SYDNEY, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) Governor Philip Lowe said on Friday the central bank would prefer a lower exchange rate, although on a trade-weighted basis the local dollar was "manageable."The Australian dollar climbed to a 2-1/2 year high of $0.8136 late last month as the greenback languished. The Aussie has since come off those levels but was still elevated...Read More
(Recasts, updates prices throughout)By Bruno FederowskiSAO PAULO, Feb 15 (Reuters) - Latin American markets rose broadly on Thursday as global stocks shrugged off recent losses and traded higher, supporting demand for riskier assets.Currencies and stocks across the region gained as global markets recovered from a deep selloff triggered by figures showing rising U.S. wages and a quickening pace of...Read More
Gertrude Chavez-DreyfussNEW YORK (Reuters) - Bitcoin rose above $10,000 on Thursday for the first time in more than two weeks, as investors bought back the digital currency after having fallen 70 percent from its all-time peak hit in mid-December.Bitcoin has been buffeted this year by a series of negative headlines centering around increased scrutiny by global regulators. There has also been the i...Read More
Gold is consolidating following the most considerable one-day price advance since August 2016. On May 18, 2017, gold gained $21 to move from $1237 to $1258. Although very respectable, the resulting $21 gain still falls five dollars short of yesterday’s net increase of $26 per ounce.Read More
SYDNEY, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) Governor Philip Lowe said on Friday he would like to see annual wage growth of around 3.5 percent.Australia has seen a surge in jobs since the beginning of last year but wage growth is crawling near its slowest pace on record at 2.0 percent. That is putting downward pressure on consumer spending and inflation, forcing the RBA to keep inter...Read More
LONDON, Feb 16 (Reuters) - The rate of homeownership among young, middle-income adults in Britain has more than halved over the last 20 years, according to research that highlights growing generational strains in British society.Only 27 percent of Britons aged between 25 and 34 with incomes in the middle bracket for their age owned a home in 2015/16, down from 65 percent in 1995/96, the Institute...Read More
By Lawrence WhiteLONDON, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Revenues at the world's 12 biggest investment banks fell to their lowest levels since 2008 last year, a survey showed on Friday, while a return to more volatile global markets in 2018 could be a mixed blessing for their business."In January banks were thinking '2018 will be bad for equities revenues but not as bad as 2017', but now with the volatili...Read More
Feb 16 (Reuters) - For other diaries, please see:Top Economic Events Polling Unit Diary Today in Washington Political and General News DATECOUNTRY AUCTION DETAILS16-FebJapan 1-year discount bill auction19-FebNetherlands DTC auction20-FebGermany Auction of 2-year Treasury notes20-FebSpain Auction of 3- and 9-month Treasury bills20-FebUnited States Sale of 2-year notes21-FebUnited States Sale of 2-y...Read More
Feb 16 (Reuters) - For other diaries, please see:Top Economic Events Government Debt Auctions Political and General News Events Index of All Diaries Guide to Economic Indicators -----------------------------------------------------------This Diary is filed daily** Indicates new events-----------------------------------------------------------MONDAY, FEBRUARY 19SYDNEY - Speech by Michele Bullock, R...Read More
Feb 16 (Reuters) -For other diaries, please see:U.S. Federal Reserve Polling Unit Diary Today in Washington Political and General News -----------------------------------------------------------This Diary is filed daily.** Indicates new events -----------------------------------------------------------FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 16** GRANADA, Spain - Bank of Spain Governor Luis Maria Linde to participate in...Read More
(Adds details on funds, table, analyst quote, byline)By Trevor HunnicuttNEW YORK, Feb 15 (Reuters) - U.S. fund investors fled the riskier corners of the debt market, pulling the second-highest amount of cash on record from high-yield "junk" bonds during the latest week, Lipper data showed on Thursday.The $6.3 billion in withdrawals from the funds during the week ended Feb. 14 mark a new...Read More
(Adds background)Feb 15 (Reuters) - Global index provider MSCI Inc on Thursday "strongly suggested" that India's three main stock exchanges reconsider their anti-competitive measures that restrict the accessibility of the Indian equity market to foreign exchanges.The National Stock Exchange, BSE Ltd and Metropolitan Stock Exchange said last week that they would stop licensing products a...Read More
SYDNEY, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) Governor Philip Lowe said on Friday the outlook for rising U.S. budget deficits was "very problematic."Investors are worried about the twin deficits in the United States amid a government spending splurge and large corporate tax cuts. Lowe said he would not want tax cuts in Australia to lead to higher deficits. The U.S. national...Read More
Mr. Nolan Watson reportsSANDSTORM GOLD ANNOUNCES 2017 FOURTH QUARTER AND ANNUAL RESULTSSandstorm Gold Ltd. has released its results for the fourth quarter and year ended Dec. 31, 2017 (all figures in U.S. dollars). Fourth quarter highlights: Attributable gold equivalent ounces sold (1) of 12,032 ounces (Q4 2016 -- 13,245 ounces); Revenue of $15.4-million (Q4 2016 -- $16.5-million); Operating cash...Read More
PANAMA CITY, Feb 15 (Reuters) - Panama consumer prices rose 0.4 percent in January versus the same month a year earlier, the comptroller in the Central American country said on Thursday.In the first month of the year, prices for education, health services, hotels and restaurants rose most, according to the consumer price index.By contrast, prices for food and non-alcoholic beverages fell 1.5 perce...Read More
By Jonathan StempelFeb 15 (Reuters) - Federal prosecutors on Thursday charged a Chicago trader with wire fraud for allegedly stealing $2.06 million of bitcoin and litecoin from his employer.Joseph Kim, 24, is the first person facing criminal prosecution in Chicago involving the cryptocurrency trading industry, according to the office of U.S. Attorney John Lausch in that city, which announced the c...Read More
(Recasts with governor comments)By Swati PandeySYDNEY, Feb 16 (Reuters) - The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) expects to make only gradual progress in reducing unemployment and having inflation return to its 2-3 percent target band, signaling interest rates will stay at record lows for a while yet.The RBA has held rates at 1.50 percent since last easing in August 2016, as it seeks to strike a bal...Read More
SYDNEY, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) Governor Philip Lowe said on Friday a downgrade of Australia's triple-A sovereign credit rating would be a political event, not an economic one.Australia is among the few countries in the world with a such a rating. Standard & Poor's last month affirmed Australia's rating but kept its negative outlook on the country citing "signif...Read More
SYDNEY, Feb 16 (Reuters) - The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) will wait for unemployment to nudge lower and inflation to hop into its 2 percent to 3 percent target range before considering raising interest rates, Governor Philip Lowe said on Friday. "As things currently stand, we expect that progress to be steady, but to be only gradual," Lowe said before a parliamentary economics commi...Read More
(Adds details, background)* Wakatabe seen as advocate of bolder easing* Veteran central banker Amamiya gets other deputy post - Nikkei* BOJ Kuroda likely to be reappointed, easy policy seen intact* Govt to submit nominees to parliament on Friday By Leika KiharaTOKYO, Feb 16 (Reuters) - The Japanese government is considering nominating economist Masazumi Wakatabe, an advocate of bolder monetary e...Read More