NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve bought $2.498 billion of agency mortgage-backed securities in the week from Mar. 15 to Mar. 21, compared with $3.195 billion purchased the previous week, the New York Federal Reserve Bank said on Thursday.In a move to help the housing market begun in October 2011, the U.S. central bank has been using funds from principal payments on the agency debt and agen...Read More

Tom MilesGENEVA (Reuters) - China is preparing a range of responses to planned U.S. tariffs and will stand up to protectionism, but still hopes for dialogue, Beijing’s ambassador to the World Trade Organization (WTO) said on Thursday.Zhang Xiangchen said China was considering a WTO complaint against the package of tariffs that President Donald Trump was expected to announce later on Thursday...Read More

David RandallNEW YORK (Reuters) - The threat of a global trade war pushed benchmark equity indexes in the United States and Europe deep into the red on Thursday and cut into commodity prices, a day after the Federal Reserve raised interest rates as expected.U.S. President Donald Trump signed a presidential memorandum on Thursday that could impose tariffs on up to $60 billion of imports from China....Read More

Odyssey Marine Exploration has more than doubled todayThe Dow is sharply lower today following the White House's announcement of tariffs on China. Three stocks making notable moves are shipwreck discovery specialist Odyssey Marine Exploration Inc (NASDAQ:OMEX), Chinese tech issue Baidu Inc (NASDAQ:BIDU), and Humira parent AbbVie Inc (NYSE:ABBV). Let's take a closer look at what's moving shares of...Read More

Xeros Technology Group PLC (LON:XSG) saw its shares leap 11.5% in mid-afternoon trading to 164p after expanding its US coverage by acquiring Gloves Inc.The cleaning product developer said Gloves, a firefighter equipment maintenance company, was acquired for a cash consideration of US$800,000 with a further US$300,000 contingent on growth targets.Xeros said the acquisition, combined with its previo...Read More

Huw Jones, Emma RumneyLONDON (Reuters) - Britain announced a task force on Thursday to exploit the technology underpinning cryptoassets, such as bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, as part of new plans to help fintech companies find more customers.British finance minister Philip Hammond said he was committed to helping fintech grow and flourish by taking a series of domestic steps and forging link...Read More

LONDON (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs lost its place among the top three earners of commodities-related revenue in 2017, falling below rivals JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley and Citibank for the first time, data from analytics firm Coalition showed.U.S.-based investment bank Goldman has been among the top three since Coalition started compiling the figures in 2010, having a longstanding reputation for generat...Read More

Richard CowanWASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday approved a $1.3 trillion spending bill to avert a government shutdown and fund federal agencies through Sept. 30, despite a revolt by fiscal conservatives worried about what they called runaway spending.The Republican-led chamber backed the measure 256-167, sending it to the Senate ahead of a midnight Friday deadline...Read More

(Reuters) - U.S. stocks slid on Thursday, but were off session lows, after President Donald Trump said he planned to impose tariffs on up to $60 billion of Chinese imports, but his action was far removed from threats that could have ignited a global trade war.Trump, according to a presidential memorandum he signed, will target the imports only after a consultation period. China will also have spac...Read More

GENEVA (Reuters) - China is preparing a range of responses to planned U.S. tariffs and will stand up to protectionism, but still hopes for dialogue, Beijing’s ambassador to the World Trade Organization (WTO) said on Thursday.Zhang Xiangchen said China was considering a WTO complaint against the package of tariffs that President Donald Trump was expected to announce later on Thursday.“T...Read More

Firesteel Resources Inc. (TSX.V:FTR) ('FTR') today announced that it has appointed Vern Langdale as Mine Manager of the Laiva Mine in Finland. The mine is expected to start production in the third quarter of 2018. The team at Laiva will benefit from Vern's extensive international mining and project management experience.Read full newsRead More

Velocity Minerals Ltd. (TSXV:VLC) ("Velocity" or the "Company") announces a non-brokered private placement (the 'Financing') of up to 17,500,000 units (the 'Units') priced at $0.20 per Unit to raise total gross proceeds of up to $3.5 million.Read full newsRead More

Gold futures climbed Thursday to settle at their highest in more than two weeks, as the precious metal tracked a dollar hemmed in by signs the Federal Reserve would adhere to a more-conservative script with interest-rate policy this year. Prices for the yellow metal briefly tapped a session low as a benchmark dollar index found modest support after President Donald Trump signed tariffs against Chi...Read More

The Fed dovish hike is weighing on the USD. Trump should announce tariffs on China this Thursday. Gold is trading at around the 1330 mark, virtually unchanged so far on the day. On Wednesday the Fed failed to surprise the market. As a matter of fact, the market was surprised to see only two more rate hikes in 2018 as opposed to three. The market reaction was one-sided across the board: sell USD....Read More

Blackrock Gold Corporation (TSXV: BRC) (the 'Company') is pleased to announce that it has received final acceptance from the TSX Venture Exchange (the 'Exchange') for the Silver Cloud project in Elko, Nevada, details of which were announced in the Company's news release dated October 31, 2017.Read full newsRead More

Following the collapse of Europe's Composite PMI (to 14-month lows), US Composite PMI slipped notably from one-year highs. So much for the 'global synchronous recovery' narrative.Read full newsRead More

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices fell on Thursday as investors took profits after this week’s rally, but losses were limited by the continuing efforts of OPEC and its allies to curb supplies.Brent crude LCOc1 futures for May delivery fell 48 cents to $68.99 a barrel, a 0.7 percent loss, by 1:31 p.m. EDT (1731 GMT) having retreated from a session peak of $69.70, close to its highest level sinc...Read More

LONDON (Reuters) - Concerns about trade sent European shares tumbling on Thursday as the United States prepared to announce hefty tariffs on Chinese imports, with banks, basic resources stocks and tech the worst-performing.U.S. President Donald Trump signed a presidential memorandum that could impose tariffs on up to $60 billion in Chinese imports.Separately, the European Union secured an exemptio...Read More

The Leading Economic Index rose in February. This is the fourth straight month of gains for the index, which combines 10 economic metrics to take a pulse on the U.S. economy. The index rose 0.8 percent in January. Kevin Breuninger| @KevinWilliamB Published 11 Hours AgoUpdated11 Hours AgoCNBC.com Getty ImagesCustomers shop at a Target store in Chicago, Illinois.A composite index of leading econ...Read More

Weekly puts are flying off the shelves on FXI, BABA, and VIPSThe White House this morning said it would unveil a tariff plan for China today, sending several China-based stocks into the red out of the gate. As promised, President Donald Trump just unveiled roughly $60 billion in new tariffs, meant to penalize China for intellectual property theft. Further, Trump warned that it's the "first of many...Read More