MILAN, Jan 17 (Reuters) - The European Central Bank's Chief Supervisor Daniele Nouy was "inflexible" at a meeting with Italian lenders on Wednesday where topics such as bad loans were discussed, two sources with knowledge of the matter said.Italian banks piled up soured loans in a deep recession and are struggling to get rid of them as a clogged judicial system hampers recoveries and sal...Read More

* ECB officials raise concerns about surging common currency* Dollar finds respite but outlook remains grim* Cryptocurrency rout accelerates on clampdown worries* Canadian dollar weakens briefly as BOC rings cautious tone (Updates to late U.S. market action)By Richard LeongNEW YORK, Jan 17 (Reuters) - The euro fell on Wednesday, pulling back from a three-year high above $1.23 as some European Cent...Read More

Jan 17 (Reuters) - Major Canadian banks on Wednesday raised their prime lending rates, a benchmark for a wide range of consumer and commercial loans, after the country's central bank raised interest rates for the third time in seven months.Bank of Canada increased interest rates to 1.25 percent as job growth and firmer inflation outweighed the cloud of NAFTA uncertainty. Banks including Toronto-Do...Read More

(Refiles to add Moonves first name, title in 3rd paragraph)By Jessica ToonkelJan 17 (Reuters) - Shari Redstone has discussed adding new directors to the board of CBS Corp as she renews her push to merge the company with Viacom Inc , The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.CBS and Viacom are both controlled by ailing Sumner Redstone, 94, and his daughter Shari, through their privately owned mov...Read More

Getty ImagesSeveral districts noted in the Beige Book there was an elevated demand for construction labor. The Fed's verdict: The Federal Reserve said the pace of growth continues to be "modest to moderate" in its latest snapshot of the economy known as the Beige Book. The report covers late November to Jan. 8. Most districts reported "on-going labor market tightness and challenges finding qualif...Read More

It's another breakout session for stocks today, with the Dow up around 290 points at last check, and fresh of a new record high. Among individual equities moving higher with the broad market are electric car concern Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) and data storage platform Pure Storage Inc (NYSE:PSTG), though pay-TV operator DISH Network Corp (NASDAQ:DISH) is sitting out the day's rally. Here's a closer l...Read More

By Trevor HunnicuttNEW YORK, Jan 17 (Reuters) - U.S. fund investors stampeded into bonds and world stocks during the latest week, ignoring warning signs about stretched prices, according to the Investment Company Institute (ICI).During the week, nearly $17 billion poured into equities, the most in any week since June. Bonds took in even more cash, $19 billion, the most on records that date to 2013...Read More

Gold price is feeding off a growing number of investor worries.Bitcoin's latest setback is also increasing gold demand.Gold has plenty of safety concerns to continue fueling rally.Gold is slowly working its way back into the spotlight as more and more investors become nervous over the possibility that the coming weeks could witness a long-anticipated stock market correction. There is also a be...Read More

BUENOS AIRES, Jan 17 (Reuters) - Argentine thermal and renewable energy producer Genneia SA will consider an initial public offering on the local or international stock market, the company said in a letter to the Buenos Aires stock exchange on Wednesday. The proposal will be discussed at a shareholders meeting on Feb. 7, said the letter from the company, which currently is privately owned.Genneia...Read More

WELLINGTON, Jan 18 (Reuters) - New Zealand house prices posted solid growth in December though the number of sales remained muted, the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ) said on Thursday.Nationwide, median house house values rose 1.7 percent compared to the previous month on a seasonally adjusted basis, according to REINZ. Prices were up 5.9 percent anually.The market had made a steady r...Read More

3:00pm: Interserve shares fall on govt scrutiny, but broker says it is not the next CarillionInterserve Plc (LON:IRV) shares are under pressure in the wake of Carillion's collapse, on Wednesday the share was down 1.65% at 119p.It comes amid reports of government scrutiny over the financial health of contractors.The UK Cabinet Office has set up a team of officials to keep an eye on the outsourcer,...Read More

* Boeing shares jump after announcing JV to make aircraft seats* Goldman Sachs slips on trading revenue weakness* Indexes up: Dow 1 pct, S&P 0.9 pct, Nasdaq 1 pct (Updates to late afternoon, changes byline, adds dateline NEW YORK)By April JoynerNEW YORK, Jan 17 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes rose on Wednesday as investors' expectations for higher earnings lifted stocks across sectors.T...Read More

By Karen PierogCHICAGO, Jan 17 (Reuters) - Chicago on Wednesday postponed an $898 million bond sale until next week at the earliest, citing weaker market conditions and the possibility of restructuring the deal to include taxable debt.The revenue bond issue, which topped this week's $3.45 billion supply calendar in the U.S. municipal market, was aimed at refinancing some of Chicago's outstanding g...Read More

At the beginning of every year, we update what's typically one of our most popular pages, the Periodic Table of Commodity Returns. I encourage you to explore 10 years' worth of data on basic materials such as aluminum, zinc and everything in between. A word of warning, though-the interactive feature makes the table highly addictive. Please feel free to share it with friends and family!It was a p...Read More

U.S. industrial production increased more than expected in December as unseasonably cold weather at the end of the month boosted demand for heating, but manufacturing output barely rose, pointing to moderate growth in the industrial sector.Read full newsRead More

Gold futures notched a fifth session gain and another four-month high on Wednesday, with the dollar-denominated yellow metal getting a boost as the U.S. dollar failed to see much of a bounce back from recent lows. Prices for the yellow metal eased back a bit from the settlement shortly after the release of the Federal Reserve's Beige Book. February gold GCG8, -0.87% rose $2.10, or nearly 0.2%, t...Read More

Gold futures notched a fifth session gain and another four-month high on Wednesday, with the dollar-denominated yellow metal getting a boost as the U.S. dollar failed to see much of a bounce back from recent lows. Prices for the yellow metal eased back a bit from the settlement shortly after the release of the Federal Reserve's Beige Book. February gold GCG8, -0.79% rose $2.10, or nearly 0.2%, t...Read More

Amid the wild Bitcoin ride that's wiped more than 40 percent off the cryptocurrency's price in a month, a pattern may be emerging: sellers are switching out of digital gold and into the real thing.Read full newsRead More

Steve HollandWASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday Russia is helping North Korea get supplies in violation of international sanctions and that Pyongyang is getting “closer every day” to being able to deliver a long-range missile to the United States.“Russia is not helping us at all with North Korea,” Trump said during an Oval Office interview...Read More

Bitcoin's recent wobbles have given fresh urgency to a question that's gripped market observers for much of the past year: Will the cryptocurrency go down as one of history's most infamous bubbles, alongside tulipmania and the dot-com craze?Read full newsRead More