By Bruno FederowskiSAO PAULO, Feb 20 (Reuters) - Latin American currencies weakened on Tuesday as the U.S. dollar strengthened worldwide after hitting a three-year low last week.Currencies from Brazil , Mexico and Colombia weakened between 0.3 percent and 0.9 percent. The Chilean peso was barely changed as profit-taking partially offset the global upswing in the U.S. currency.Concerns that the Uni...Read More
(Recasts with share issue, share fall)By Yashaswini SwamynathanFeb 20 (Reuters) - U.S. power provider Duke Energy Corp said on Tuesday it would issue $2 billion in new shares this year to deal with the financial impact of recent tax reforms that it also said would weigh on 2018 earnings growth.Shares of the biggest U.S. utility by generation capacity fell as much as 2.5 percent as the announcemen...Read More
Volatility has not only returned to equity markets.Gold on Tuesday suffered its worst trading day since December 2016 according to MarketWatch. A week ago the price of gold gained the most since financial markets were shocked by Britain voting to leave the European Union in June 2016.The most active gold futures contract on the Comex market in New York dropped to a low of $1,330.60 an ounce in lun...Read More
* Incoming chair admits "error" on film scheme investment* Randell to see if FCA can act faster to stop rip-offs By Huw JonesLONDON, Feb 20 (Reuters) - Britain should not force its regulators into trade-offs between market stability and helping London remain a leading global financial centre after the country leaves the European Union, a top regulator said on Tuesday.Charles Randell, wh...Read More
RIGA, Feb 20 (Reuters) - Latvia's Defence Ministry said on Tuesday that allegations against the central bank governor could be part of a disinformation campaign aimed at damaging trust in the government and influencing elections due in October."Regarding the previous day's events in banking sector and the detention of Ilmars Rimsevics, head of the central bank of Latvia, there is a high proba...Read More
(Adds more detail, RBS and FCA response)By Emma Rumney and Huw JonesLONDON, Feb 20 (Reuters) - British lawmakers on Tuesday published in full a confidential report detailing Royal Bank of Scotland's mistreatment of struggling businesses during and after the financial crisis. "The findings in the report are disgraceful," Nicky Morgan, chair of the cross-party Treasury Select Committee, s...Read More
MILAN, Feb 20 (Reuters) - Italy's Treasury said on Tuesday it would offer up to 4 billion euros over three bonds at auction on Friday.BOND TYPE 24-mth CTZ 5-yr BTPei10-yr BTPeiMATURITY Oct. 30, 2019May 15, 2022 May 15, 2028TRANCHE 9th 16th 8thCOUPON--- 0.10 pct 1.30 pctAMOUNT OFFERED1.5-2.0 1.5-2.0(bln euros)SETTLEMENT DATEFeb. 27, 2018(Reporting by Milan Newsroom)(Reporting by Milan Newsroom) Di...Read More
Late Friday, a federal judge reversed a jury order requiring Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) to pay Merck (MRK) $2.54 billion in a hepatitis C patent infringement case. In response, RBC hiked its GILD price target to $94 from $92, and the stock is up 0.8% to trade at $81.36. RBC's lofty new price-target represents territory GILD stock has not seen since April 2016. Nevertheless, the equity boa...Read More
(Kitco News) - Gold prices have dropped to sharply lower levels on the day at middayTuesday. Solid gains in the U.S. dollar index, which is trading near its dailyhigh, and a move in U.S. stock indexes up from their daily lows are puttingdownside price pressure on the gold and silver markets. The gold futures marketis also seeing some fresh selling interest from the shorter-term traders, assell sto...Read More
The end is nearThe doomsayers have been calling for recession for years. Mainstream economists laughed at them, painting a rosy picture. However, the recent plunge in the stock market strengthened the pessimists' hand. They interpret the dive as a signal of a coming recession. Is the end of the stock market boom really near?What lies ahead?The recent stock market turmoil brought traders to their k...Read More
* Walmart drops after holiday-qtr profit misses estimates* Consumer staples biggest drag on S&P* S&P 500 comes off best week in 5 years* Dow off 0.53 pct, S&P down 0.19 pct, Nasdaq up 0.39 pct (Changes comment, adds details, updates prices)By Sruthi ShankarFeb 20 (Reuters) - A steep fall in Walmart's shares put the skids on the S&P 500 and the Dow's six-day winning streak, but gain...Read More
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) is in danger of snapping its six-session win streak, pressured by a negative earnings reaction for big-cap retailer Walmart (WMT). Stocks are also reacting surging bond yields and a strengthening U.S. dollar ahead of a Treasury Department auction of short-term notes. Nevertheless, the S&P 500 Index (SPX) and Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) are clinging to a modest ga...Read More
(Adds details, background)By Chijioke OhuochaLAGOS, Feb 20 (Reuters) - Nigerian short-term treasury bill yields fell 50 basis points on Tuesday on expectations the government will sell less debt at auction in the second quarter after raising $2.5 billion from a Eurobond.The government has been working to lower its borrowing costs, particularly as inflation fell for the 12th time in a row in Janua...Read More
NEW YORK, Feb 20 (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury Department on Tuesday sold record amounts of three-month and six-month bills at the highest interest rates for these maturities at auctions in more than nine years, Treasury data showed.The Treasury sold $51 billion of three-month bills at an interest rate of 1.63 percent and $45 billion of six-month bills at an interest rate of 1.82 percent.<^^^^^...Read More
* Draghi may be succeeded by more "hawkish" ECB chief* Euro zone yields edge back towards multi-year highs* U.S. auctions put upward pressure on yields* Euro zone periphery govt bond yields (Updates prices)By Abhinav RamnarayanLONDON, Feb 20 (Reuters) - Euro zone government bond yields edged up on Tuesday as market speculation swirled over the next European Central Bank chief at a time w...Read More
FRANKFURT, Feb 20 (Reuters) - Stefan Quandt has become BMW's largest single shareholder, giving him a big enough stake to block any potential takeover of the Bavarian carmaker, a regulatory filing showed on Tuesday.The 51-year-old German entrepreneur's direct ownership increased with shares inherited from his mother, giving him a so-called "blocking stake" of 25.83 percent, worth 13.4 bi...Read More
* Under pressure from ECB, PTSB kicks off bad loan sale* Analysts say political opposition could lower sale price By Padraic HalpinDUBLIN, Feb 20 (Reuters) - Ireland could consider boosting protection for borrowers whose loans are sold to unregulated funds, Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said on Tuesday, amid political opposition to a planned sale by majority state-owned permanent tsb (PTSB) .Irish...Read More
* U.S. to sell record amounts of 3-month, 6-month bills* U.S. to auction $55 bln 1-month bills, $28 bln 2-year notes By Richard LeongNEW YORK, Feb 20 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury yields rose on Tuesday with the benchmark 10-year yield hovering near a four-year peak as investors made room for this week's deluge of $258 billion of government debt supply.The Treasury Department has ramped up its borrow...Read More
DAR ES SALAAM, Feb 20 (Reuters) - Foreign-owned banks, insurance companies and law firms could be locked out of Tanzania's mining sector as part of tough new regulations that aim to limit foreign ownership of mining-related activity.Africa's fourth-largest gold producer is seeking to take more of the profits from its vast mineral resources by overhauling the fiscal and regulatory regime of its min...Read More
* Rand weakens 0.4 percent* Retailers feature in decliners' list on bourse* Government bonds flat (Adds detail, fresh quotes, updates figures)JOHANNESBURG, Feb 20 (Reuters) - The South African rand slipped on Tuesday, retreating from last week's three-year high as investors bagged profits ahead of the government's budget speech. Investors are also focusing on an expected cabinet shake-up under new...Read More