PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - The U.S. tax legislation approved last year is likely to boost growth and investment and is already pushing up equity prices, but should not force the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates any faster than expected, St. Louis Fed President James Bullard said on Thursday.“A lot of good things were done in this tax bill,” said Bullard, who endorsed the alignment...Read More

The U.K. Health and Safety Executive is investigating the causes of a crack in a key North Sea oil pipeline that disrupted production at more than 80 fields for weeks.Read full newsRead More

Both countries have floated plans to create homegrown virtual currencies that would put them outside the global financial and banking system.Read full newsRead More

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The dollar fell on Thursday, failing to hold the previous day’s gains on the back of upbeat U.S. data, as the euro resumed a rally that has taken it near its highest level in three years.A stronger-than-expected U.S. private-sector jobs report briefly helped the dollar pare losses versus the euro and extend gains against the yen. But those moves were short-lived.“T...Read More

(Kitco News) - A Welsh gold mine, which is behind three generations of British royal wedding rings, is planning to reopen after 20 years of inactivity — just in time for the spring royal wedding between Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.The gold from the Clogau St David’s mine, located in Bontddu, Snowdonia, was used in royal weddings for the last 90 years.Wedding rings for the Queen, Pri...Read More

(Kitco News) - A Welsh gold mine, which is behind three generations of British royal wedding rings, is planning to reopen after 20 years of inactivity — just in time for the spring royal wedding between Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.The gold from the Clogau St David’s mine, located in Bontddu, Snowdonia, was used in royal weddings for the last 90 years.Wedding rings for the Queen, Pri...Read More

Sexual intimacy cures have been pedalled for centuries but science is now in the marketplace with, among others,  Futura Medical's (LON:FUM) MED2002 gel getting noticed in all the right places.The publication, The Journal of Sexual Medicine, is a bit late to the party given that the headline results were announced back in September 2016 but Futura said it nonetheless shows the growing "level...Read More

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Dow Jones industrial average rose above the 25,000 level for the first time on Thursday and other major indexes scaled new records, propelled by strong economic data both in the United States and abroad.The 30-member blue-chip index crossed five 1,000-point marks in 2017 on the back of President Donald Trump’s pro-growth agenda and solid corporate earnings.It took le...Read More

Israel may ban from trading on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange companies whose main business revolves around bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, the Israel Securities Authority (ISA), the country's markets regulator, said on Thursday.Read full newsRead More

Online supermarket Ocado Group PLC (LON:OCDO) was helping the FTSE 250 to reach new highs on Thursday afternoon.The ?2.8bn company was the subject of a double whammy of City chatter about a potential new European contract as well as renewed takeover speculation.On the back of Ocado's tie-up with French grocer Casino back in November, reports in Sweden have suggested a deal with Swedish retailer I...Read More

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House said President Donald Trump believes in enforcing U.S. marijuana laws after the Department of Justice moved on Thursday to ease enforcement of federal drug laws in states that have legalized pot.“The president believes in enforcing federal law -- that’s his top priority -- regardless of what the topic is, whether it’s marijuana or immigratio...Read More

BOSTON (Reuters) - A handful of hedge funds ended 2017 with double digit returns, their investors said, at a time the $3 trillion industry took in fresh money and posted its best returns in years, industry data show.Activist hedge fund Marcato Capital Management, which waged proxy fights at Buffalo Wild Wings and Deckers Outdoor Corp. last year, ended 2017 with a 25.6 percent gain at its flagship...Read More

Qataris allege they were prevented from performing the Umrah pilgrimage by Saudi authorities.Read full newsRead More

Cobalt prices went ballistic in 2017 with the metal quoted on the LME ending the year at $75,500, a 129% annual surge sparked by intensifying supply fears and an expected demand spike from battery markets. Measured from its record low hit in February 2016, the metal is more than $50,000 more expensive.Given these lofty levels - and considering that the volatile commodity topped $100,000 a tonne a...Read More

Norway beat back an unprecedented lawsuit by environmental groups that sought to curb oil drilling in the country's Arctic waters.Read full newsRead More

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House said on Thursday that President Donald Trump would hold a bipartisan meeting on U.S. immigration reform next week.“Next week the president is inviting a bipartisan group of senators to the White House to discuss the next steps on responsible immigration reform,” White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders told reporters.Reporting by Jeff Mason; Writing...Read More

OTTAWA (Reuters) - The Canadian government is sending three cabinet ministers to the United States to stress the merits of NAFTA, officials said on Thursday, paving the way for key talks that could either sink or save the trade pact.Canada and Mexico object to major changes that Washington wants to make to the North American Free Trade Agreement, and time is running out to settle differences befor...Read More

The stock market rally is showing little signs of slowing down today, with the major benchmarks hitting record highs and the Dow toppling 25,000 for the first time ever. Among specific names making big moves are chip stock Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMD), stem cell specialist Cellect Biotechnology Ltd. (NASDAQ:APOP), and Chinese internet advertising stock ChinaNet Online Holdings, Inc. (...Read More

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday he was working with lawmakers to create an immigration system that will serve American workers and improve security, adding he thinks Congress has a good shot at passing an immigration reform bill.Speaking at the start of immigration talks with Republican lawmakers, Trump said he thought the bill would address the problem of undoc...Read More

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Global shares shattered records and European stocks closed higher on Thursday, bolstered by upbeat data from the world’s largest economies, while the euro hovered near a three-year high and the U.S. dollar fell against major currencies.MSCI’s gauge of stocks across the globe broke a new record, .MIWD00000PUS last gaining 0.83 percent.The ADP National Employment Rep...Read More