(Corrects headline to say the jobless rate rose)TOKYO, Jan 30 (Reuters) - Japan's jobless rate rose to 2.8 percent in December and the availability of jobs hit the highest level in nearly 44 years, government data showed on Tuesday. The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose from 2.7 percent in November, data from the Internal Affairs ministry showed. Economists' median forecast was for the j...Read More
Gold prices declined on Monday, dragged down by a stronger dollar, with the latter underpinned by higher US yields and profit taking ahead of major economic events. After hitting multi-year lows, the US dollar managed to recover some ground over the last sessions, while the yield on 10-year US Treasury notes reached its highest level since April 2014. Against this backdrop, the yellow metal spot f...Read More
TOKYO, Jan 30 (Reuters) - Japanese household spending fell 0.1 percent in December from a year earlier in price-adjusted real terms, government data showed on Tuesday, compared with economists' median estimate of a 1.7 percent increase.For background, please see this PREVIEW To view the data on the website of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications: (Reporting by Sumio Ito and Stanley...Read More
(Updates prices, adds Colombia rate cut)By Bruno FederowskiSAO PAULO, Jan 29 (Reuters) - Latin American currencies weakened on Monday as prospects of tighter monetary policy throughout developed markets drove investors away from high-yielding assets.Dutch central bank president Klaas Knot said on Sunday that "there is no reason whatsoever" for the European Central Bank (ECB) to continue...Read More
By Samuel Shen and John RuwitchSHANGHAI, Jan 30 (Reuters) - Chinese asset managers, seeking to get ahead of an expected wave of foreign money inflows, are racing to launch index funds that place bets on a select group of mainland stocks, which will be included in MSCI's emerging market benchmark this year.The first such product to follow MSCI's inclusion announcement in June is Truvalue Asset Mana...Read More
(Adds comment about Cadia mine, performance at Lihir)Jan 30 (Reuters) - Newcrest Mining Ltd's second-quarter gold production fell 0.3 percent from a year ago but rose 17.2 percent over the prior quarter, driven by increased production at Cadia, Lihir, Bonikro and Telfer.Newcrest said total gold output from its mines in Australia, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and Ivory Coast fell to 612,695 ounces...Read More
Two big themes last week at Inside ETFs, the Comic-Con of exchange-traded funds attended by more than 2,300 advisors and investors, were innovation and disruption. Like all other industries, the investing world has seen its fair share of disruption in the past quarter-century-think indexing, passive investing, the rise of robo-allocation and now blockchain and cryptocurrencies. This year marks the...Read More
Susan CornwellWASHINGTON (Reuters) - As the U.S. Congress limps toward the likely passage next week of another stopgap spending bill to avert a government shutdown, a Washington think tank has estimated the federal budget deficit is on track to blow through $1 trillion in 2019.If it does, it would be the first time since 2012 the U.S. economy will have to support a deficit so large, highlighting a...Read More
Jan 30 (Reuters) - Newcrest Mining Ltd second-quarter gold production fell 0.3 percent from a year ago but rose 17.2 percent over the prior quarter driven by increased production at Cadia, Lihir, Bonikro and Telfer.Newcrest said total gold outputfrom its mines in Australia, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and Ivory Coast fell to 612,695 ounces in thequarter ended Dec. 30 from 614,715 ouncesa year ago,...Read More
Jan 30 (Reuters) - Evolution Mining Ltd said on Tuesday second-quarter gold output fell 14.4 percent following the sale of a mine in September, but expects full-year production to be in the upper range of guidance.Gold production fell to 186,488 ounces in the December quarter from 217,812 ounces a year earlier, in line with the company's forecast of 180,000 to 190,000 ounces, the gold miner said i...Read More
(Updates to close, adds details)Jan 29 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index fell on Monday, touching a six-week low as energy and other resource shares tumbled alongside commodity prices.* The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index ended down 144.5 points, or 0.89 percent, at 16,094.72.* The index hit a session low of 16,090.66, its weakest intra-day level since Dec. 15. All but on...Read More
(Adds Codemig comments)SAO PAULO, Jan 29 (Reuters) - The development agency owned by Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, known as Codemig, is planning an initial public offering and has invited investment banks to a hiring process, the company said in a statement on Monday. Codemig did not confirm the amount of the offer or when it would take place. Codemig's assets include a niobium mine, among oth...Read More
WASHINGTON, Jan 29 (Reuters) - U.S. banking regulators said Monday that "living wills" submitted by 19 foreign banks are largely satisfactory, and are likely to ease expectations for future submissions from those firms.After the 2008 financial crisis, regulators have been demanding so-called living wills to be drawn up by some banks and financial institutions to provide a contingency pla...Read More
U.S. stocks ended the day lower, retreating from last Friday's record highs. The Dow closed near its intraday low, as Apple (AAPL) slid on reports the tech giant had halved its iPhone X production target, and Caterpillar (CAT) sank after analysts expressed concern over margins and slow progress in North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) negotiations. The Nasdaq and S&P ended the day lower, as w...Read More
The following is a reprint of the market commentary from the February 2018 edition of The Option Advisor, published on January 26. For more information, or to subscribe to The Option Advisor -- featuring 10 new option trades each month -- visit our online store.It was not quite a year ago in this space when we discussed the groundswell of inflows into the iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV), an exch...Read More
(Adds U.S. market close)* U.S. Treasury yields rise above 2.70 percent* German 5-year bond turns positive, first time since 2015* Dollar set for biggest monthly fall in nearly two years* Oil dips but set for biggest January rise in five years By Herbert LashNEW YORK, Jan 29 (Reuters) - Global equity markets slid on Monday and U.S. Treasury yields rose to more than three-year highs after remarks...Read More
Jan 30 (Reuters) - Stock MarketsNet ChngStock MarketsNet ChngS&P/ASX 200** 6,075.40 25.40 NZX 50**8,327.59 -0.20DJIA**26,439.48-177.23 NIKKEI**23,629.34-2.54Nasdaq**7,466.505-39.267 FTSE**7,671.53 5.99S&P 500** 2,853.53 -19.34Hang Seng** 32,966.89-187.23SPI 200 Fut 5,983.0-27.0 STI** 3,577.07 9.93SSEC**3,523.5009 -34.63KOSPI** 2,598.19 23.43-------------------------------------------------...Read More
(Adds central bank board chief, finance minister comments, context)BOGOTA, Jan 29 (Reuters) - Colombia's central bank unexpectedly lowered the lending rate on Monday, the last cut in its current cycle, as policymakers try to boost a still-sluggish economy even as inflation remains above target.The seven-member board voted four-to-three to reduce the lending rate by 25 basis points to 4.50 percent...Read More
Jan 29 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index slumped on Monday, touching a six-week low as energy and other resource shares tumbled alongside commodity prices.The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index unofficially closed down 144.5 points, or 0.89 percent, at 16,094.72. (Reporting by Leah Schnurr; Editing by James Dalgleish) Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those...Read More
Jan 30 (Reuters) - Australian shares are set to slide on Tuesday, taking their cue from a lower finish on Wall Street, while a fall in commodities prices could lead to a weakness in materials stocks.The three main U.S. indexes retreated sharply on Monday from record levels last week, with the Dow falling more than 100 points, weighed down by Apple after a media report added to concerns about deman...Read More