jones industrial average (YM-FT12,531.0022.000.18%) and S&P 500 (ES-FT1,328.503.000.23%) futures rose. "Looking ahead to the U.S. open, at the moment we are expecting the Dow to start around 25 points higher than last night’s close," said Anothy Grech, the chief of research at IG Index. "Stock markets still seem to be struggling for any real direction and, although the 12,500 level has been stopping any sell-offs for the Dow Jones, there doesn’t seem to be any urgency to take shares significantly higher for now." HP sees tough quarter Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ-N39.80-0.61-1.51%) was forced today to move up the timing of its second-quarter earnings report after a leaked memo from its chief executive officer warned of tough times ahead, driving down its stock price. HP didn't say why it was reporting earlier than planned, but the move followed the disclosure of an e-mail send by Leo Apotheker to 10 executives, in which he urged them to cut expenses and warned of "another tough quarter." "We must watch every penny and minimize all hiring," Mr. Apotheker wrote, according to a copy of the May 4 e-mail reported by The Wall Street Journal. "... We have absolutely no room for profitless revenue or any discretionary expenditures." Britain's inflation rate spikes The low in London will be just 13 degrees today, but it's a lot hotter at the Bank of England. Britain's annual inflation rate climbed in April to 4.5 per cent, the National Office of Statistics said today, putting more pressure on central bank chief Mervyn King. That's up from 4 per cent in March, and the fastest pace since October, 2008. According to Mr. King in a letter to the country's finance minister, the increase is the result of both higher energy costs and higher sales taxes. "Today’s higher-than-expected jump in CPI inflation in April to 4.5 per cent increases the pressure on the monetary policy committee at the Bank of England to act sooner rather than later with respect to a rise in interest rates," said CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson. "Given recent comments from bank governor Mervyn King about high indebtedness that particular outcome looks likely to be resisted, though it is likely to be fiercely debated."

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