The President has made clear that the United States expects Pakistan to take decisive action against terrorists and militants on its soil, and that Pakistan's actions will ultimately determine the trajectory of our relationship.Read full newsRead More

Jan 1 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories on the business pages of British newspapers. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.The Times- Peer-to-peer lender Funding Circle is poised to hire advisers to prepare for over a 1 billion pound ($1.35 billion) float next year. - Directors of the Palmer & Harvey (P&H) altered the terms of an interest-...Read More

Jan 1 (Reuters) - For other diaries, please see:Top Economic Events Polling Unit Diary Today in Washington Political and General News DATECOUNTRY AUCTION DETAILS4-JanSpain Bond auction5-JanJapan 3-month discount bill auction8-JanFranceAuction of BTF Treasury notes8-JanNetherlands DTC auction9-JanUnited States Sale of 3-year notes9-JanUnited KingdomAuction of 1 1/4 % Treasury Gilt 20279-JanNetherl...Read More

Jan 1 (Reuters) -For other diaries, please see:U.S. Federal Reserve Polling Unit Diary Today in Washington Political and General News -----------------------------------------------------------This Diary is fileddaily.----------------------------------------------------------- MONDAY, JANUARY 1RICHMOND, Virginia. - Thomas Barkin begins his tenure as president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmon...Read More

The Ripple surge continued overnight, with the cryptocurrency exploding even higher, rising as high as $2.80, a $110 billion market cap and just over half that of Bitcoin's $212 billion, before easing slightly to $2.42 as of this moment.Read full newsRead More

Credit: (C) John Hilliard Tsukiji Fish Market's first auction of 2016 made headlines when a 440lb (200kg) endangered bluefin tuna sold for 14...Read full newsRead More

State Dept. spox on current Iran protests:Read full newsRead More

Bitcoin investors are claiming Australia's banks are freezing their accounts and transfers to cryptocurrency exchanges...Read full newsRead More

By Maki ShirakiNAGOYA, Japan, Jan 1 (Reuters) - Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd is on track to deliver its repeatedly delayed commercial jet by mid-2020, the head of its aircraft unit said, despite a risk of an order cancellation.The Mitsubishi Regional Jet (MRJ) aircraft has been delayed five times from an original delivery target of 2013, leading to spiralling costs. News this month tha...Read More

By Maki ShirakiNAGOYA, Japan, Jan 1 (Reuters) - Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd is on track to deliver its repeatedly delayed commercial jet by mid-2020, the head of its aircraft unit said, despite a risk of an order cancellation.The Mitsubishi Regional Jet (MRJ) aircraft has been delayed five times from an original delivery target of 2013, leading to spiralling costs. News this month that...Read More

Dec 31 - Below is a table of the latest Lebanese economic statistics. Figures are provided by the central bank, finance ministry and ratings agencies. Newly updated information denoted by (*). -----------------------LEBANESE POUND---------------------- EXCHANGE RATE BETWEEN BANKS : 1,507.5 pounds to the dollar -----------------------KEY INTEREST RATES------------------ *T-bill rates(Dec 21 issue)...Read More

(Corrects first paragraph to show yields rose not fell)Cairo, Dec 31 (Reuters) - Average yields on Egypt's three- and nine-month treasury bills rose at an auction on Sunday, central bank data showed.Yields on the 91-day bills rose to 19.223 percent from 18.770 at the last sale a week earlier, while yields on the 266-day bills also rose to 18.754 percent from 18.097 percent. (Reporting by Nadine A...Read More

(Corrects first paragraph to show yields rose not fell)CAIRO, Dec 31 (Reuters) - Average yields on Egypt's five- and 10-year treasury bonds rose at an auction on Sunday, central bank data showed.The average yield on the five-year bond rose to 15.856 percent from 15.728 percent at the last similar auction. The average yield on the 10-year bond rose to 16.025 percent from 15.740 percent. (Reporting...Read More

* Geopolitics, slumping economic growth weighed on Gulf bourses* Saudi index edged up just 0.2 pct in year, Dubai fell 4.6 pct* Valuations, higher state spending should help markets in 2018* Saudi's National Commercial Bank surges on bonus share issue* Dar Al Arkan pulls back after news of unit's IPO plan By Andrew TorchiaDUBAI, Dec 31 (Reuters) - Middle Eastern stock markets far underperformed t...Read More

(Recasts with 2017 data, adds details)By Steven ScheerTEL AVIV, Dec 31 (Reuters) - Israel's economic growth slowed in 2017 to 3 percent due to weaker consumer spending and investment, provisional data showed on Sunday, although a slight pickup is expected in 2018.The provisional estimate from the Central Bureau of Statistics was based on nine to 11 months of data and was well below a growth rate...Read More

FRANKFURT, Dec 31 (Reuters) - Siemens will test the appetite of sovereign wealth funds ahead of the planned listing of its healthcare unit Healthineers next year, its chief executive told a German weekly, possibly to secure anchor investors for the flotation.The listing of a minority of the unit, which makes X-ray and MRI machines, is set to take place in the first half of 2018 and is expected to...Read More

TEL AVIV, Dec 31 (Reuters) - Israel's economy grew an annualised 3.5 percent in the third quarter, slower than previously thought on a much smaller gain in exports, the Central Bureau of Statistics said on Sunday.In a preliminary estimate last month, the bureau said gross domestic product grew an annualised 4.1 percent, faster than the average forecast of 2.5 percent in a Reuters poll.Growth in th...Read More

DAKAR, Dec 31 (Reuters) - Congolese security forces shot dead two men in the capital Kinshasa on Sunday during protests against President Joseph Kabila's refusal to step down from office, Human Rights Watch said. The two men were killed outside St. Alphonse church in Kinshasa's Matete district, the advocacy group's Central Africa director, Ida Sawyer, told Reuters. (Reporting by Aaron Ross; Edit...Read More

Cairo, Dec 31 (Reuters) - Egypt will keep its customs exchange rate steady at 16 pounds per dollar for January, the finance ministry said on Sunday."The decision is consistent with the currency price stabilization in the past period," it said in a statement.Egypt began setting a monthly fixed customs exchange rate in January, following the flotation of its pound currency in November 2016...Read More

WINDHOEK, Dec 31 (Reuters) - Namibia's stock of foreign reserves declined at the end of November to a five-month low of 28.5 billion Namibian dollars($2.31 billion), according to central bank monetary and banking statistics seen by Reuters on Sunday.The level of international reserves declined from 31.6 billion Namibian dollars ($2.56 billion) at the end of October, mainly due to exchange rate flu...Read More