(Adds details)April 20 (Reuters) - Honeywell International Inc reported a higher-than-expected profit for the first quarter on Friday and lifted its full-year earnings forecast for the second time this year, citing higher sales in its aerospace business.Industrial conglomerate Honeywell, which makes everything from jet engines to thermostats, said it now expects 2018 profit of $7.85 to $8.05 per s...Read More

Tommy WilkesLONDON (Reuters) - Trading activity on cryptocurrency exchanges has halved from its December peak, industry data shows, as retail interest in the virtual coins declines and the prices of many remain far below their recent highs.Average daily traded volumes across cryptocurrency exchanges fell to $9.1 billion in March and to $7.4 billion in the first half of April, compared to almost $1...Read More

Herbert LashNEW YORK (Reuters) - A housing shortage, strong economy and robust demand have pushed many homes in major U.S. cities over $1 million, offsetting buyers’ concerns about the reduced benefits of owning a pricey property under President Donald Trump’s tax reform, data show.Home sales at $750,000 and above have surged by double digits annually in the past three years, closings...Read More

Karl Plume, P.J. HuffstutterCHICAGO (Reuters) - Several ships carrying cargoes of sorghum from the United States to China have changed course since Beijing slapped hefty anti-dumping deposits on U.S. imports of the grain, trade sources and a Reuters analysis of export and shipping data showed.Sorghum is a niche animal feed and a tiny slice of the billions of dollars in exports at stake in the trad...Read More

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - British finance minister Philip Hammond said on Friday that it looked like financial markets had been out of step with Bank of England Governor Mark Carney, whose comments a day earlier dampened expectations for an interest rate hike in May.Carney roiled markets after he described recent data as “mixed” and said there could be differences of opinion among policym...Read More

HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe’s parliament has ordered former leader Robert Mugabe to answer questions next month about whether the state was deprived of $15 billion in diamond revenue, a legislator said on Friday.It will be Mugabe’s first public appearance since last November when the army deposed him in a de facto coup after nearly four decades in power and he was replaced by President...Read More

Elisabeth O'Leary, David MillikenGLASGOW, Scotland (Reuters) - The Bank of England should avoid taking a “glacial” approach to interest rate rises, one of the central bank’s more hawkish policymakers said on Friday, after markets pushed back expectations for the date of its next rate rise.Michael Saunders - one of two officials to vote to raise interest rates last month - said gr...Read More

There's huge open interest at Amazon's April 1,600 callThe broad tech sell-off that hit Wall Street earlier this year sent Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) stock spiraling below its 50-day moving average, with the shares finally bouncing near the 80-day moving average and $1,350 level. In fact, a win today would mark a fifth straight for AMZN, and the security was last seen trading slightly higher b...Read More

ONDON (Reuters) - Prince Charles was approved as the successor to Queen Elizabeth as head of the Commonwealth at a meeting of the group’s heads of government in Windsor on Friday, Sky News reported citing unnamed sources.There have been calls for the role to be rotated around the 53 member-states, most of which are former British territories, but in recent days the queen, the British governm...Read More

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday criticized OPEC for output reductions that have helped raise oil prices and said the action would not be tolerated, as oil prices appeared set for a second consecutive week of gains.“Looks like OPEC is at it again. With record amounts of Oil all over the place, including the fully loaded ships at sea. Oil prices are artificially Ve...Read More

GE's post-earnings upside is helping limit pre-market losses for the broader marketDow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) futures are trading modestly below fair value, as pre-market downside for tech stocks Apple (AAPL) and Intel (INTC) overpowers a positive earnings reaction for General Electric (GE). Nevertheless, the Dow, S&P 500 Index (SPX), and Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) are all on track for weekly...Read More

(Kitco News) - A rise inphotovoltaic demand should improve silver’s supply/demand fundamental picturein the coming years, said BMO Capital Markets.Analystsdescribed silver as a “frustrating commodity” for investors lately, withprospects for outperformance that do not yield results. In a report lateThursday, the bank said it sees the gold/silver ratio eventually falling to 60,whic...Read More

(Kitco News) - A rise in photovoltaic demand should improve silver’s supply/demand fundamental picture in the coming years, said BMO Capital Markets. Analysts described silver as a “frustrating commodity” for investors lately, with prospects for outperformance that do not yield results. In a report late Thursday, the bank said it sees the gold/silver ratio eventually falling to 6...Read More

HSBC has joined an increasing list of large banks by announcing Friday it would not longer finance coal-fired plants, oil sands and arctic drilling.The move, announced by Europe's largest bank at its annual meeting as part of its new energy policy, seeks to head off criticism from investors who want the institution's actions to be aligned with the Paris Agreement, a global pact to limit greenhous...Read More

(Kitco News) - Gold and silver prices are modestly lower in early U.S. trading Friday. It’s been a slownews week, which has helped gold to drift in a choppy fashion. However, it’sbeen a very good week for the silver market bulls, as prices hit a 2.5-monthhigh Thursday and the market is now in an uptrend. June Comex gold futures werelast down $4.00 an ounce at $1,344.80. May Comex sil...Read More

(Reuters) - Oilfield services provider Schlumberger NV (SLB.N) reported an 88 percent rise in quarterly profit on Friday as rising crude oil prices encouraged its North American clients to ramp up spending.The company’s revenue from North America jumped nearly 52 percent to $2.84 billion. Schlumberger is a bellwether for the oilfield services and drilling industries.U.S crude oil prices CLc1...Read More

(Reuters) - Baker Hughes, the oilfield services company controlled by General Electric, posted a quarterly profit that beat Wall Street estimates on Friday as improving oil prices prompted companies to ramp up production.The cost of a barrel of U.S. crude rose 7.5 percent in the first quarter, energizing oil producers to step up investments after holding back over the past few years to counter a s...Read More

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices fell on Friday after U.S. President Donald Trump criticized OPEC and said oil prices were artificially high, but they were still set for a weekly gain.Brent crude oil futures LCOc1 were at $73.26 per barrel at 1139 GMT, down 52 cents from their last close.U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures CLc1 were down 48 cents at $67.81 a barrel.“Looks like OPEC...Read More

April 20 (Reuters) - Custody bank State Street Corp reported a 36 percent rise in first-quarter profit on Friday, helped by strong asset servicing and management fees.Net income available to common shareholders rose to $605 million, or $1.62 per share, from $446 million, or $1.15cents per share, a year ago.Total revenue rose 13.2 percent to $3.02 billion. (Reporting by Diptendu Lahiri in Bengaluru...Read More

* German 10-year yield set for biggest weekly rise since Feb* Long-term inflation expectations highest since mid-March* BoE’s Carney dampens May rate hike expectations in UK* Euro zone periphery govt bond yields tmsnrt.rs/2ii2Bqr (Adds Trump tweet, background, updates prices)By Abhinav RamnarayanLONDON, April 20 (Reuters) - German government bond yields were set for their biggest weekly ri...Read More