By Ben Blanchard and Chris Mfula | BEIJING/LUSAKAZambia has detained 31 Chinese nationals for illegal mining in the African country's copper belt but has failed to provide strong proof of their crimes, a senior Chinese diplomat said as he lodged a complaint.Lin Songtian, the Chinese Foreign Ministry's director-general for African affairs, told a Zambian diplomat in Beijing that China understood an...Read More
WELLINGTON, June 6 (Reuters) - New Zealand seasonally adjusted wholesale sales jumped 2.1 percent in the first quarter, Statistics New Zealand data showed on Tuesday.Actual wholesale sales were 5.3 percent higher than the same quarter a year ago.The data is one of the final components of gross domestic product data to be released on June 15. (Reporting by Charlotte Greenfield and Ana Nicolaci da...Read More
WELLINGTON, June 6 (Reuters) - The seasonally adjusted value of New Zealand residential building work fell 0.8 percent in the first quarter, data from Statistics New Zealand showed on Tuesday.The value of non-residential building work fell 7.2 percent, resulting in a 3.5 percent drop in the total value of all building work. The full data is available at . (Reporting by Charlotte Greenfield and Ana...Read More
June 6 (Reuters) - Australian shares were expected to open slightly lower on Tuesday, with commodity stocks set to come under pressure from falling oil and copper prices.Oil prices fell amid concerns that the cutting of ties with Qatar by Saudi Arabia and other Arab states could hamper a global deal to reduce oil production, while copper prices fell on a recovering dollar and an increase in Shangh...Read More
Ten of the people arrested on Sunday as part of investigations into the London Bridge attack have been released without charge, British police said on Monday, meaning that all 12 arrested in the aftermath of the incident have now been let go.The Metropolitan Police also said in a statement that specialist officers were working with families and the coroner to identify those who died in the attack....Read More
Australian police on Monday shot dead a gunman in the city of Melbourne who had been holding a woman hostage, police said, a confrontation for which the militant group Islamic State claimed responsibility.Australia, a staunch ally of the United States and its escalating action against Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, has been on high alert for attacks by home-grown militants returning from fightin...Read More
(Adds confirmation of claimants' funding)By Andrew MacAskill and Lawrence WhiteLONDON, June 5 (Reuters) - Royal Bank of Scotland is set to face a trial it had hoped to avert over its 2008 share sale, as the last group of holdout investors in the case secured the funds they need to proceed to trial, a source involved in the claim said on Monday.The claimants will receive the remaining 2 million po...Read More
By Mike Stone | WASHINGTONThe U.S. State Department has approved the potential sale of more than $1.4 billion worth of military training and equipment for Saudi Arabia, the Pentagon said on Monday, part of a $110 billion arms deal U.S. President Donald Trump sealed with the kingdom in May.The proposed sales include a radar system made by Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT.N) as well as a training program f...Read More
Today precious metals prices have remained firm in a narrowly defined range, trading modestly higher. Market participants await the unfolding of three distinct events that will undoubtedly influence future pricing. Until then, traders and investors will be in a holding pattern, characterized by a wait and see attitude as events develop. It is likely that we will see narrowly defined ranges up unti...Read More
* TSX down 32.97 points, or 0.21 percent, to 15,409.78* Eight of the TSX's 10 main groups were down* Financials down 0.2 percent, materials off 0.5 percent* Energy up 0.1 percent By Solarina HoTORONTO, June 5 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index fell on Monday as financial stocks dipped amid signs of cooling in Toronto's overheated housing market, while a rebound in energy stocks tempered some l...Read More
* Oil falls as Qatar rift threatens output cuts* Sterling recovers as investors focus on election* Wall Street closes lower as Apple losses offset gains in energy and finance sectors* Eyes are on Thursday's ECB meeting* Gold retreats after six-week high on Friday's U.S. jobs report (Adds Wall Street close; updates throughout)By Hilary RussNEW YORK, June 5 (Reuters) - Wall Street stocks dipped on M...Read More
ABUJA, June 5 (Reuters) - Nigeria's central bank introduced a new spread limit on interbank transactions on Monday, it said in a statement, in an attempt to boost liquidity in the currency market.All interbank transactions will be subject to a maximum spread of 1 naira ($0.0033), the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) said. A year ago, the bank had said the naira would trade with no pre-determined spre...Read More
LA PAZ, June 5 (Reuters) - Bolivian consumer prices fell 0.02 percent in May, bringing the country's inflation rate to 0.05 percent for the first five months of the year, the official National Statistics Institute said on Monday.The fall in May was due principally to a decrease in the price of food and nonalcoholic beverages, the institute said.Bolivia had an inflation rate of 4 percent in full-ye...Read More
If looking at Gold only in a vacuum, it looks good. Its uptrend since the start of the year remains intact and it has pushed above its 50 and 200-day moving averages. It closed the week at $1280/oz and could test $1300 next week. But looks can be deceiving. Considering the US Dollar index closed at a 7-month low today, Gold is lagging a bit. Moreover, both Silver and the gold miners have not confi...Read More
TORONTO, June 5 (Reuters) - Canada's benchmark stock index finished lower on Monday, as resources and financial services, partly weighed lower by the latest housing data in Toronto, kept the market in negative territory.The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index fell 32.97 points, or 0.21 percent, to 15,409.78. All but two of the index's main industry groups were in lower territory. (Rep...Read More
NEW YORK, June 5 (Reuters) - Stocks dipped on Wall Street on Monday as a drop in Apple partly offset gains in energy and financial shares, some of the market's worst performing sectors this year.The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 21.84 points, or 0.1 percent, to 21,184.45, the S&P 500 lost 2.91 points, or 0.12 percent, to 2,436.16 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 10.11 points, or 0.16 percent,...Read More
ALL TIMES IN EDT/GMT -------------------------------------------------1000/1400: The Labor Dept. issues Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey for April.1130/1530: The Treasury Dept. holds weekly sale of 4-week bills.1600/2000: The American Petroleum Institute issues weekly national petroleum report.------------------------------------------------- DIARY - Federal Reserve Events U.S. Indicators (W...Read More
* ECB expected to take benign view of economy on Thursday* Sterling hits 10-day high as traders bet on Tory victory* Graphic: World FX rates in 2017 (Updates prices, market activity and comments to U.S. afternoon trading; new byline)By Saqib Iqbal AhmedNEW YORK, June 5 (Reuters) - The dollar steadied against a basket of currencies on Monday, recovering from a near a seven-month low hit on Friday,...Read More
* U.S. factory orders drop, U.S. services index slips* Markets closely watching Qatar situation (Updates prices, adds comment)By Gertrude Chavez-DreyfussNEW YORK, June 5 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury debt prices fell on Monday in thin trading, as investors booked profits after gains the previous session on a U.S. employment report that underwhelmed expectations and suggested a more cautious Federal Re...Read More
* Oil falls as Qatar rift threatens output cuts* Sterling recovers as investors focus on election* Wall Street stocks dip after falls in oil, European market* Thursday's ECB meeting keeps lid on euro zone bond yields* Gold retreats after six-week high on Friday's U.S. jobs report (Adds settled oil prices; updates throughout)By Hilary RussNEW YORK, June 5 (Reuters) - World equity markets fell with...Read More