Mr.Peter Grosskopf reports SPROTT COMPLETES ACQUISITION OF CENTRAL FUND OF CANADA Sprott Inc. has successfully completed its previously announced acquisition of the common shares of Central Fund of Canada Ltd. (CFCL) and the right to administer and manage CFCL's assets.CFCL's Class A shareholders are now unitholders of the newly created Sprott Physical Gold and Silver Trust. The new trust will beg...Read More

By Ben MartinLONDON, Jan 16 (Reuters) - Collapsed British firm Carillion, which has come under political fire for paying dividends while racking up big debts and a pension deficit, has handed more than $1 billion to shareholders since it was created 19 years ago, a Reuters analysis shows.The construction company raised its payout to shareholders every year, taking its dividends from 4 pence-a-shar...Read More

(Updates prices, adds comment)By Jemima Kelly and Gertrude Chavez-DreyfussLONDON/NEW YORK, Jan 16 (Reuters) - Bitcoin slid as much as 18 percent on Tuesday to a four-week low, as worries about a regulatory crackdown on the market spread after reports suggested it was still possible that South Korea could ban trading in cryptocurrencies.Bitcoin's slide triggered a selloff across the broader crypto...Read More

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) burst through the 26,000 level for the first time ever earlier to trade at fresh record highs -- and if the index closes above this mark tonight, it will be the fastest jump between 1,000-point milestones in history. The Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) and S&P 500 Index (SPX) have hit record highs, as well, thanks to a strong start to fourth-quarter earnings season a...Read More

Chris Cleverly, executive chairman at African Potash Ltd (LON:AFPO), tells Proactive they've struck a deal on a joint venture with Gibraltar firm TokenCommunities Limited to further its entry into game-changing blockchain technology.African Potash says the deal will complement the FinComEco joint venture they struck back in November and will bolster its plans to operate a range of platforms and pr...Read More

* Results cement Merck's lead in first-line lung cancer market* Data increases chances of European approval -analysts* Merck shares jump 6 percent* Roche, Bristol-Myers, AstraZeneca fall (Adds background, updates share price)By Tamara Mathias and Michael ErmanJan 16 (Reuters) - Positive lung cancer results for Merck & Co Inc's blockbuster drug Keytruda assuaged investor concerns aboutdelays in...Read More

FRANKFURT, Jan 16 (Reuters) - It would be "appropriate" for the European Central Bank to stop its bond purchases, due to run at least until September, this year, Germany's representative on the bank's policymaking body said in an interview to be published on Wednesday."I would hold that for appropriate from today's point of view," Bundesbank's head Jens Weidmann told the Frankf...Read More

Mr. Walter Coles reportsSKEENA WELCOMES NEW VICE PRESIDENT OF EXPLORATIONSkeena Resources Ltd. has appointed Paul Geddes as Skeena's new vice-president of exploration, effective March 1, 2018. Mr. Geddes has more than 20 years of exploration and resource development experience in precious metals and base metals with a focus on economic geology. His career ranges from greenfield to brownfield explo...Read More

Mr. Walter Coles reportsSKEENA WELCOMES NEW VICE PRESIDENT OF EXPLORATIONSkeena Resources Ltd. has appointed Paul Geddes as Skeena's new vice-president of exploration, effective March 1, 2018. Mr. Geddes has more than 20 years of exploration and resource development experience in precious metals and base metals with a focus on economic geology. His career ranges from greenfield to brownfield explo...Read More

ABUJA, Jan 16 (Reuters) - Nigeria expects to raise $700 million from multilateral sources, part of a $3.5 billion in borrowing earmarked in the 2017 spending plan, the Debt Management Office (DMO) said on Tuesday.The government raised $2.8 billion in the international market last year, selling $2.5 billion in Eurobonds in November and another $300 million via Diaspora bonds earlier. (Reporting by...Read More

* Wall Street advances to push Dow over 26,000* Dollar steadies after 4-day slump* ECB signals pull euro from 3-year high (Updates with U.S. market open, changes dateline; previous LONDON)By Chuck MikolajczakNEW YORK, Jan 16 (Reuters) - World stock markets advanced on Tuesday, with investors on Wall Street pushing the Dow index past the 26,000 threshold, while the U.S. dollar strengthened after fo...Read More

By Ben MartinLONDON, Jan 16 (Reuters) - City Developments Limited (CDL) said on Tuesday that it would not extend the offer period for its bid for Millennium & Copthorne Hotels (M&C) beyond 1300 GMT on Jan. 26.The Singaporean company is M&C's majority shareholder and has offered to buy out minority investors for 620 pence a share.CDL said in a statement that it was not extending its off...Read More

(Adds details, background)By Marja NovakLJUBLJANA, Jan 16 (Reuters) - The Slovenian government will have to resist pressure to increase spending if it is to reach its planned budget surplus of 0.4 percent of GDP in 2018, the central bank said on Tuesday.The bank said in a report that even though positive economic forecasts point to a rise in revenues, the government would have to "actively s...Read More

* Citigroup, UnitedHealth jump after Q4 results* GE slides after saying it would take $6.2 bln charge in Q4* General Motors sees profit pickup in 2019* Indexes up: Dow 0.57 pct, S&P 0.28 pct, Nasdaq 0.54 pct (Changes comment, adds details, updates prices)By Sruthi ShankarJan 16 (Reuters) - The Dow eased slightly after hitting the 26,000 mark for the first time on Tuesday, as earnings season go...Read More

By Alasdair ReillyLONDON, Jan 16 (Reuters) - UK manufacturing investment company Melrose is lining up a multi-billion pound loan to back its proposed ?7bn (US$9.63bn) offer for engineering firm GKN , banking sources said.The loan for the enlarged group, which is being arranged by Lloyds and RBC, will finance the cash consideration of around ?1.4bn of the proposed offer and refinance existing deb...Read More

(Kitco News) - Gold will be going higher in 2018, even with the Federal Reserve continuing to tighten its monetary policy, TD Securities said in a report.“Softening USD, inflation and geopolitical risks drive gold into $1,340s territory, lift precious complex— correction in gold not in the cards even as Fed tightens,” said Bart Melek, head of commodity strategy at TD Securities.M...Read More

(Kitco News) - Gold will be going higher in 2018, even with the Federal Reserve continuing to tighten its monetary policy, TD Securities said in a report.“Softening USD, inflation and geopolitical risks drive gold into $1,340s territory, lift precious complex— correction in gold not in the cards even as Fed tightens,” said Bart Melek, head of commodity strategy at TD Securities.M...Read More

LONDON (Reuters) - Investors have raised their stock allocations to two-year highs and cut cash positions to five-year lows, with a majority expecting the equity bull run to continue into 2019, a survey by Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BAML) showed on Tuesday.The global survey, which covers 183 participants with $526 billion under management, was conducted from Jan. 5 to 11, when world stocks rec...Read More

* ECB seen sticking to its policy message next week - Reuters* Signs of Merkel's struggle to govern puts euro on back foot* Bitcoin, other cryptocurrencies plunge on crackdown fears (Updates market action, changes dateline, previous LONDON)By Richard LeongNEW YORK, Jan 16 (Reuters) - The euro retreated from a three-year high on Tuesday as investors sold the currency on doubts that the European Cen...Read More

(Adds details)BRUSSELS/MADRID, Jan 16 (Reuters) - More central banks in Europe revealed plans on Tuesday to hold yuan as part of their foreign currency reserves, highlighting the Chinese currency's rise into an elite league of the world's major reserve currencies. Responding to Reuters inquiries placed with central banks across the region, Bank of Spain said it was considering an investment in th...Read More