Howard SchneiderATLANTA (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve may only need to raise interest rates two times in 2018 given weak price pressures and possible loss of public confidence in the central bank’s ability to hit a 2 percent inflation target, Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic said on Monday.Bostic, a voter on interest rate policy this year, also added his voice to a group of Fed officia...Read More
Universal Display Corporation (NASDAQ:OLED) had a huge year in 2017 and that momentum is carrying over to the new year, with the shares adding 8.7% today to trade at $194.90, earlier tapping a record high of $196.90. This move comes after Susquehanna earlier lifted its price target to $215 from $195. OLED stock could also be feeling tailwinds fromCES, where a number of new products have featured O...Read More
Gold shines at the start of 2018 (+1.5% YTD).Speculators bought a lot of gold over December 26, 2017-January 2, 2018, the CFTC shows.ETF investors remained quiet over December 29, 2017-January 5, 2018, according to FastMarkets' estimates.The US jobs report for December disappointed slightly though gold was under downward pressure. Some charts.I remain long GLD for 2018. Introduction Welcome to...Read More
Cirrus Logic, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRUS) stock was downgraded this morning by KeyBanc to "sector weight" from "overweight." The firm cited Apple (AAPL) as the reason for the downgrade, due to fears that the iPhone X sales may be "worse than expected." The news has CRUS stock down 0.5% today at $53.60. CRUS shares have lost 16% during the past six months, and fell to an annual low of $48.61 on Dec 6. A mi...Read More
NASHVILLE, Jan 8 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump is close to making a decision on who to nominate as vice chair of the Federal Reserve, an administration official said on Monday.The position became vacant in October after veteran central banker Stanley Fischer stepped down for personal reasons. (Reporting by Jeff Mason, writing by Roberta Rampton; editing by Diane Craft) Disclaimer: The v...Read More
* Euro down as investors take profits* Bitcoin slips as website drops S.Korea prices (Updates prices, market activity, comment)By Saqib Iqbal AhmedNEW YORK, Jan 8 (Reuters) - The dollar rose to a more than one-week high against a basket of other major currencies on Monday, helped by a pullback in the euro as investors took profits after the common currency's recent rally.The dollar index , which m...Read More
It's another record-setting day on Wall Street, with the Dow, S&P 500 Index (SPX), and Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) fresh off all-time peaks. While the major market indexes are trading in a tight range, however, several individual stocks are making big moves, including electric car maker Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA), Snapchat parent Snap Inc (NYSE:SNAP), and gene-editing name Intellia Therapeutics Inc (NASD...Read More
(Adds discussion of yield curve; further rate comments)By Howard SchneiderATLANTA, Jan 8 (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve may only need to raise interest rates two times in 2018 given weak price pressures and possible loss of public confidence in the central bank's ability to hit a 2 percent inflation target, Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic said on Monday.Bostic, a voter on interest rate poli...Read More
GoPro Inc (NASDAQ:GPRO) stock fell to a record low of $5.04 today, after the firm cutits fourth-quarter sales forecast, announced plans to cut its workforce, and said it will exit the drone business. In addition, the firm slashed the price of its Hero6 cameras, and announced the departure of two high-level executives. However, GPRO stock is off its session lows, at last check, amid reports the fir...Read More
WASHINGTON, Jan 8 (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Reserve could better fight a recession by committing to keep interest rates lower for longer to keep average inflation on a steady upward path over the years, San Francisco Fed President John Williams said on Monday.Williams in the past has spoken favorably of this approach to monetary policy, known as price-level targeting. "It basically promise...Read More
CARACAS, Jan 8 (Reuters) - Prices in Venezuela, which is believed to have the world's highest inflation, jumped 2,616 percent last year, the country's opposition-led National Assembly said, as millions suffer from food and medicine shortages during a severe economic crisis.Opposition politicians, whose numbers are broadly in line with analysts' estimates, on Monday put December's inflation figure...Read More
Jan 9 (Reuters) - Stock MarketsNet ChngStock MarketsNet ChngS&P/ASX 200** 6,130.40 8.10NZX 50**8,425.48 -30.07DJIA25,289.66-5.42 NIKKEI**23,714.53208.20Nasdaq7,152.21115.625FTSE**7,696.51 -27.71S&P 500 2,745.46 2.30Hang Seng** 30,899.5384.89SPI 200 Fut 6,085.05.0 STI** 3,512.18 22.73SSEC**3,410.00 18.25 KOSPI** 2,513.28 15.76-----------------------------------------------------------------...Read More
* Euro takes a breather after run higher* Speculators raise COMEX gold net longs* GRAPHIC-2018 asset returns: (Updates prices; adds analysts comments, NEW YORK dateline)By Renita D. Young and Jan HarveyNEW YORK/LONDON, Jan 8 (Reuters) - Gold edged lower on Monday, retreating further from last week's 3-1/2-month high as the U.S. dollar regained some ground against the buoyant euro and traders bet o...Read More
Weight Watchers International, Inc. (NYSE:WTW) stock is among the best of the S&P 500 Index (SPX) today, after Oprah Winfrey -- a major WTW stakeholder -- fueled speculation about a serious presidential bid in 2020. Against this backdrop, WTW shares were last seen 13.3% higher at $53.14, on pace for their best day since an early November post-earnings bull gap. What's more, Weight Watchers options...Read More
Editor's Note: Colin Cieszynski, chief market strategist at The Fundamental Technician, provided exclusive commentary for Kitco News' 2018 Outlook Series.Finding a place for metals among new currency options(Kitco News)- Historically, gold has helda special place in the currency world; as a store of value whose level ofsupply is outside of the control of the world's central banks. As the world'spr...Read More
(Kitco News) - Gold and silver prices were ending the U.S. day session modestly weaker Monday. Someprofit-taking and chart consolidation were featured in both metals, afterrecent good gains. A higherU.S. dollar index on this day also worked againstthe precious metals market bulls. February Comex gold was last down $2.30 anounce at $1,320.10. March Comex silver was last down $0.135 at $17.15 an oun...Read More
U.S. stocks enjoyed their best start to a calendar year in over a decade last week, as traders enjoyed a belated Santa Claus rally. But what could that mean for the rest of the year? Below, we break down the stats for the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI), S&P 500 Index (SPX), and Nasdaq Composite (IXIC), and what huge gains in Week 1 have meant historically.Dow's Best Start to the Year Since 200...Read More
* Jeep a key pillar of CEO's strategy* Investor optimism boosted by Morgan Stanley report* Shares hit record high By Agnieszka Flak MILAN, Jan 8 (Reuters) - Fiat Chrysler (FCA) shares hit a record high on Monday on growing expectations that the carmaker's coveted Jeep brand will unlock even greater value this year.The stock jumped more than 20 percent last week on a bullish outlook for the auto s...Read More
* Caterpillar at record high after brokerage upgrade* Nasdaq biotech index on track for its worst day since Oct. 26* GoPro plunges to new lows after Q4 sales warning* Dow down 0.13 pct, S&P flat, Nasdaq up 0.17 pct (Updates to early afternoon)By Sruthi ShankarJan 8 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 and the Dow struggled to edge higher on Monday, stalling the strong rally that marked the start of 201...Read More
(Adds hopes to list in early February in paragraph 5)MADRID, Jan 8 (Reuters) - Spanish residential developer Metrovacesa, which was taken over by creditors during the country's property crash, said it plans to list on the stock market, highlighting renewed investor faith in Spanish real estate.Residential construction in Spain is now thriving with foreign investment pouring into developments in c...Read More