NEW YORK (Reuters) - The euro rose to a nearly two-week high against the dollar on Wednesday after officials said the European Central Bank could wind down its stimulus program by the end of the year, as inflation has risen to its target.Europe’s common currency was on track to post its largest weekly gain versus the dollar since mid-February.Having revived growth with an unprecedented 2.55...Read More

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. trade deficit fell to a seven-month low in April as exports rose to a record high, lifted by an increase in shipments of industrial materials and soybeans.The Commerce Department said on Wednesday the trade gap dropped 2.1 percent to $46.2 billion, the smallest since September. Data for March was revised to show the trade deficit falling to $47.2 billion, instead of...Read More

LONDON (Reuters) - The opposition Labour Party has thrown down the gauntlet to Prime Minister Theresa May on Brexit, urging MPs to defeat her in parliament by backing a proposal for Britain to stay in the EU’s single market after leaving the bloc.Ten months before Britain is due to leave the European Union, May is struggling to unite her party and government over a Brexit strategy. She also...Read More

BERLIN (Reuters) - The European Central Bank will debate next week whether to end bond purchases later this year, the bank’s chief economist said on Wednesday, a hawkish message seen preparing investors for another cut in stimulus.Having revived growth with an unprecedented 2.55 trillion euro ($3 trillion) bond-buying scheme, ECB policymakers must decide when to end the purchases as the thre...Read More

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union expects to hit U.S. imports with additional duties from July, ratcheting up a transatlantic trade conflict after Washington imposed its own tariffs on incoming EU steel and aluminum.EU members have given broad support to a European Commission plan to set 25 percent duties on up to 2.8 billion euros ($3.3 billion) of U.S. exports in response to what is sees a...Read More

The shares are facing off with familiar resistance, howeverSteel stocks have been in focus lately, as President Donald Trump's imposed metal tariffs set off a chain reaction of retaliatory trade measures. Against this backdrop, United States Steel Corporation (NYSE:X) stock is up 2.5% to trade at $37.79 this morning, after the company said it is expecting its full-year EBITDA to be near the high...Read More

Despite today's retreat, YELP is still sporting an impressive long-term gainBusiness review concern Yelp Inc (NYSE:YELP) is lower in early trading, after the stock was downgraded at KeyBanc to "sector weight" from "overweight" this morning, with the brokerage firm citing soft customer engagement. In response, YELP is down 2.3% at $43.10 in early trading.Despite boasting a 45% year-over-year lead,...Read More

Citigroup initiated coverage on the outperforming mining stockCitigroup initiated coverage on Cleveland-Cliffs Inc (NYSE:CLF) with a "buy" rating and an $11 price target -- representing expected upside of almost 33% to last night's close, and a move into territory not seen since March 2017. In reaction, CLF stock is trading up 2.9% out of the gate at $8.53.The mining shares have been rallying hard...Read More

(Reuters) - China’s Huobi Group, a global financial services provider, announced on Wednesday it is investing $100 million, or 20 million of its tokens, to build a public blockchain.Blockchain, the system powering cryptocurrencies like bitcoin BTC=BTSP, is a shared database that is maintained by a network of computers connected to the internet. Bitcoin, Ethereum, and most major alternative...Read More

(Reuters) - U.S. stock indexes opened higher on Wednesday, with electric carmaker Tesla and insurer United Health (UNH.N) among the biggest drivers, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq inched to another record high.The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 54.16 points, or 0.22 percent, at the open to 24,854.14. The S&P 500 .SPX opened higher by 4.45 points, or 0.16 percent, at 2,753.25. The Nasd...Read More

South Africa's government has scrapped plans to compel mining companies to contribute 1 percent of their annual turnover to a new community development agency because it feared the funds could be abused, the nation's mining minister said.The levy was proposed in a draft of the nation's new Mining Charter that was introduced by Mosebenzi Zwane, the former mineral resources minister, and was one of...Read More

(Kitco News) -Gold and silver prices are up and have touched new daily highsin late-morning trading Wednesday. Both precious metals rallied at the sametime the U.S. dollar index dropped to its session low. The gold and silverbulls have gained a bit of upside technical momentum at mid-week. August gold was last up $2.60 an ounce at $1,304.90 and July silver was up $0.217 at $16.76an ounce. By Jim...Read More

(Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures rose on Wednesday, with electric carmaker Tesla and insurer United Health (UNH.N) among the biggest drivers after the tech-heavy Nasdaq index hit a record high on Tuesday.UnitedHealth shares jumped 1.3 percent in premarket trading after the health insurer hiked its quarterly dividend and announced a buyback.Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) jumped 3.9 percent after billionair...Read More

KIEV (Reuters) - Ukrainian Finance Minister Oleksandr Danylyuk said on Wednesday he had been asked to support “political corruption” or to quit after Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman formally asked parliament to sack him.The two men have been at loggerheads since Groysman rejected Danylyuk’s candidate for deputy minister in charge of tax policy. Danylyuk then accused Groysman of...Read More

India's gold imports plunged a fifth straight month in May to 48 tonnes as a rally in local prices to near their highest level in 21 months curtailed retail purchases, provisional data from precious metals consultancy GFMS and bank dealers showed.The 60 percent drop in purchases from a year ago by the world's No.2 consumer could weigh on global prices that are still up 4.5 percent from a mid-Dec...Read More

China has reportedly offered to buy $70 billion in U.S. exportsFutures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) are trading well above fair value, boosted by signs of progress on global trade talks. The latest reports indicate that China is willing to buy roughly $70 billion in U.S. agricultural and energy exports, and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is said to be pushing for a Canadian exempti...Read More

   •  Fails to benefit from the ongoing USD retracement slide and escalating trade tensions.   •  Fading safe-haven demand/rising US bond yields/ECB QE exit talks seemed capping gains. Gold struggled to build on overnight goodish rebound and remained capped below the $1300 handle through the early European session on Wednesday.  Despite the ongoing US D...Read More

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada's trade deficit in April shrank to a six-month low of C$1.90 billion ($1.47 billion), from C$3.93 billion in March, as exports climbed to a record high and imports dropped, Statistics Canada said on Wednesday.The shortfall - considerably less than the C$3.40 billion deficit forecast by analysts in a Reuters poll - was the smallest since a C$1.49 billion gap recorded in Oc...Read More

MRNS has received some notable analyst attention this yearBiopharmaceutical stock Marinus Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:MRNS) has been grabbing the attention of Wall Street analysts this year. Mizuho initiated coverage back in March with a $13 price target when MRNS shares were trading below $5, and Baird set an even higher price target of $15 a few weeks back. This morning it was Ladenburg Thalmann...Read More

Gold mayneed a fresh catalyst to surge again, says Lukman Otunuga, research analyst at FXTM. As of 9:05 a.m. EDT, spotmetal was $2.30 higher to $1,298.10 an ounce. “There is a possibilitythat safe-haven gold could be waiting for the G7 [Group of 7] summit on Fridayto make its next big move,” Otunuga says. “Although global trade fears remain adominant market theme, the yellow meta...Read More