* Treasury's auction of U.S. five-year notes saw average demand* Fed minutes show FOMC expectation of upside growth trajectory* U.S. 2-year hits 9-year high; 30-year yields touch highest since July 2015 (Recasts, changes byline, adds auction results, analyst comment, table, updates prices in text)By Gertrude Chavez-DreyfussNEW YORK, Feb 21 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury yields rose on Wednesday in chop...Read More
(Kitco News) - It's a choppy trading afternoon for gold, in the wake ofthe FOMC minutes released earlier this afternoon. Gold prices initially sawlittle reaction to the FOMC minutes, but then rallied with the U.S. dollarindex sold off. Then the U.S. dollar index rebounded from its lows totrade higher in the day, which prompted selling pressure in gold that drove itsprices to daily lows. The U.S. s...Read More
By John O'Donnell and Gederts GelzisRIGA, Feb 21 (Reuters) - Latvia's central bank chief has been suspended pending an investigation into bribery allegations, and the Baltic country's third biggest bank has sought emergency support following U.S. accusations of money-laundering and sanctions-busting.The problems, which the government says are not connected, have dealt a blow to Latvia's reputation...Read More
(Kitco News) - Gold prices saw a bit a delayed bullish reaction to the Wednesday afternoon releaseof the latest minutes from the Federal Open Market Committee meeting. However,when the U.S. dollar index started to erode shortly after the minutes’ release,gold prices proceeded to rally to their daily highs. Gold prices have sincebacked down a bit from their daily highs. Some bargain hunters i...Read More
* Industrials, materials sectors climb more than 1 pct* Fed more confident in need to raise rates - minutes* Dow up 0.88 pct, S&P 500 up 0.87 pct, Nasdaq up 1.18 pct (Updates to mid-afternoon, changes byline)By Chuck MikolajczakFeb 21 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks advanced on Wednesday, with the Dow and S&P 500 on track for their seventh gain in eight sessions, buoyed by stocks in economically s...Read More
Lindsay Dunsmuir, Jason LangeWASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve’s rate-setting committee showed more confidence in the need to keep raising interest rates at its last policy meeting, with most believing that inflation would perk up.The more upbeat take on inflation in the minutes of the Jan. 30-31 policy meeting released on Wednesday will likely further cement expectations that new F...Read More
(Recasts lead, adds CEO comment, background, details)By Stephen JewkesMILAN, Feb 21 (Reuters) - Italian insurer Assicurazioni Generali has pledged to raise its investments in environmentally-friendly projects and divest from the coal industry as part of a new climate-change strategy.Europe's third biggest insurer said it would raise investments in "green" sectors by 3.5 billion euros ($...Read More
(Kitco News)- In a delayed reaction, gold prices have pushed higher Wednesday despite what some are describing as slightly hawkish minutes from the January Federal Reserve monetary policy meeting.According to the minutes, Federal Reserve committee members are slightly more optimistic on U.S. economic growth, which could lead to an increase in interest rates hikes."Several others suggested tha...Read More
Feb 21 (Reuters) - U.S. short-term interest-rate futures pared earlier losses on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve released minutes of its January policy-setting meeting showing policymakers were increasingly confident inflation would perk up. Still, bets in the contracts continued to reflect firm expectations that the Fed will raise rates three times this year, based on a Reuters analysis of f...Read More
BUENOS AIRES, Feb 21 (Reuters) - Argentina posted a trade deficit of $986 million in January, government statistics agency Indec said on Wednesday, compared with a deficit of $847 million in December and a deficit of $51 million in January 2017. Exports grew 10.7 percent compared with the same month last year to reach $4.75 billion. But that was outweighed by a 32.1 percent year-over-year increase...Read More
(Kitco News)- The world’s largest investment firm thinks that holding evena little bit of gold will help to smooth out growing volatility in financialmarkets.In an interview Tuesday with Bloomberg New, Russ Koesterich,head of asset allocation for BlackRock Inc.’s global allocation team said thefund increased its holding in gold in recent weeks as volatility has picked up.The investment...Read More
Feb 22 (Reuters) - Stock MarketsNet ChngStock MarketsNet ChngS&P/ASX 200** 5,943.70 2.80NZX 50**8,200.27 102DJIA25,113.8 149.05NIKKEI**21,970.8145.71Nasdaq7,301.78267.47 FTSE**7,281.57 34.80S&P 500 2,733.717.44 Hang Seng** 31,431.89558.26SPI 200 Fut 5,952.00 38.00 STI** 3,516.23 39.70SSEC**3,199.48 14.52 KOSPI** 2,429.65 14.53----------------------------------------------------------------...Read More
By Luciano CostaSAO PAULO, Feb 21 (Reuters) - Brazil's largest power distribution company Eletropaulo is nearing a deal to settle a debt of 2 billion reais ($614.8 million) with Centrais El?(C)tricas Brasileiras SA , a source familiar with the negotiation told Reuters on Wednesday.Eletropaulo, in which U.S. power firm AES Corp has a stake of 16.8 percent, weighs a proposal presented by Eletrobras...Read More
We've been highlighting a number of stocks to watch around earnings this week, like First Solar (FSLR) and Chesapeake Energy (CHK). Our attention now turns to the tech sector where Apple supplier Universal Display Corporation (NASDAQ:OLED) is preparing to report earnings after the close on Thursday, Feb. 22. Not only has OLED stock been strong immediately after earnings in recent quarters, but it...Read More
(Adds more comments from co-chief executive)MEXICO CITY, Feb 21 (Reuters) - Mexican broadcaster Televisa said on Wednesday that it was considering whether to keep the company intact or to spin off some divisions, as it tries to adapt to a changing media market and shore up advertising.Like other media companies, Televisa , Mexico's largest broadcaster by far, is grappling with the rise of online...Read More
* Fed minutes on Jan. policy meeting due at 2 pm ET* Broadcom cuts Qualcomm bid to $117 bln* FAANG stocks lead gains on Nasdaq* Indexes up: Dow 0.4 pct, S&P 0.52 pct, Nasdaq 0.75 pct (Updates to early afternoon)By Sruthi ShankarFeb 21 (Reuters) - Gains in technology shares powered Wall Street's main indexes on Wednesday ahead of minutes of the Federal Reserve's most recent policy meeting.The F...Read More
* Haldane: Risks to growth, inflation and rates lie to upside* Carney glad markets focused on data, no need for rate signals* Sterling depreciation boosted trade, but "not a good strategy" (Adds further comments from parliamentary hearing)By David Milliken and Andy BruceLONDON, Feb 21 (Reuters) - The Bank of England could end up needing to raise interest rates faster than investors expec...Read More
• Persistent USD buying keeps exerting downward pressure. • Further weighed down by rising US bond yields. • FOMC meeting minutes to set the near-term trend. Gold seemed struggling to gain any traction and remained within striking distance of one-week lows, touched earlier today. A strong follow-through US Dollar buying in...Read More
By Trevor HunnicuttNEW YORK, Feb 21 (Reuters) - U.S. fund investors tiptoed back into stocks after pulling the most cash on record the week prior, but they are now punishing bonds, Investment Company Institute (ICI) data showed on Wednesday.Investors pulled $12.1 billion from bond mutual funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the United States during the most recent week, the trade group said,...Read More
Alternative energy company First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) is scheduled to report earnings after the market closes on Thursday, Feb. 22, and shareholders are hoping the stock can continue its streak of positive post-earnings performances. Specifically, FSLR shares have rallied in the session after earnings in three straight quarters, with one-day gains of 20.3%, 9.1%, and 11.8%. This time around t...Read More