* Haldane: Risks to growth, inflation and rates lie to upside* Carney glad markets focused on data, no need for rate signals* Sterling depreciation boosted trade, but "not a good strategy" (Adds further comments from parliamentary hearing)By David Milliken and Andy BruceLONDON, Feb 21 (Reuters) - The Bank of England could end up needing to raise interest rates faster than investors expec...Read More

Another day, another bank reporting results, with Barclays PLC (LON:BARC) the latest the post its full-year results on Thursday.Like its peer, the FTSE 100-listed lender is facing some large exceptional items which are going to drag down its reported profits for 2017, one of which is a ?1bn charge to profits thanks to President Trump's US tax reforms.However, that charge does mean in the meantime...Read More

   •  Persistent USD buying keeps exerting downward pressure.   •  Further weighed down by rising US bond yields.    •  FOMC meeting minutes to set the near-term trend. Gold seemed struggling to gain any traction and remained within striking distance of one-week lows, touched earlier today. A strong follow-through US Dollar buying in...Read More

By Trevor HunnicuttNEW YORK, Feb 21 (Reuters) - U.S. fund investors tiptoed back into stocks after pulling the most cash on record the week prior, but they are now punishing bonds, Investment Company Institute (ICI) data showed on Wednesday.Investors pulled $12.1 billion from bond mutual funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the United States during the most recent week, the trade group said,...Read More

Alternative energy company First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) is scheduled to report earnings after the market closes on Thursday, Feb. 22, and shareholders are hoping the stock can continue its streak of positive post-earnings performances. Specifically, FSLR shares have rallied in the session after earnings in three straight quarters, with one-day gains of 20.3%, 9.1%, and 11.8%. This time around t...Read More

Southern Copper Corp was declared the winner on Tuesday of the Peruvian government's first auction of the Michiquillay copper project, the first tender in nearly a decade.According to a statement by Southern Copper, controlled by conglomerate Grupo Mexico won the tender with a proposal to transfer $400 million to the government and pay 3% royalties.Southern Copper affirmed Peruvian investmen...Read More

Southern Copper Corp was declared the winner on Tuesday of the Peruvian government's first auction of the Michiquillay copper project, the first tender in nearly a decade.According to a statement by Southern Copper, controlled by conglomerate Grupo Mexico won the tender with a proposal to transfer $400 million to the government and pay 3% royalties.Southern Copper affirmed Peruvian investmen...Read More

Southern Copper Corp was declared the winner on Tuesday of the Peruvian government's first auction of the Michiquillay copper project, the first tender in nearly a decade.According to a statement by Southern Copper, controlled by conglomerate Grupo Mexico won the tender with a proposal to transfer $400 million to the government and pay 3% royalties.Southern Copper affirmed Peruvian investmen...Read More

By Bruno FederowskiSAO PAULO, Feb 21 (Reuters) - Latin American currencies seesawed on Wednesday as traders awaited the release of the minutes of the Federal Reserve's last policy meeting that could offer clues on the pace of future U.S. interest rate hikes.Currencies from Brazil , Mexico and Chile treaded water, while the Colombian peso weakened 0.8 percent.Traders have been anxiously awaiting ne...Read More

MILAN, Feb 21 (Reuters) - Italy's biggest insurer Assicurazioni Generali said on Wednesday it would increase its investments in the green economy and divest 2 billion euros ($2.5 billion) from coal-related activities.Generali said in a statement that, as part of its climate change strategy, its investments in "green" sectors would be raised by 3.5 billion euros by 2020.It said it would s...Read More

By Kate DuguidNEW YORK, Feb 21 (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury Department sold $15 billion of two-year floating rate notes on Wednesday, part of a bumper week of sales as the government ramps up issuance to help fund President Donald Trump's major tax overhaul and a two-year budget deal. The 2.75 bid-to-cover ratio was the lowest on record since the issue was introduced in January 2014, according to...Read More

Keith Allaun, chairman at the waste-to-Energy specialist PowerHouse Energy Group Plc (LON:PHE), talks Proactive's Andrew Scott through their deal with Wrightbus Ltd, a company that builds innovative hydrogen powered buses.The memorandum of understanding is expected to lead to a definitive deal for a venture with Powerhouse supplying its Distributed Modular Gasification (DMG) system and Wrightbus s...Read More

Feb 21 (Reuters) - As signs of faster U.S. inflation boost financial market expectations for three or even more interest rate hikes this year, some U.S. central bankers are sticking to their view that aggressive policy tightening is unnecessary."I believe the Federal Reserve should be gradually and patiently raising the federal funds rate during 2018," Dallas Federal Reserve Bank Preside...Read More

Markku Jalkanen, chief executive at Faron Pharmaceuticals Oy (LON:FARN), caught up with Proactive following their ?15mln funding aimed at accelerating the development of its two lead products.Jalkanen says the funds will allow them to prepare the way to market for Traumakine, a treatment for Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS).Results from a phase III trial (INTEREST) are expected early in...Read More

Tech stocks have been on fire this week, surging in part by Qualcomm's (QCOM) boosted buyout bid for NXP Semiconductors (NXPI). One name benefiting from sector tailwinds is Zendesk, Inc. (NYSE:ZEN), with shares of the software developer up 1.9% week-to-date to trade at $43.35, fresh off yesterday's record high of $43.65. If past is precedent, ZEN stock could be headed even higher -- and it looks t...Read More

The numbers are getting uglier for potential homebuyers and homeowners looking to save some money. Mortgage interest rates jumped again last week, causing mortgage application volume to fall 6.6 percent from the previous week. Volume was just 3.5 percent higher than the same week one year ago, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. Diana Olick| @DianaOlick Published 13 Hours AgoUpdated12...Read More

* U.S. dollar hits one-week high* Euro slips, sterling down on unemployment data* Asian, European, U.S. stocks higher* Two- and 10-year Treasury yields edge lower* Oil down on strong dollar, expected U.S. production increase (Adds Wall Street open; changes dateline to New York; updates throughout)By Hilary RussNEW YORK, Feb 21 (Reuters) - The dollar hit its highest level in a week on Wednesday and...Read More

U.S. stocks are trading higher at midday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) enjoying a triple-digit lead to trade back above the 25,000 mark. The S&P 500 Index (SPX) and Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) are also seeing healthy gains today, as tech and financial stocks outperform. Traders are seemingly shrugging off a steeper-than-expected drop in existing-home sales in January, and are awaiti...Read More

CAPE TOWN, Feb 21 (Reuters) - South Africa expects it could take 18 to 24 months for S&P Global and Fitch to return the country's credit rating to investment grade, Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba told Reuters on Wednesday in an interview.Gigaba said Treasury had "very positive" discussions with ratings agencies on the 2018 budget he earlier presented to parliament, in which the gover...Read More

* Fed minutes on Jan. policy meeting due at 2 pm ET* Broadcom cuts Qualcomm bid to $117 bln* Boeing powers Dow* Indexes up: Dow 0.53 pct, S&P 0.65 pct, Nasdaq 0.85 pct (Changes comment, adds details, updates prices)By Sruthi ShankarFeb 21 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks rose on Wednesday, with technology shares and Amazon driving gains ahead of minutes of the Federal Reserve's most recent policy meeti...Read More