WASHINGTON, Jan 19 (Reuters) - U.S. financial regulators have begun work to "streamline" the Volcker Rule banning banks from making risky bets with their own money, the country's top banking regulator said on Friday. Randal Quarles, vice chairman for supervision at the Federal Reserve, told a conference in Washington that the five agencies that oversee the rule were working on a proposal...Read More

By Marc JonesLONDON, Jan 19 (Reuters) - Following are five big themes likely to dominate thinking of investors and traders in the coming week and the Reuters stories related to them. 1/DRAIN THE SW...ISS SKI RESORT Donald Trump headlines the annual gathering of capitalism's finest at Switzerland's Davos ski resort next week. Davos always generates news for markets but the U.S. president's appearan...Read More

(Bloomberg) - The Trump administration's condemnation of cheap Chinese aluminum is helping resolve overcapacity in China even before any measures are implemented, according to the top U.S. producer.The Commerce Department is preparing to deliver its Section 232 report on national-security threats posed by aluminum imports. Before any measures are announced, debate surrounding the investigation h...Read More

ANKARA, Jan 19 (Reuters) - Gold imports to Turkey hit a record 370 tonnes in 2017, more than trebling from 106.1 tonnes, data from Borsa Istanbul showed.This was the highest level of imports since the data was made available in 1995 and well above the previous record of 302 tonnes set in 2013.Imports in December alone reached 49.3 tonnes, up 34 percent year on year.Cagdas Kucukemiroglu, an Istanbu...Read More

Eric Zurrin, chief executive of Shanta Gold Limited (LON:SHG), caught up with Proactive's Andrew Scott on the back of their Q4 and operational update.The miner reported a strong final quarter of 2017 for its New Luika Gold Mine, in Southwest Tanzania, with gold production of 21,288 ounces, an increase of 17% on the third quarter.Annual gold production for 2017 was 79,585 oz, consistent with its gu...Read More

BENGALURU/MUMBAI, Jan 19 (Reuters) - Gold demand in China firmed this week as retailers stocked up ahead of the Chinese New Year while price discounts widened in India, partly on expectations of a reduction in import duty in next month's budget.Spot gold prices, up by more than 5 percent in the past month, rose on Friday, helped by a weaker dollar amid worries about a possible U.S. government shut...Read More

Earnings season is officially in full swing, with next week featuring off some high-profile names of its own. Among those slated to report is streaming giant Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX), which is scheduled to unveil its fourth-quarter earnings after the stock market closes on Monday, Jan. 22. Ahead of the event, NFLX stock this morning received price-target hikes from Rosenblatt to $265 from $225,...Read More

MOSCOW, Jan 19 (Reuters) - Leading Russian gold producer Polyus said on Friday it would issue $250 million worth of bonds, with the proceeds of the sale mainly going towards refinancing its debt.The offering is for senior unsecured guaranteed convertible bonds with a maturity of January 2021, the company said, adding that it expected them to carry a coupon of between 0.50 and 1.00 percent per annu...Read More

The U.S. stock market is mixed, as the Senate shows no signs of passing a budget agreement to avoid a government shutdown. Though the CBOE Volatility (VIX) is lower, non-cyclical consumer goods stocks are seeing notable buying, and gold futures are on the rise -- hinting at strong demand for "safer" assets. One bright spot has been the retail sector, led by strong gains from blue chip Nike (NKE),...Read More

The world's leading gold-stock ETF is nearing a major upside breakout from key technical levels. GDX is getting closer to challenging and powering above $25. That would accelerate the sentiment shift in this deeply-undervalued sector back to bullish, enticing investors to return. Good operating results from the major gold miners in their upcoming Q4'17 earnings season could prove the catalys...Read More

The world's leading gold-stock ETF is nearing a major upside breakout from key technical levels. GDX is getting closer to challenging and powering above $25. That would accelerate the sentiment shift in this deeply-undervalued sector back to bullish, enticing investors to return. Good operating results from the major gold miners in their upcoming Q4'17 earnings season could prove the catalys...Read More

ACCRA, Jan 19 (Reuters) - The Bank of Ghana said the yield on its weekly 91-day bill dipped to 13.32 percent at an auction on Friday from 13.36 percent at the last such sale on Jan 12.The bank said it had accepted 472.57 million cedis ($103.9 million) worth of bids out of the 473.07 million cedis tendered for the paper, which will be issued on Monday.Ghana's treasury bill yields have eased to arou...Read More

NEW YORK, Jan 19 (Reuters) - Fitch Ratings said on Friday its top AAA debt rating for the United States would not be directly impacted by a possible federal shutdown, which will begin on Saturday if lawmakers fail to clinch a deal to fund the government. "Partial federal government shutdowns have occurred in the past and this shutdown does not have a direct impact on the sovereign's 'AAA'/Sta...Read More

Kutcho project1. IntroductionVery rarely I come across a junior that simply seems to tick almost all boxes, and it looks like new sponsor Kutcho Copper Corp. (KC:TSX.V) is doing just that. From project profitability to management, from financials to geology, from location to metal prices, it comes across as a genuine display of quality and excellence. CEO Vince Sorace certainly made the most of...Read More

David Archer, chief executive of Savannah Resources Plc (LON:SAV), updates on progress at the company's projects in Portugal, Mozambique and Oman.At Mutamba in Mozambique the successful completion of a scoping study has led into pre-feasibility work which is underway.Where Oman's concerned, Archer says they're hoping to be in production this year. He says they're waiting on two final ministerial a...Read More

Gold rally hasn't had a specific catalyst, but a variety of factors.Not the least of these has been its value relative to equities.Gold mining stocks may need "consolidative pause" before continuing higher. Whenever the price of a widely watched asset like gold is trending higher, financial writers invariably struggle to discover the rally's underlying cause. They'll usually point to...Read More

* IBM lower after saying higher tax rates will hit profit* AmEx posts first loss in 26 years on tax charge* Dow off 0.15 pct, S&P 0.09 pct, Nasdaq 0.12 pct (Changes comment, updates prices, adds details)By Sruthi ShankarJan 19 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq were prodded higher by gains in consumer stocks, while investors played down fears of a looming U.S. government shutdown.Phili...Read More

MILAN, Jan 19 (Reuters) - Italian motorway operator Atlantia said on Friday it would decide on possible changes to the price and the structure of its takeover offer for Spain's Abertis once a competing offer has been approved by authorities.The Italian group could also decide to waive the minimum acceptance condition for the equity component of the takeover bid, the company said. Atlantia will con...Read More

On Thursday, Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) snapped its six-session losing streak -- its longest since December 2016. This negative price action came after FB stock topped out at a record high of $188.90 on Jan. 8, and was exacerbated by a rare downgrade following news of changes to the company's News Feed. However, the equity is now stabilizing above a key trendline.Specifically, FB is currently tradin...Read More

* Republicans scramble for funding deal before midnight deadline* Euro near 3-year high, yen close to 4-month high vs dollar* Rising U.S. yields fail to lift greenback (Updates market action, changes dateline, previous LONDON)By Richard LeongNEW YORK, Jan 19 (Reuters) - The dollar held near a three-year low versus a basket of currencies on Friday, poised for a fifth week of falls and its longest l...Read More