* Gold rangebound, down 1.2 pct week to date* Dollar retreats from highest in more than a week* GRAPHIC-2018 asset returns: (New throughout, updates prices, market activity and comments; adds second byline and NEW YORK dateline)By Renita D. Young, Zandi Shabalala and Jan HarveyNEW YORK/LONDON, Feb 22 (Reuters) - Gold rose on Thursday, snapping four sessions of losses as the U.S. dollar surrendered...Read More

DUBLIN, Feb 22 (Reuters) - Ireland's aircraft leasing company Avolon has added an extra layer of protection for bondholders in a bid to dispel concerns about the risk of it being stripped for cash by China's HNA Group, ratings agency Fitch said on Thursday.Avolon has come under scrutiny over its links to HNA and credit ratings analysts have been pressing for tougher safeguards against it being for...Read More

China has stopped updating its local version of the VIX Index, taking its latest step to prevent market turbulence and discourage speculation in equity-linked options after authorities tightened trading restrictions last week.Read full newsRead More

* Bond yields ease from Wednesday's peak* Energy leads gainers on S&P* United Tech up 3.7 pct on breakup plans* Indexes up: Dow 1.12 pct, S&P 0.85 pct, Nasdaq 0.57 pct (Updates to early afternoon)By Sruthi ShankarFeb 22 (Reuters) - Gains in industrial and technology shares helped U.S. stocks rebound from a two-day fall on Thursday as investors shrugged off the prospects of more interest ra...Read More

Feb 23 (Reuters) - Stock MarketsNet ChngStock MarketsNet ChngS&P/ASX 200** 5,950.90 7.20NZX 50**8,266.88 66.610DJIA25,010.34212.56NIKKEI**21,736.44-234.37Nasdaq7,231.67313.45 FTSE**7,252.39 -29.18S&P 500 2,714.87 13.54 Hang Seng** 30,965.68-466.21SPI 200 Fut 5,963.00 49.00 STI** 3,488.46 -27.77SSEC**3,268.73 69.57 KOSPI** 2,414.28 -15.37-----------------------------------------------------...Read More

Subscribers to our PowerTrend trading service recently tripled their money with Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP) February 110 calls. We're going to take a look back to see why we were initially bullish on UNP when we recommended the calls in October, and how the options trade unfolded. We entered our bullish UNP position back in late October, when the shares were trading near $115 following an...Read More

(Kitco News) - Goldand silver prices were ending the U.S. day session not far from unchangedlevels on the day. Both safe-haven metals saw some early selling pressure in thepresent environment of not much risk aversion in the marketplace. However, asell-off in the U.S. dollar index as Thursday’s trading day progressed was a bullishoutside market force supporting the precious metals. April Com...Read More

(Kitco News) - Gold and silver prices were ending the U.S. day session not far from unchanged levels on the day. Both safe-haven metals saw some early selling pressure in the present environment of not much risk aversion in the marketplace. However, a sell-off in the U.S. dollar index as Thursday’s trading day progressed was a bullish outside market force supporting the precious metals. Apri...Read More

MOSCOW, Feb 22 (Reuters) - The Russian Finance Ministry said on Thursday it has appointed VTB Capital as an organiser for its sovereign Eurobond issue to be placed and to be swapped later this year.Russia plans to sell or swap Eurobond worth up to $3 billion in 2018 using the investment wing of a state controlled bank.Some bonds will be issued as part of President Vladimir Putin's order to repatri...Read More

NEW YORK, Feb 22 (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury Department on Thursday sold $29 billion in seven-year government notes at a yield of 2.839 percent, which was the highest yield at an auction of this maturity in almost seven years, Treasury data showed.The ratio of bids to the amount of seven-year Treasuries offered was 2.49, the weakest since November. This measure of overall auction demand 2.73 at...Read More

U.S. stocks have steadily climbed today, as interest-rate hike concerns begin to die down. Dow component United Technologies Corporation (NYSE:UTX) and biotech stock Sangamo Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:SGMO) are higher, whilehealthcare stock Brookdale Senior Living, Inc (NYSE:BKD) is sinking. Here's a closer look at what shares of UTX, SGMO, and BKD are reacting to today.UTX Stock Lifted By CEO...Read More

GOLD Spot Gold is consolidating above new 1 1/2 week low at $1320 (Fibo 76.4% of $1307/$1361 upleg) posted on Thursday, but maintains negative tone and holds in red for the fifth consecutive day. Hawkish tone from Fed minutes released on Wednesday pointed towards further rate hikes and sent the greenback higher, to further depress gold price which moves in steep descend from $1361 (16 Feb high). W...Read More

About two weeks ago on Feb. 6, the Cboe Volatility Index (VIX) broke out above the 50 mark for the first time since August 2015. This volatility explosion coincided with the worst week for the U.S. stock market in years. Since then, the market's "fear gauge" has retreated back to 18.41, though this remains well above its one-year average daily mark of 11.78. But amid this stock volatility, VIX cal...Read More

The finale of a quartet of blue chip banking results this week, will see majority taxpayer-owned lender Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC  release its full-year numbers on Friday.After a decade of making losses, RBS is teetering on the brink of being back in the black, having posted profits of ?1.3bn for the first nine months of 2017.However, analysts full-year estimates are pencilling in ?2...Read More

* Share rally stalls as some analysts disappointed* Major miners have reported increased cash, reduced debt* Stronger South African rand creates headwind (Adds Moody's statement)By Barbara LewisLONDON, Feb 22 (Reuters) - Anglo American said on Thursday annual earnings rose 45 percent and net debt halved as the miner rebounded from a commodities slump and said it had become a fundamentally differen...Read More

Core logging at Dumont, the world's largest undeveloped cobalt and nickel sulphide reserve. Image: RNC MineralsInvestors piled into Cobalt 27 Capital Corp (TSX-V:KBLT) and RNC Minerals (TSX:RNX) on Thursday after the companies entered into a royalty deal on all future nickel and cobalt production at RNC Minerals' Dumont project in Quebec in a deal worth $70 million.Shares in Toronto-based Cobalt...Read More

Core logging at Dumont, the world's largest undeveloped cobalt and nickel sulphide reserve. Image: RNC MineralsInvestors piled into Cobalt 27 Capital Corp (TSX-V:KBLT) and RNC Minerals (TSX:RNX) on Thursday after the companies entered into a royalty deal on all future nickel and cobalt production at RNC Minerals' Dumont project in Quebec in a deal worth $70 million.Shares in Toronto-based Cobalt...Read More

What were supposed to be benignminutes from the FOMC caused a meltdown in equities on Wednesday. In theinitial reaction to an overly dovish Fed, markets soared higher, pushing the Dow up almost 300 points. The jubilation for more free money was quickly met withfear and a market meltdown, with the Dow closing down almost 200On the news, the dollar crumbled,and gold rallied along with the bonds befo...Read More

(Kitco News) - The markets reacted to the FOMC minutes from January thatwere released yesterday. At first, the markets saw the minutes as dovish andboth the metals and equity markets shot higher. Then the market realized thatthe minutes were from before the higher inflationdata that was released in February and the Trump tax cut. The market assessedthat had this data been considered, the Fedwould...Read More

* LME/ShFE arb: (Updates with closing prices)By Eric OnstadLONDON, Feb 22 (Reuters) - Nickel and zinc hit their lowest levels in over a week on Thursday as Chinese investors sold metals as their markets opened after holidays and steel prices dropped.Prices came off their lows in the European afternoon after the dollar reversed direction and slipped into negative territory, making commodities price...Read More