(Fixes format error)SYDNEY, Feb 20 (Reuters) - Australia's central bank mapped out a steady course for rates at its first meeting of 2018 this month, and indicated a pick-up in wage growth was necessary to ensure a much-needed recovery in inflation. Minutes of the Reserve Bank of Australia's (RBA) January meeting showed policy makers had become more confident about the domestic outlook, thanks i...Read More

* Mitsubishi Corp to raise stake in MM to about 20 pct - Nikkei* Nikkei reports deal worth about $1.1 bln (Adds companies' comments)Feb 20 (Reuters) - Trading house Mitsubishi Corp said on Tuesday it was considering raising its stake in Mitsubishi Motors via a tender offer, a deal that the Nikkei newspaper reported could be worth about $1.1 billion.Mitsubishi Corp said in a statement it was consid...Read More

* Says 2 pct price growth would show deflation defeated* Follows news of longest growth spurt since bubble days (Adds quotes, context)By Stanley WhiteTOKYO, Feb 20 (Reuters) - Finance Minister Taro Aso said on Tuesday that Japan has essentially escaped from the economic malaise linked to asset price deflation, although policymakers need to do more."We have a 2 percent consumer price target, a...Read More

MEXICO CITY, Feb 19 (Reuters) - Private equity fund Nexxus Capital said on Monday it plans to invest $350 million over 12 to 18 months in small- and medium-sized firms with high exposure to middle-class consumers in Mexico, Spain and Portugal.Nexxus, a Mexico City-based fund that has taken several firms public in recent years, said it will target Mexico for the country's young population coveted b...Read More

Feb 20 (Reuters) - For other diaries, please see:Top Economic Events Polling Unit Diary Today in Washington Political and General News DATECOUNTRY AUCTION DETAILS 20-FebGermany Auction of 2-year Treasury notes20-FebSpain Auction of 3- and 9-month Treasury bills20-FebUnited States Sale of 2-year notes21-FebUnited States Sale of 2-year floating rate notes21-FebUnited States Sale of 5-year notes21-Fe...Read More

Feb 20 (Reuters) - For other diaries, please see:Top Economic Events Government Debt Auctions Political and General News Events Index of All Diaries Guide to Economic Indicators -----------------------------------------------------------This Diary is filed daily -----------------------------------------------------------TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 20 MANILA - Philippines central bank Governor Nestor Espenil...Read More

Feb 20 (Reuters) -For other diaries, please see:U.S. Federal Reserve Polling Unit Diary Today in Washington Political and General News -----------------------------------------------------------This Diary is filed daily.** Indicates new events -----------------------------------------------------------TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 20** BRUSSELS - ECB Vice President Vitor Constancio participates in ECOFIN meet...Read More

Source: Clive Maund for Streetwise Reports 02/18/2018Silver has zero appeal for momentum traders now, but technical analyst Clive Maund believes that is going to change.Silver is completely "off the radar" for most investors right now, which is just the way we like it when we are buying, however, as we will see, there are good reasons to believe that this will not be the case for much longer.O...Read More

MELBOURNE Feb 20 (Reuters) - Shares of battery and technology metals developer Australian Mines Ltd surged on Tuesday after the company signed an offtake agreement with South Korean battery maker SK Innovation for nickel and cobalt from its Sconi project.The commodity off-take agreement, which is for an initial period of 7 years, is for SK Innovation's newly developed battery manufacturing plant...Read More

TOKYO, Feb 20 (Reuters) - Finance Minister Taro Aso said on Tuesday that Japan's economy has basically escaped from economic malaise associated with asset price deflation.Aso, speaking with reporters after a cabinet meeting, said the government and the Bank of Japan still need to work together to achieve the central bank's 2 percent inflation target, because achieving this goal would offer proof t...Read More

Last week's other top-gaining TSXV-listed mining stocks were Granada Gold Mine, Galantas Gold, Goldcliff Resources and Cornerstone Capital Resources.Read full newsRead More

FTSE 100 closes down 47 ptsWall Street and Canada markets closed'Uninspired, lower volume trading in LondonBitcoin price rises 5% European indices started the week off in the red with FTSE 100 closing its account on Monday over 47 points down at 7,247 as traders struggled for direction as US and Canadian markets were closed."Equity markets started off the week on a lacklustre note, and t...Read More

Feb 20 (Reuters) - Trading house Mitsubishi Corp plans to about double its interest in Mitsubishi Motors to around 20 percent, Nikkei reported on Tuesday.Mitsubishi Corp, which held a 9.2 percent interest in Mitsubishi Motors as of last September, will spend about 120 billion yen ($1.13 billion) to buy additional shares through a tender offer, Nikkei reported. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Bank...Read More

SYDNEY, Feb 20 (Reuters) - Australian households carry relatively high levels of debt that could lead to financial difficulty in a downturn, but the overall level of stress is currently low and not a threat to the banking system, a top central banker said on Tuesday.In a speech at a responsible lending summit, Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) Assistant Governor for the financial systemMichele Bullo...Read More

(Adds quote and political context)BRASILIA, Feb 19 (Reuters) - Brazil's political affairs minister Carlos Marun said on Monday that passage of a bill to overhaul the country's costly social security system has effectively ground to a halt in Congress and would become a campaign issue in this year's election.Marun spoke to reporters after the head of the Senate, Eunicio Oliveira, said the federal...Read More

Feb 20 (Reuters) - Australian shares are set to fall at Tuesday's open, tracking weakening metal prices on the London Metal Exchange.Copper fell 1.6 percent on Monday, while nickel ended 2.3 percent lower.Australian share price index futures fell about 0.6 percent, or 34 points, to 5,869, a 72.6-point discount to the underlying S&P/ASX 200 index close. The benchmark added 0.6 percent on Monday...Read More

Feb 20 (Reuters) - Stock MarketsNet ChngStock MarketsNet ChngS&P/ASX 200** 5,941.637.6NZX 50**8,129.57 0.18DJIA**25,219.3819.01 NIKKEI**22,149.21428.96Nasdaq**7,239.465-16.965 FTSE**7,247.66 -47.04S&P 500** 2,732.22 1.02Hang Seng** 31,115.43599.83SPI 200 Fut 5,869-34.00STI** 3,487.88 44.37SSEC**3,199.4757 14.52 KOSPI** 2,442.82 20.99---------------------------------------------------------...Read More

BERLIN, Feb 19 (Reuters) - German builder Hochtief said on Monday it will lower its bid for Spain's Abertis if the infrastructure firm pays a dividend.Hochtief, majority-owned by Spanish builder ACS , has been competing with Italy's largest motorway operator Atlantia in a 17 billion-euro ($21.09 billion) bid battle for Abertis.Essen-based Hochtief said it will reduce its offer of 18.76 euros for A...Read More

Bart Turtelboom, chief executive of APQ Global (LON:APQ), gives his thoughts on the recent volatility in global markets.''It was quite a violent move ... on the face of it, it really looks to have been a large technical correction particularly in equity markets''.''Fundamentally, there was really no significant new news that would lead to that type of market correction''.Turtelboom also welcomes S...Read More

Momentum Public Relations Blog: February 16 2018 Sun Life Signals the Start of Mass Medical Cannabis Market Aphria Becomes SAQ Recreational Marijuana Supplier Tetra Bio-Pharma Receives Approval for Phase Three Medical Cannabis Cancer Chronic Pain Treatment As the countdown to marijuana legalization accelerates the acceptance of medical cannabis has become more common. A defining momentRead full ne...Read More