Feb 1 (Reuters) - U.S. states, cities, schools and other issuers in the municipal market sold only $19.57 billion of debt in January, the lowest supply for that month since 2014, according to Thomson Reuters data on Thursday. Issuance plummeted after nearly $58.2 billion of debt hit the $3.8 trillion market in December. Fears that federal tax legislation would terminate certain types of tax-exempt...Read More
(Recasts with CFO departure)By Heather SomervilleSAN FRANCISCO, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Short-term home rental service Airbnb Inc will not go public this year, the company said on Thursday, and it also announced a change in executive leadership with the loss of its chief financial officer and appointment of its first chief operating officer.San Francisco-based Airbnb, a service where homeowners and ren...Read More
(Adds Central Bank comment, details on inflation target)SANTIAGO, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Chile's central bank voted unanimously to keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 2.5 percent at its monthly policy meeting on Thursday, in line with market expectations.The bank said it would leave open the possibility for increased stimulus should inflation continue to lag behind its target rate.Chile's in...Read More
Feb 2 (Reuters) - Australian shares are poised to edge lower at open on Friday, as gains on Wall Street lost steam after bond yields rose.Wall Street gave up earlier gains on Thursday as the U.S. Treasuries market started February on a sour note. The 10-year yield hit a near four-year peak after economic indicators seemed to confirm the Federal Reserve's inflation outlook.The local share price ind...Read More
(Adds details, stocks, updates prices to the close)By Nichola SaminatherTORONTO, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Canada's benchmark stock index ended its fourth day of losses at a 14-week low, as a hawkish Federal Reserve sapped demand for equities, with two cannabis producers posting the biggest declines on Thursday.* The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index ended down 90.75 points, or 0.57 per...Read More
(Corrects length of time since previous low close throughout.)TORONTO, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index unofficially closed at a 14-week low on Thursday, as a hawkish Federal Reserve caused investor jitters, with marijuana producers leading the selloff.The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index was down 90.75 points, or 0.57 percent, at 15,860.92. (Reporting by Nichola Sa...Read More
The Dow explored both sides of breakeven today, trading in a range of almost 300 points before eventually settling in positive territory. A strong earnings move and all-time high from Facebook (FB) provided a lift for the broader market, but concerns about rising interest rates and a surprisingly weak productivity report contained the momentum in equities. The attention will likely stay on the tec...Read More
* Bank stocks buoyed by hawkish Fed comments* UPS falls as higher costs hurt profit* Amazon up, Alphabet down in extended trading after results* Dow up 0.14 pct, S&P 500 down 0.06 pct, Nasdaq down 0.35 pct (Updates to market close)By Stephen CulpFeb 1 (Reuters) - Wall Street gave up earlier gains on Thursday as bond yields rose and technology stocks retreated ahead of a host of high-profile ea...Read More
(Kitco News)- It’s not just retail investors who are taking a shine togold as an important portfolio diversifier, with a new report from PwC highlightinggrowing demand for the yellow metal from Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWF).According to the report, state-owned investment funds areturning towards alternatives assets like private equities, real estate,infrastructure and commodities like gold. T...Read More
SANTIAGO, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Chile's central bank voted unanimously to keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 2.5 percent at its monthly policy meeting on Thursday, in line with market expectations.The bank said it would leave open the possibility for increased stimulus should inflation lag behind its target rate. (Reporting by Dave Sherwood; Editing by Lisa Shumaker) Disclaimer: The views...Read More
* Dollar bounce after Fed meeting short-lived* Greenback pares gains against yen* Euro strengthens (New throughout, updates prices, market activity and comments)By Stephanie KellyNEW YORK, Feb 1 (Reuters) - The dollar fell on Thursday against a basket of currencies, with the euro rising due to growing investor optimism in the economies that use the single currency.In January, the dollar fell 3.25...Read More
WELLINGTON, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Consumer confidence in New Zealand surged in January, breaking a three-month run of declines, with the mood about current conditions the brightest since 2007, a survey showed on Friday.The ANZ-Roy Morgan consumer confidence index rose to 126.9 in January from 121.8 the month before. A reading above 100 means optimists outnumber pessimists.A measure of how respondents...Read More
NEW YORK, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Gains on Wall Street faded on Thursday, with the S&P closing slightly lower as bond yields rose and technology stocks retreated ahead of a host of high-profile earnings. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 37.32 points, or 0.14 percent, to 26,186.71, the S&P 500 lost 1.83 points, or 0.06 percent, to 2,821.98 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 25.62 points, or 0....Read More
WASHINGTON, Feb 1 (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve on Thursday outlined standards for its annual 'stress test' of the largest banks to see how Wall Street would fare in a future financial crisis.Large lenders like JPMorgan Chase & Co and Bank of America Corp will have to report on whether their business could survive for long if the unemployment rate jumped to 10 percent and the economy was oth...Read More
* U.S. 30-year yield breaks above 3 pct for first time since May* U.S. economy expanding at 5.4 pct in Q1 - Atlanta Fed* Further yield curve flattening is expected to resume* U.S. Treasuries posted worst month in over a year (Updates market action, adds quote)By Richard LeongNEW YORK, Feb 1 (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasuries market started February on a sour note with the 10-year yield hitting a near...Read More
(Adds comments from media and analyst calls, updates market reaction)* Private equity heavyweights Apollo, Blackstone report Q4 results* Rising U.S. stock market help buyout firms book gains* Blackstone assets under management hit record high By Joshua FranklinNEW YORK, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Alternative asset managers Apollo Global Management LLC and Blackstone Group LP reported better-than-expected...Read More
(Recasts; adds comment from CEO, analyst)By Rodrigo Campos and Luc CohenNEW YORK/BUENOS AIRES Feb 1 (Reuters) - Shares of Corporacion America Airports struggled to get airborne on their market debut on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday after the Argentine airport operator priced its initial public offering at the lower end of an already reduced range. Shares opened at $17, the same as overn...Read More
By Ana ManoSAO PAULO, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Talks are on track between Brazilian logistics operator Hidrovias do Brasil SA and its lenders over a plan for the company to repay existing project finance debt with proceeds from a recent note issue, a person close to the matter told Reuters.The move, designed to give the company more flexibility to evaluate new projects to move commodities on Brazil's und...Read More
U.S. stocks are mixed this afternoon, as the major equity indexes struggle to start the new month on a positive note. Among the stocks making notable moves today are game developer The9 Limited (NASDAQ:NCTY), medical device concern ReWalk Robotics Ltd. (NASDAQ:RWLK), and software company Open Text Corp. (NASDAQ:OTEX). Here's a closer look at what's moving shares of NCTY, RWLK, and OTEXtoday.NCT...Read More
We recently examined a bullish extreme in the weekly Investors Intelligence (II) sentiment survey, as the "bulls minus bears" percentage ramped above 50% for the first time since 1987 (a calendar year that's likely to bring up some unpleasant associations for most investors). This week, as the II bulls-bears line remains unusually high, here's a sobering angle on this rampant investor optimism.Bul...Read More