With bond yields stabilizing and a surge in tech and industrial stocks, the major market indexes are trading higher at midday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) is up more than 200 points, despite a bad day for General Electric (GE) stock. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 Index (SPX) and Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) are also in the black, as traders shake off a second straight drop in monthly new home s...Read More
(Adds details on cobalt asset, cobalt market, paragraphs 3-5)By Nicole MordantHOLLYWOOD, Fla., Feb 26 (Reuters) - Several parties are interested in buying Freeport-McMoRan Inc's cobalt project in the Democratic Republic of Congo but not at a price that would interest the miner and so it is not planning a sale, Freeport's chief executive officer said. As a result, Freeport is looking at other opti...Read More
* Focus on Fed chief's testimony, inflation data this week* U.S. bond yields, VIX ease further from peaks* Berkshire Hathaway gains on Buffett's comments on buy backs* Indexes up: Dow 0.86 pct, S&P 0.54 pct, Nasdaq 0.57 pct (Changes comment, adds details, updates prices)By Sruthi ShankarFeb 26 (Reuters) - Gains in technology and industrial shares boosted Wall Street on Monday, with investors a...Read More
(Adds details)MAPUTO, Feb 26 (Reuters) - Mozambique's central bank slashed its benchmark interest rate on Monday for the fourth meeting in a row as currency strength continues to slow consumer price inflation.The permanent liquidity facility interest rate was lowered by 150 basis points to 19 percent, its lowest since September 2016. The monetary policy interest rate, or MIMO, was cut by the same...Read More
Brazilian researchers linked to the University of S??o Paulo (USP) have developed a model based on conditions found at Mponeng gold mine near Johannesburg, South Africa, at a depth of 2.8 km, to evaluate how habitable Jupiter's icy moon Europa may be.Based on the theory that Europa may host life in an ocean of liquid water hidden under its 10 km-deep ice crust, the team located a similar environ...Read More
Brazilian researchers linked to the University of S??o Paulo (USP) have developed a model based on conditions found at Mponeng gold mine near Johannesburg, South Africa, at a depth of 2.8 km, to evaluate how habitable Jupiter's icy moon Europa may be.Based on the theory that Europa may host life in an ocean of liquid water hidden under its 10 km-deep ice crust, the team located a similar environ...Read More
Anthony Esposito, Adriana BarreraMEXICO CITY (Reuters) - U.S., Mexican and Canadian negotiators meet on Monday seeking to narrow disagreements on how to overhaul the NAFTA trade deal despite renewed signs of tension between Mexico and U.S. President Donald Trump over his planned border wall.The trade teams began a seventh round of talks on Sunday aiming to finish reworking less contentious chapter...Read More
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - It would be good for the Federal Reserve to regularly review its inflation framework but any change would require conviction that a new set up would provide benefits over the current 2 percent target, St. Louis Fed President James Bullard said on Monday.Several Fed policymakers have advocated a review of how the Fed sets its inflation target and “that is a good thing t...Read More
* Buffett wants CEO for health venture within one year* Buffett has confidence in Wells Fargo CEO despite scandals* Buffett calls tax cut 'tailwind' as $116 bln cash piles up (Adds healthcare discussion, bylines)By Jennifer Ablan and Jonathan StempelNEW YORK, Feb 26 (Reuters) - Warren Buffett on Monday said the healthcare company being set up by Berkshire Hathaway Inc , Amazon.com Inc and JPMorgan...Read More
WASHINGTON, Feb 26 (Reuters) - For details of the U.S. Treasury's auction of 4-week bills on Tuesday, see: (Washington economics newsroom) Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect those of Kitco Metals Inc. The author has made every effort to ensure accuracy of information provided; however, neither Kitco Metals Inc. nor the author can guarantee...Read More
By Costas PitasLONDON, Feb 26 (Reuters) - Aston Martin delivered its first annual pre-tax profit since 2010 on Monday after last year's sales reached a nine-year high, while the luxury British carmaker also confirmed it is considering a stock market flotation.Pre-tax profit reached 87 million pounds ($122 million) last year at fictional spy James Bond's car brand of choice, overturning a 163 milli...Read More
By JanWolfeFeb 26 (Reuters) - A U.S. administrative court said it has the authority to decide the validity of patents Allergan Plc transferred to a Native American tribe, dealing a setback to a strategy the company adopted to protect one of its best-selling medicines from generic competition.The Patent Trial and Appeal Board, a court run by the U.S. patent office, declined on Friday a request to d...Read More
(Adds detail)FRANKFURT, Feb 26 (Reuters) - Slack in the euro zone economy may be bigger than previously estimated and this could slow the rise of inflation but only temporarily and prices will eventually climb, European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said on Monday.The factors slowing the rise of inflation will wane as growth continues and the traditional relationship between growth and infl...Read More
(Updates with closing prices)JOHANNESBURG, Feb 26 (Reuters) - South Africa's rand pulled back from three-year highs scaled earlier in Monday's session as technical factors weighed, while stocks rose with Sasol among the advancers after it posted solid results.At 1500 GMT, the rand was 0.58 percent weaker on the day at 11.61 to the dollar, after earlier hitting 11.51, its best level since February...Read More
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Precious metals producer Sibanye-Stillwater arrested nearly 1,400 illegal miners at its South African gold shafts last year in a blitz the company says has mostly ended the practice at its mines.Illegal gold mining has plagued South Africa for decades and it costs the government and the industry more than 20 billion rand ($1.7 billion) a year in lost sales, taxes and royal...Read More
Several pharmaceutical stocks have been making outsized moves in recent weeks. Today, KemPharm Inc (NASDAQ:KMPH) and Achillion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACHN) stocks are in the spotlight, thanks to encouraging regulatory news. At last check, KMPH was trading 3.1% higher at $6.18, after jumping on Friday, and ACHN stock was up 10.5% to trade at $3.27.Analysts React to KMPH FDA ApprovalKemPharm...Read More
Mattel, Inc. (NASDAQ:MAT) stock is down 6.7% to trade at $15.52 -- on track for its worst day since a late-October bear gap -- after Jefferies downgraded the toy manufacturer to "underperform" from "hold." The brokerage noted that challenging industry conditions and the rising cost to compete would contribute to flattened growth and stock value. But while the firm said Mattel's recovery is alread...Read More
* Traders await clues from Fed's Powell testimony before Congress* U.S. 10-year yield holds below 4-year peak* Fed's Bullard worry about further U.S. rate increases* Foreigners step up buying at February refunding - Treasury data By Richard LeongNEW YORK, Feb 26 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury yields fell on Monday as traders reduced their bearish bond positions in advance of new Federal Reserve Chairm...Read More
(Adds details on sector moves, most traded stocks; updates prices)TORONTO, Feb 26 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index rose on Monday and reached a three-week high, as gains in prices of commodities such as gold and silver boosted share prices of mining companies. * At 10:01 AM ET (15:01 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index rose 23.69 points, or 0.15 percent, to 15,662....Read More
FRANKFURT, Feb 26 (Reuters) - Euro zone growth is robust but slack in the economy may be bigger than estimated, slowing the rise of inflation, European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said on Monday."Given the uncertainty surrounding the measurement of economic slack, the true amount may be larger than estimated, which could slow down the emergence of price pressures," Draghi told th...Read More