* Jan. homebuilding data jump to more than 1-year high* Indexes up: Dow 0.13 pct, S&P 0.02 pct, Nasdaq 0.02 pct* So far this week: Dow, S&P up over 4 pct, Nasdaq 5.6 pct* Healthcare stocks lead gainers on S&P, Dow (Updates to open)By Sruthi ShankarFeb 16 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks swung between losses and gains on Friday as lower U.S. crude oil prices and disappointing earnings reports fr...Read More

In accordance with an energy cooperation framework agreement signed in late January, Russia will have exclusive rights to produce oil and gas in Syria.Read full newsRead More

(Adds details, stocks, updates prices)Feb 16 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index was little changed on Friday as a boost from the heavyweight energy sector was offset by a decline in gold and natural resource companies, as well as cannabis producers.* At 10:08 a.m. EST (1508 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index was off 1.3 points, or 0.01 percent, at 15,406.36.* The en...Read More

(Adds more detail, committee response)By Emma Rumney and Lawrence WhiteLONDON, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Britain's financial watchdog said it would not publish the full report into Royal Bank of Scotland Group's treatment of small businesses, but instead sent a copy of the report to lawmakers on Friday.The cross-party Treasury Select Committee had given the Financial Conduct Authority a deadline of Frid...Read More

Retail behemoth Walmart Inc (NYSE:WMT) will step into the earnings confessional ahead of the opening bell on Tuesday, Feb. 20 -- when U.S. stocks resume trading after the long holiday weekend. In early trading today, WMT shares are in the spotlight amid reports of a bigger-than-expected footprint overseas, as well as upbeat analyst attention. Reuters reported that Walmart is in talks to buy a more...Read More

Shares of data storage specialist Seagate Technology PLC (NASDAQ:STX) pulled back along with the rest of the equities market in early February, but data from Schaeffer's Senior Quantitative Analyst Rocky White suggests you should definitely buy this dip. In fact, STX just sent up a buy signal that has never once failed, according to White.Specifically, he screens for stocks that have pulled back t...Read More

Acacia Mining (LON:ACA), Tanzania's No.1 bullion producer, which has been hit hard by a long-running dispute with the government of the East African nation, is mulling the sale of stakes in some or all of its operations in that country.In response to media speculation on the matter, the company said it was "engaging with a small number of potential investors" over the potential deal, adding it ad...Read More

Acacia Mining (LON:ACA), Tanzania's No.1 bullion producer, which has been hit hard by a long-running dispute with the government of the East African nation, is mulling the sale of stakes in some or all of its operations in that country.In response to media speculation on the matter, the company said it was "engaging with a small number of potential investors" over the potential deal, adding it ad...Read More

Acacia Mining (LON:ACA), Tanzania's No.1 bullion producer, which has been hit hard by a long-running dispute with the government of the East African nation, is mulling the sale of stakes in some or all of its operations in that country.In response to media speculation on the matter, the company said it was "engaging with a small number of potential investors" over the potential deal, adding it ad...Read More

* Assets under management rose in 2016, shrank in 2017* Sustained dividends would build trust* Survey finds investors underweight on mining* GRAPH: Big miners' enterprise value By Clara Deninaand Barbara LewisLONDON, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Investors are shunning the mining sector, data from Thomson Reuters shows, as they struggle to forget the string of multi-billion dollar takeovers and expensive dev...Read More

* Potanin offered to buy Abramovich's stake in Nornickel* Rusal seeks injunction in London court* Nornickel shares fall sharply in Moscow (Adds detail on London hearings, comment from source)By Polina Devitt, Alistair Smout and Peter HobsonMOSCOW/LONDON, Feb 16 (Reuters) - A power struggle over Norilsk Nickel (Nornickel) resurfaced on Friday as billionaire Vladimir Potanin offered to buy Roman Abr...Read More

In last week’s missive, I mentioned the probability of anear-term bounce in gold stocks, based on how over-sold the sector had becomeduring “panic week” in the global marketplace. A few hours after the articlewas posted and with the GDX down a further 3% last Friday, the last fifteenminutes of trade in the major miner ETF was bought heavily back to unchanged onthe day. The late r...Read More

LONDON, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Britain's financial watchdog said it would not publish the full report into Royal Bank of Scotland Group's treatment of small businesses, but instead sent a copy of the report to lawmakers on Friday.The cross-party Treasury Select Committee had given the Financial Conduct Authority a deadline of Friday to either publish the report, which details RBS's much-criticised tre...Read More

(Kitco News) - Goldprices have lost some of their modest early gains during morningU.S. trading action Friday. A rebound in the U.S. dollar index after it dropped to a three-year low overnight is slightly pressuring theyellow metal. Also, some mild profit-taking from this week's big gains, headinginto a three-day U.S. holiday weekend, is also featured in gold. The U.S. stockmarket is coming under...Read More

(Kitco News) - Gold prices have lost some of their modest early gains during morning U.S. trading action Friday. A rebound in the U.S. dollar index after it dropped to a three-year low overnight is slightly pressuring the yellow metal. Also, some mild profit-taking from this week's big gains, heading into a three-day U.S. holiday weekend, is also featured in gold. The U.S. stock market is coming...Read More

Feb 16 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index edged up on Friday as gains in the heavyweight energy sector offset declines among natural resource and gold producers.*Shortly after the opening bell, the Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index was up 11.45 points, or 0.07 percent, at 15,419.11. (Reporting by Leah Schnurr Editing by Chizu Nomiyama) Disclaimer: The views expressed in this...Read More

In last week’s missive, I mentioned the probability of a near-term bounce in gold stocks, based on how over-sold the sector had become during “panic week” in the global marketplace. A few hours after the article was posted and with the GDX down a further 3% last Friday, the last fifteen minutes of trade in the major miner ETF was bought heavily back to unchanged on the day. The l...Read More

* Annual capital spending will pass prior peak by 2023* Irish PM says plan will help insulate economy from Brexit* New regeneration agency set up to boost housing supply By Graham FahyDUBLIN, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Ireland unveiled a 10-year capital investment programme on Friday that will continue to ramp up spending to ease bottlenecks in housing, health and transport and keep pace with the fastest...Read More

Brio Gold Inc. (TSX: BRIO)says it has agreed to an increased offer to be bought in an all-stock deal byLeagold Mining Corp. (TSX: LMC).Leagold announced an intention to make a takeover bid for Brio last month. Thecombined company will be an intermediate gold producer, with four operatingmines and an advanced-stage development project, which are located in Mexicoand Brazil. The merged company...Read More

Brio Gold Inc. (TSX: BRIO) says it has agreed to an increased offer to be bought in an all-stock deal by Leagold Mining Corp. (TSX: LMC). Leagold announced an intention to make a takeover bid for Brio last month. The combined company will be an intermediate gold producer, with four operating mines and an advanced-stage development project, which are located in Mexico and Brazil. The merged co...Read More