Warren Strobel, Dustin Volz, Jonathan LandayWASHINGTON (Reuters) - A Russian propaganda arm oversaw a criminal and espionage conspiracy to tamper in the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign to support Donald Trump and disparage Hillary Clinton, said an indictment released on Friday that revealed more details than previously known about Moscow’s purported effort to interfere.The office of U.S. Spe...Read More
Saqib Iqbal AhmedNEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stock markets are unlikely to return to the unusually calm conditions seen last year, even though equities have already recovered more than half the ground lost in the recent selloff and traders have rapidly dialed down fear.Stock market volatility spiked to a multi-year high in the selloff and some products that flourished in low volatility collapsed. A...Read More
VIENNA (Reuters) - International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde has no objection to plans to turn the euro zone’s bailout fund into a European Monetary Fund, she said in comments published on Saturday.The European Commission has suggested transforming the role of the government-controlled European Stability Mechanism (ESM) into a full-blown European Monetary Fund under parliamentary c...Read More
(Kitco News) - Analysts are optimistic when it comes to Chinese gold demandfor the Lunar New Year, stating that they expect to see strong growth despitehigher gold prices. China is already seeing an improvement in gold demand ahead ofthe Lunar celebrations, which will usher in the year of the Dog on Feb. 16. The occasion has historically been a key gold-buying opportunity for consumers in acount...Read More
* Government does not say why central bank governor detained* Governor Rimsevics also sits on ECB Governing Council* Finance minister urges Rimsevics to step down pending inquiry (Adds background)By Gederts GelzisRIGA, Feb 18 (Reuters) - Latvia's anti-corruption agency has detained central bank Governor Ilmars Rimsevics, prompting calls for him to step aside while he is under investigation.Prime M...Read More
* Cabinet approves bankruptcy law - sources* Modern bankruptcy framework currently absent in kingdom* Passage could provide a lifeline to struggling firms By Tom Arnold, Reem Shamseddine and Katie PaulDUBAI/KHOBAR, Saudi Arabia, Feb 18 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's cabinet has approved a bankruptcy law, sources familiar with the matter said on Sunday, giving a boost to efforts to make the kingdom mo...Read More
JOHANNESBURG, Feb 18 (Reuters) - A South African industry group representing mining companies has agreed to postpone a court challenge against new regulations that included a requirement for more black ownership of mines, to allow for negotiations with new President Cyril Ramaphosa.The uncertainty around the new rules has deterred investment into a sector that accounts for 8 percent of South Afric...Read More
RIGA, Feb 18 (Reuters) - Latvia's central bank Governor Ilmars Rimsevics should step down while he is under investigation by the country's anti-corruption agency, its finance minister said on Sunday.Prime Minister Maris Kucinskis said earlier on Sunday that Rimsevics, who is a member of the European Central Bank's Governing Council, had been detained by the anti-corruption agency. "Given that...Read More
(Adds details)JERUSALEM, Feb 18 (Reuters) - Israel's economy ended 2017 on a strong note, growing a more-than-expected annualised 3.6 percent in the fourth quarter, the Central Bureau of Statistics said on Sunday, although it was a slightly slower pace than the prior three months.A Reuters poll of economists had forecast 3.4 percent growth for the October-December quarter.The bureau revised up it...Read More
JERUSALEM, Feb 18 (Reuters) - Israel's economy grew at an annualised 3.6 percent in the fourth quarter, a bit more moderate than the prior three months, the Central Bureau of Statistics said on Sunday, citing slower gains in exports and consumer spending.A Reuters poll of economists had forecast 3.4 percent growth for the October-December quarter.The bureau revised up its third-quarter gross domes...Read More
CAIRO, Feb 18 (Reuters) - Egypt aims to sell Eurobonds worth $3-4 billion in the 2018-2019 fiscal year which begins in July, deputy finance minister Ahmed Kouchouk told the Saudi-owned Al Arabiya television network on Sunday.Egypt raised $4 billion in a dollar-denominated Eurobond sale that closed late on Tuesday, the finance ministry said, in bonds issued in five, 10- and 30-year tenors.The finan...Read More
RIGA, Feb 18 (Reuters) - Latvian central bank governor Ilmars Rimsevics has been detained by the country's anti-corruption agency, the prime minister's office said in a statement on Sunday."The Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau (KNAB) has applied the status of being detained to the Governor of Bank of Latvia [Ilmars Rimsevics]," Prime Minister Maris Kucinskis said in an emailed...Read More
(Adds details, background)By Tom Arnold and Nadine AwadallaDUBAI/CAIRO, Feb 18 (Reuters) - Qatar National Bank (QNB) , the Middle East's largest lender by assets, said it will sell a 2 percent stake in its Egyptian unit QNB Alahly to comply with Cairo listing rules.A QNB spokesman said the bank had no current plans to further reduce its stake, which will stand at 95 percent after the sale.The sal...Read More
(Adds context, details of future plans)By Stanley CarvalhoABU DHABI, Feb 18 (Reuters) - In a move that could attract fresh money to the United Arab Emirates' equity markets, the Nasdaq Dubai exchange launched futures contracts on Sunday covering the main indexes of the country's two main stock markets in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.The futures provide exposure to the General Index of the Abu Dhabi Securi...Read More
ABU DHABI, Feb 18 (Reuters) - The Nasdaq Dubai exchange launched equity index futures on Sunday for the main indexes of Dubai Financial Market and the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, a top official said.The new instruments could help to attract fresh money to the exchanges by giving investors more opportunity to hedge. Nasdaq Dubai began trading single-stock futures for shares in some of the United...Read More
DUBAI/CAIRO, Feb 18 (Reuters) - Qatar National Bank (QNB) has hired CI Capital to advise it on the sale of a small stake in its Egyptian unit.QNB plans to reduce its 97.125 percent stake in QNB Alahly to 95percent, the bank said in a statement.The sale is intended to comply with the rules of listing on the stock exchange, which requires that the free float shall not be less than 5 percent, it said...Read More
DUBAI, Feb 18 (Reuters) - Most major Gulf stock markets edged up in early trade on Sunday although Dubai fell, partly because of a continued slide in Shuaa Capital .The Saudi index was up 0.5 percent after 55 minutes with blue-chip bank Al Rajhi gaining 0.9 percent. National Medical Care Co rose 1.3 percent after proposing to resume dividend payments for 2017.But Buruj Cooperative Insurance sank 6...Read More
CAIRO, Feb 18 (Reuters) - INTEREST RATESLatestLast change PreviousCentral17.75 15/02/1818.75 bank o/n depositCentral18.75 15/02/1819.75bank o/n lendingCentral18.25 15/02/1819.25bank discount rate MONTHLY DATA _____________ Month Pvs Yr agoUrban 17.128.1consumerJanuary 21.9prices(year-on-year,pct change) CoreinflatioJanuary 14.3519.86 30.86n (year-on-year,pct change) Foreign January 38.20937.020...Read More
DUBAI, Feb 18 (Reuters) - Middle Eastern stock markets may have an upward bias on Sunday because of a gradual recovery in oil prices and in Egypt's case, last week's interest rate cut, although there appears to be little reason for any strong rise in equities.Wall Street closed marginally firmer on Friday while Brent oil continued its gradual recovery, settling up 51 U.S. cents at $64.84 a barrel....Read More
Thestock market pullback of the last couple of weeks has shown that markets arejittery, and will likely be volatile for awhile as investors keep a vigil onrising bond yields (inflation) and potential interest rate hikes. In theseuncertain times, one sector that appears to be holding its own, and then some,is commodities. Let’s examine why this is the case, and why commodities aregoing to be...Read More