LONDON (Reuters) - As Donald Trump’s ‘America First’ trade agenda turns from steel imports to Asian technology and intellectual property, a global trade war is now seen as the most serious risk for global investors, according to a recent survey.The growing protectionist rhetoric has helped push Europe’s Stoxx 600 index down more than 2 percent this week. Tech stocks have fa...Read More

Volatility is the key risk to lead and zinc prices for the next few years and traders should begin to hedge their risk, Oliver Nugent, commodity strategist at ING Bank, said on a panel at Metal Bulletin's Lead & Zinc conference in London on Thursday March 22. "Volatility is on the horizon and so much can happen - the lead and zinc prices are especially prone to this," he told delegates at the two-...Read More

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan’s financial watchdog plans to issue a warning against Hong Kong-based cryptocurrency exchange Binance for operating in Japan without being registered, a person with the direct knowledge of the matter said on Thursday.The Financial Services Agency (FSA) will file a criminal complaint if the exchange does not stop operating despite the planned warning, the person told R...Read More

The Turkish deep-sea scrap import market had another quiet day on Thursday March 22, with the country's steel mills absent from trading for a second week, sources said.There has been no significant trading since the mills in the Middle Eastern country stepped back from the deep-sea scrap markets on March 9, when the United States applied a 25% duty on imports of steel products following its Sectio...Read More

LONDON (Reuters) - The threat of a global trade war and a steady message from the Federal Reserve on U.S. interest rates pushed the dollar to its lowest in over a month on Thursday, and took Europe’s main share markets into the red.It was the dollar's third decline in four sessions and helped Britain's pound GBP= to a six-week high after a Bank of England policy meeting laid the foundation...Read More

The latest news and price moves to start the Asian day on Friday March 23.Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange plummeted at the close on Thursday March 22, while the dollar index staged a recovery. Read more in our live futures report.Here are how LME prices looked at Thursday's close:The United States Trade Representative (USTR) has said that the European Union, Argentin...Read More

(Reuters) - Shares of Facebook Inc fell 3 percent in premarket trading on Thursday as an apology from Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg did little to quell Wall Street nerves about how much a row over user data privacy will cost the company.Zuckerberg on Wednesday promised tougher steps to restrict developers’ access to user information, his first response to allegations that London-based poli...Read More

The latest metal markets news and price moves to start the North American day on Thursday March 22.Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange mostly edged higher during morning trading on Thursday March 22, with the dollar experiencing a bout of weakness.The dollar came under pressure on the US Federal Open Market Committee's (FOMC) slightly dovish tone - the committee did not suggest it was...Read More

LONDON, March 22 (Reuters) - Four high-profile British lawmakers have called for Rupert Murdoch’s Twenty-First Century Fox to be blocked from buying Sky, saying the mogul will be able to influence its news output despite promises to the contrary.Murdoch is locked in a battle with U.S. cable giant Comcast Corp to buy Europe’s biggest pay-TV group, with the Australian-born tycoon hampere...Read More

Good morning from Metal Bulletin's office in Shanghai as we bring you the latest news and pricing stories on Thursday March 22.Base metal prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were broadly higher during Asian morning trading on Thursday, with support coming from a weaker dollar following Wednesday's US Federal Reserve meeting.The most-traded May copper contract on the SHFE was at 51,110 yuan ($8...Read More

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Unites States is expected to sue China at the World Trade Organization over alleged trade law violations as part of its planned trade announcement later on Thursday, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing a person with knowledge of the plans.Planned U.S. tariffs on China could also hit $50 billion of Chinese imports, the Journal said, citing the individual.Reporting by...Read More

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits unexpectedly rose last week, but the increase was marginal, suggesting strong job growth in March that should underpin consumer spending.Initial claims for state unemployment benefits increased 3,000 to a seasonally adjusted 229,000 for the week ended March 17, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Data for the prior...Read More

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices surrendered early gains on Thursday as investors booked profits after this week’s rally, but losses were limited by the ongoing efforts of OPEC and its allies to curb supplies.Brent crude futures LCOc1 were down 35 cents at $69.12 a barrel by 1048 GMT after rising to $69.70, which was close to the highest level since the start of February. U.S. West Texas Interm...Read More

The US Army Corps of Engineers confirmed in January that the Pebble permit application is complete, which drew a line under an acrimonious battle between the company and the US Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA previously claimed jurisdiction over the Pebble permit application and essentially gave a pre-emptive decision against it.Read More

BERLIN (Reuters) - German business confidence deteriorated for a second straight month in March, dropping to its lowest level in nearly a year, as managers in Europe’s largest economy became more concerned about the rising threat of protectionism.The Munich-based Ifo economic institute said on Thursday that its business climate index, based on a monthly survey of some 7,000 companies, fell t...Read More

BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany’s debt agency on Thursday cut its debt issue plans for the second quarter by two billion euros after the finance ministry reported a surge in tax revenue.“Funding requirements of the Federal Budget and its special funds have decreased since the beginning of the year,” the finance agency said.The government intends to issue two billion euro less in capit...Read More

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Facebook Inc (FB.O) Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg apologized on Wednesday for mistakes his company made in how it handled data belonging to 50 million of its users and promised tougher steps to restrict developers’ access to such information.The world’s largest social media network is facing growing government scrutiny in Europe and the United States about a...Read More

LIMA (Reuters) - Peru's Vice President Martin Vizcarra will be sworn in as president, likely at around 11 a.m. or noon on Friday (1600-1700 GMT), after current President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski offered his resignation ahead of an impeachment vote, the head of Congress said.Luis Galarreta, an opposition lawmaker who is the current president of Congress, told a press conference on Wednesday that all o...Read More

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China gingerly raised a key short-term interest rate on Thursday following the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank’s move overnight, in a symbolic reminder that Beijing is keeping an eye on global market trends even as it cracks down on financial risks at home.The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) said it had increased the rate on 7-day reverse repurchase agreements by 5 basis p...Read More

LONDON, March 22 (Reuters) - Euro zone businesses rounded off the first quarter of 2018 with their slowest growth in over a year, much weaker than expected, as new business took another hit from a stubbornly strong euro, a survey showed.The euro zone’s economic boom had already paused in February as rising prices left a mark, and a Reuters poll earlier this month said growth had peaked, worr...Read More