By Karen BrettellNEW YORK, Feb 1 (Reuters) - An industry group representing the privately traded derivatives markets may challenge new rules requiring that more capital be used to back the trades, arguing that the requirements place them at a disadvantage to trading futures contracts.Capital rules adopted by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and U.S. bank regulators in 2015, which are being...Read More

LONDON (Reuters) - Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency, skidded 11 percent on Thursday to its lowest since November, as a Facebook ban on cryptocurrency adverts and a growing regulatory backlash against the nascent market frightened investors.Thursday's drop to as low as $9,022 on the Luxembourg-based Bitstamp exchange BTC=BTSP left bitcoin trading at less than half the peak price o...Read More

ABUJA, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Nigeria's president nominated a central bank veteran to be a deputy governor of the bank, the presidency said on Thursday, in a move to fill vacant posts after the bank cancelled an interest rate setting meeting last month due to a lack of members.President Muhammadu Buhari nominated Edward Adamu, with over two decades experience at the central bank, to replace Sulaiman Ba...Read More

Stephen O'Hara, chief executive of OptiBiotix Health plc (LON:OPTI) tells Proactive's Andrew Scott the big focus for them now is on the commercialisation of their technology across the company's platforms.''2018 has started off very, very well'', O'Hara says.He mentions they'll be presenting next week at ProBiota in Barcelona - a leading conference attended by the movers and shakers of the industr...Read More

* GRAPHIC-2018 asset returns: * LME/ShFE arb: (Adds closing prices, details)By Maytaal AngelLONDON, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Lead hit its highest in 6-1/2 years on Thursday, catching up with sister metal zinc, as a harsh winter in the United States and China hits supplies and as Beijing continues to restrict output on environmental grounds.London Metal Exchange (LME) lead hit $2,668 a tonne, its highest...Read More

(Kitco News) - 2018 may see metals leading commodities, buoyed by strengthin gold, according to a Bloomberg Intelligence report. The report said that the yellow metal, which has outperformedBitcoin since mid-December, 2017, is “coiled to move” and should testresistance levels of $1,400, unless key drivers reverse. “Off to a good startin 2018, indications are there’s more to...Read More

It’s remarkable how the Dollar remains depressed and unloved, despite the Federal Reserve expressing optimism over increased inflationary pressures as the year moves on. Although the U.S. Federal Reserve left rates unchanged as expected in January, the relatively upbeat appraisal of the economy and rising inflation expectations offered a hawkish touch. The fact that the Dollar remains pressu...Read More

FRANKFURT, Feb 1 (Reuters) - German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Thursday warned the financial sector that it had a responsibility to prevent speculation and the formation of trading bubbles in the cryptocurrency market.Steinmeier told about 1,000 guests at a Deka Bank event in Frankfurt that a new debate was needed about regulating cryptocurrencies, given recent gyrations in their valuati...Read More

Feb 1 (Reuters) - The Bank of England said it has begun simulating stresses in "stretched" bond markets to see if they risk undermining financial stability.Alex Brazier, the BoE's executive director for financial stability strategy and risk, said the Bank is turning its sights to market-based finance as companies issue far more bonds to raise funds than they did before the financial cris...Read More

Las Vegas, NV - Barrick Gold Corporation has joined forces with Cisco, Switch and Unearthed to provide Nevada's innovation and tech community with a premier opportunity to build skills, scale ventures and engage with great talent."Barrick is excited to host the state's first global mining hackathon in Las Vegas," said Michael Brown, President, Barrick USA. "We are at the forefront of transforming...Read More

(Adds Viacom board discussing special committee)Feb 1 (Reuters) - CBS Corp's board is set to discuss a merger with Viacom Inc on Thursday, sources have told Reuters, possibly starting the process of reuniting the two media companies split by mogul Sumner Redstone more than a decade ago.Such a deal, which is being pushed by Redstone's daughter Shari, would combine the CBS broadcast network with Vi...Read More

* ISM U.S. factory prices paid index highest since May 2011* Further yield curve flattening is expected to resume (Updates market action, adds quotes)By Richard LeongNEW YORK, Feb 1 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury yields rose on Thursday as some investors reduced curve-related bets that earned profits last month tied to expectations the Federal Reserve would raise short-term interest rates further due t...Read More

Feb 1 (Reuters) - Viacom Inc's board of directors has begun discussions about setting up an independent special committee to explore a combination with CBS Corp , sources familiar with the situation told Reuters on Thursday.It is not yet clear if all of the directors have agreed to set up the committee, the sources cautioned. A Viacom spokesman declined to comment.(Reporting By Jessica Toonkel; Ed...Read More

Despite stock futures signaling another big sell-off ahead of the bell, the major equity benchmarks are holding their own at midday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) and S&P 500 Index (SPX) are modestly higher, while the Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) has clawed its way onto positive ground. In the wake of a remarkably strong January performance for stocks, traders today are weighing lackluste...Read More

Brooking diamond updateLucapa Diamond Company Limited (ASX: LOM) ("Lucapa" or "the Company") and its partner, Leopold Diamond Company Pty Ltd, are pleased to provide the following update on the macro and micro diamonds recovered from the Little Spring Creek prospect at the Brooking diamond project in Western Australia's West Kimberley region (Refer ASX announcement 11 January 2018).Subsequent revi...Read More

(Kitco News)- While many analystshave been focused on gold’s rally against the U.S. dollar, one investment firmnoted that the yellow metal started the year with broad-based strength againstthe seven most liquid global currencies.In a reportThursday, Europe-based investment firm Insch Kintore described gold’s firsttrading month of the year as “interesting and somewhat frustrating....Read More

(Kitco News) - While many analysts have been focused on gold’s rally against the U.S. dollar, one investment firm noted that the yellow metal started the year with broad-based strength against the seven most liquid global currencies.In a report Thursday, Europe-based investment firm Insch Kintore described gold’s first trading month of the year as “interesting and somewhat frustr...Read More

Chemicals specialist Huntsman Corporation (NYSE:HUN) has been trending steadily higher on the charts for nearly two years now, with the stock quadrupling in value from its February 2016 lows south of $8. However, based on a reliable buy signal that just flashed, it's not too late for traders to profit from HUN's positive price action.Specifically, after peaking at an all-time best of $36.09 in lat...Read More

(Adds stocks, updates levels)JOHANNESBURG, Feb 1 (Reuters) - South Africa's rand weakened against the dollar on Thursday, with market attention pinned on President Jacob Zuma's future, while market-heavyweight Naspers weighed on the bourse.At 1632 GMT, the rand had trimmed some earlier losses and traded at 11.8775 per dollar, 0.25 percent weaker than its New York close on Wednesday.Zuma will meet...Read More

GABORONE, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Botswana will spend 63.3 billion pula ($6.6 billion) in the fiscal year beginning April 2018, a 13.5 percent rise in government expenditure from the previous year, a budget bill seen by Reuters on Thursday showed. A total of 45 billion pula has been earmarked for recurrent expenditure with education, health, defence and security taking the lion's share, according to the...Read More