Spain's troubles are not over, and South Korea and Brazil, two of the largest economies, are also seeking to expand their economies in the downturn by cutting interest rates. Both developments are good for gold. The US housing market is doing better with QE3 as well, but this may counterbalance the rise in gold. Ike
* Spain's debt rating was cut two levels to BBB- from BBB+, one level above junk, by Standard & Poor's, which cited mounting economic and political risk as the government considers a second bailout.
* South Korea cut interest rates hours after Brazil as economies around the world shield themselves from the risk of a deeper slowdown driven by weaknesses in China and austerity measures in Europe.
* The US economy has expanded "modestly" in the past six weeks thanks to a stronger housing market, according to a closely-watched survey by the US Federal Reserve.
