By Jonathan Spicer and Ann SaphirNEW YORK/LOS ANGELES, Feb 23 (Reuters) - Federal Reserve policymakers are fretting that they could face the next U.S. recession with an arsenal of policies little different from that used in the last downturn but robbed of much of their punch because interest rates are still low.In the midst of an unprecedented leadership transition, Fed officials are publicly deba...Read More
Fed to Stay the Course, At Least Until Next WeekToday the Federal Reserve released its "Monetary Policy Report" to members of the Senate and House of Representatives. The summary indicated that the economy as well as the labor market continues to grow, and inflation remains below their long-term objective of 2%.According to today's report, "Economic activity increased at a solid pace over the seco...Read More
WASHINGTON, Feb 23 (Reuters) - The White House said on Friday that President Donald Trump had not yet made a final decision about whether to impose steep global tariffs on steel imports."No final decisions have been made. As with every decision he makes, the security of the American people and the American economy will be the president's primary concerns while he considers his potential optio...Read More
(Repeats without change)By Jonathan SpicerNEW YORK, Feb 23 (Reuters) - Federal Reserve policymakers fretted on Friday that they could face the next U.S. recession with virtually the same arsenal of policies used in the last downturn and, with interest rates still relatively low, those will not pack the same punch.In the midst of an unprecedented leadership transition, Fed officials are publicly d...Read More
* Stein suggests products not suitable for retail investors* Chairman Clayton says he is looking into products (Adds SEC chairman remarks, paragraphs 8-11)By Pete Schroeder and Michelle PriceWASHINGTON, Feb 23 (Reuters) - A Democratic commissioner at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday questioned the growing use of complex financial products by retail investors such as derivative...Read More
Scientists at the Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology ILT in Aachen, Germany, want to build a machine that is able to disassemble two mobile phones in one minute and remove its components to, later on, extract metals from them.The process is known as urban mining and it aims to recover raw materials such as copper, silver, gold, neodymium, and tantalum from old electronic devices. The metals...Read More
(Adds commentary from analyst, rival company CEO)By Salvador Rodriguez and Laharee ChatterjeeFeb 23 (Reuters) - Data-sharing business Dropbox Inc on Friday filed for an initial public offering of up to $500 million with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.The San Francisco-based company, which started as a free service to share and store photos, music and other large files,competes with m...Read More
(Adds details, analyst comment, bylines, table)By Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss and Saqib Iqbal AhmedNEW YORK, Feb 23 (Reuters) - Speculators' net short dollar bets slipped to a seven-week low this week, according to calculations by Reuters and Commodity Futures Trading Commission data released on Friday, as investors priced in more interest rate increases by the Federal Reserve.The value of the net sh...Read More
(Adds details, updates to close)TORONTO, Feb 23 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index closed at a three-week high on Friday, with energy companies leading gains across the board on higher oil prices.* The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index rose 130.28 points, or 0.84 percent, to 15,638.45.* The energy group gained 1.5 percent. * Energy-related companies Enerplus Corp , CES Energy...Read More
The Dow posted strong gains for a second straight day, as stocks rallied into the weekend. An extended slide in Treasury yields helped spark another round of buying in equities, as did easing concerns about accelerated Fed rate hikes. The S&P 500and Nasdaq also posted impressive wins -- with the latter snapping a four-day losing streak -- as tech and healthcare stocks outperformed. Thanks to the b...Read More
By Jonathan SpicerNEW YORK, Feb 23 (Reuters) - Federal Reserve policymakers fretted on Friday that they could face the next U.S. recession with virtually the same arsenal of policies used in the last downturn and, with interest rates still relatively low, those will not pack the same punch.In the midst of an unprecedented leadership transition, Fed officials are publicly debating whether to scrap...Read More
TORONTO, Feb 23 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index closed at a three-week high on Friday, with energy companies leading gains across the board. The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index was up 130.28 points, or 0.84 percent, at 15,638.45. (Reporting by Nichola Saminather; Editing by Sandra Maler) Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not...Read More
LIMA, Feb 23 (Reuters) - Peru had a current account deficit of 1.3 percent of the gross domestic product in 2017, its smallest in the last eight years, thanks to higher revenues from its mining exports, the central bank said on Friday.The current account is the broadest measure of a country's foreign transactions encompassing trade, services, and financial flows including interest payments. The de...Read More
NEW YORK, Feb 23 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks rallied on Friday, lifted by gains in technology stocks and a retreat in Treasury yields as the Federal Reserve eased concerns about the path of interest rate hikes this year.The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 348.61 points, or 1.4 percent, to 25,311.09, the S&P 500 gained 43.44 points, or 1.61 percent, to 2,747.4 and the Nasdaq Composite added 127.3...Read More
Feb 23 (Reuters) - Data-sharing business Dropbox Inc on Friday filed for an initial public offering of up to $500 million with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.The company said it plans to have its common stock listed on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol "DBX". Goldman Sachs & Co LLC, J.P. Morgan and Deutsche Bank Securities are some of the leading underwriters for the IP...Read More
* Dollar on pace for weekly gain of 0.8 pct* Euro weakens as political risks loom (Updates prices, market activity)By Saqib Iqbal AhmedNEW YORK, Feb 23 (Reuters) - The dollar edged higher against a basket of major currencies on Friday, extending its recovery from a three-year low last week, as the potential for a more aggressive U.S. Federal Reserve prompted investors to pare bearish bets against...Read More
By Ann SaphirLOS ANGELES, Feb 23 (Reuters) - San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank President John Williams on Friday stood by the U.S. central bank's guidance for gradual rate hikes ahead, saying that the economic outlook has not fundamentally changed from when that guidance was issued."I think the U.S. economy is doing really well," Williams said at Town Hall Los Angeles. But he added it h...Read More
NEW YORK, Feb 23 (Reuters) - Speculators' net short dollar bets shrank slightly to a seven-week low, in the latest week, according to calculations by Reuters and Commodity Futures Trading Commission data released on Friday.The value of the net short dollar positions, derived from net positions of International Monetary Market speculators in the yen, euro, British pound, Swiss franc and Canadian an...Read More
Health and fitness device maker Fitbit Inc (NYSE:FIT) is set to report its fourth-quarter earnings after the close on Monday. FIT stock has had a rough go on the charts over the past couple of months, struggling since an analyst-induced bear gap in mid-December. FIT has shed 13% year-to-date, and touched a record low of $4.90 earlier this month. At last check, the stock was up 1% to trade at $5.27...Read More
U.S. stocks have steadily climbed today, as the Dow heads for another triple-digit victory. Among other names making noise, gun stock American Outdoor Brands Corp (NASDAQ:AOBC) and biotech stock Anika Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ANIK) are lower, while Chinese mobile app concern Momo Inc (NASDAQ:MOMO) is soaring. Here's a closer look at what shares of AOBC, ANIK, and MOMO are reacting to today.Gun...Read More