(Updates with closing prices)JOHANNESBURG, Feb 21 (Reuters) - South Africa's rand, bonds and stocks all rallied on Wednesday after Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba unveiled the first value-added tax (VAT) hike in over two decades, part of efforts to cut the deficit and debt under new President Cyril Ramaphosa.Bonds led the charge, with the yield on the benchmark instrument due in 2026 falling 11.5...Read More
Italy's Treasury said on Wednesday it would offer 6 billion euros ($7.4 billion) in 6-month BOT bills at auction on February 26.6-mth BOTAUCTION DATEFebruary 26SETTLEMENT DATE February 28MATURITYAugust 31, 2018AMOUNT OFFERED 6 blnEXPIRING AMOUNT 6 bln ($1 = 0.8127 euros) (Milan newsroom)Keywords: ITALY BILLS/ANNOUNCEMENT Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and...Read More
Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE:CHK) stock has been anything but impressive in the session following the natural gas producer's recent earnings reports. Over the past four quarters, CHK has closed lower the next day each time, averaging a loss of 5.1%. Nevertheless, options traders have been loading up on long calls in recent weeks, ahead of the company's fourth-quarter results -- due out ahea...Read More
* Euro down, PMIs weaker than expected* Traders eye Fed minutes (Updates throughout to U.S. market open, changes dateline; previous LONDON)By Saqib Iqbal AhmedNEW YORK, Feb 21 (Reuters) - The dollar rose on Wednesday, extending its recovery from a three-year low last week, helped by buoyant short-term Treasury yields, and as traders awaited the release of minutes of the Federal Reserve's recent po...Read More
By Huw JonesLONDON, Feb 21 (Reuters) - European Union representatives have sought to reassure the United States that plans to tighten oversight of foreign clearing houses operating in the bloc will not disrupt transatlantic ties on market access that took years to agree.The EU has proposed giving its regulators stronger powers to supervise "systemic" or large foreign clearing houses hand...Read More
RIGA, Feb 21 (Reuters) - Latvian President Raimonds Vejonis said on Wednesday his country must improve its efforts to tackle money-laundering and other forms of corruption, following a series of allegations that have rocked the small Baltic state's financial sector."Several separate events in the last few days show that in the short- and medium-term we have to continue implementing improvemen...Read More
* Treasury to auction $35 bln in five-year notes* Two-year yield hits nine-year high By Kate DuguidNEW YORK, Feb 21 - U.S. Treasury yields were steady on Wednesday ahead of an auction of $35 billion in five-year notes, part of the week's $258 billion issuance intended to help fund President Donald Trump's tax overhaul and two-year budget deal. The tax overhaul bill signed into law in December is...Read More
LONDON, Feb 21 (Reuters) - The head of the Democratic Unionist Party Arlene Foster said on Wednesday she had asked British Prime Minister Theresa May to take steps to set a budget for Northern Ireland during a meeting aimed at restoring the region's power-sharing government."We wanted to impress upon her the need and urgency to have a budget in place for the people of Northern Ireland and I t...Read More
Weir Minerals announced the expansion of its extensive dewatering solutions portfolio with the global launch of the Multiflo (R) RF dewatering pump unit. The new Multiflo (R) RF range sets the benchmark for dewatering pump units, expertly engineered in a compact package, offering customers a light and flexible solution.Peter Smit, Product Manager for Weir Minerals Dewatering, explains: "We devel...Read More
It was a rough session for Walmart Inc (NYSE:WMT) stock yesterday, with the shares dropping more than 10% on poorly received earnings. It was just the third decline of at least 10% for WMT stock since Black Monday in 1987, and the ninth occurrence ever, according to Schaeffer's Quantitative Analyst Chris Prybal. However, history suggests now is an opportune time buy Walmart stock, which tends to r...Read More
Feb 21 (Reuters) - Hochschild Mining Plc expects production to grow slightly this year as it ramps up output at the Pablo vein at its Pallancata mine in Peru, the precious metals miner said on Wednesday.The company, which also operates in Argentina and Chile, has been spending on brownfield exploration and discovered high-grade resources adjacent to the main Pablo vein in Pallancata.Hochschild sai...Read More
Feb 21 (Reuters) - Hochschild Mining Plc expects production to grow slightly this year as it ramps up output at the Pablo vein at its Pallancata mine in Peru, the precious metals miner said on Wednesday.The company, which also operates in Argentina and Chile, has been spending on brownfield exploration and discovered high-grade resources adjacent to the main Pablo vein in Pallancata.Hochschild sai...Read More
(Adds CEO comments, market reaction)By Gram SlatterySAO PAULO, Feb 21 (Reuters) - Telefonica Brasil SA , the country's largest telecommunications company, on Wednesday reported that fourth-quarter profit rose 25 percent from a year ago as it increased its reliance on higher-end offerings.In a securities filing, the Brazilian unit of Spain's Telefonica SA reported net income of 1.517 billion reais...Read More
Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:HALO) stock is up 3.1% to trade at $19.11 this morning, after Canaccord Genuity upped its price target on the oncology specialist to $21 from $19. The analyst in coverage is encouraged by last night's fourth-quarter and full-year results, which showed progress in HALO's ENHANZE portfolio. HALO stock rode a mid-September bull gap past former resistance near th...Read More
Exchange-tradedfunds have increased holdings of gold and silver so far this week, reportsCommerzbank. Prices of both metals fell Tuesday. “Investors appear to beviewing the price slide as a buying opportunity, however, as gold ETFs sawinflows of 2.7 tonnes yesterday,” the bank says. “Holdings in silver ETFs haverisen by 20 tonnes so far this week.” The ETFs trade like a sto...Read More
By Nichola SaminatherTORONTO, Feb 21 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index rose to a 2-1/2-week high on Wednesday led by gold producers, as investors sought shelter in the precious metal ahead of the release of minutes from the Federal Reserve's latest policy meeting.The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index opened up 0.2 percent and was trading 111.85 points, or 0.7 percent, higher...Read More
Tony Gilby, managing director of Tlou Energy Limited (LON:TLOU), discusses with Proactive's Andrew Scott their huge increase in reserves at the Lesedi and Mamba coal bed methane projects in Botswana.Proved and probable reserves (2P) jumped 944% to 40.8 billion cubic feet (BCF) 3.9 from BCF, while the less certain 3P category rose by 63% to 426.6BCF from 261.1BCF. Meet Medusa Mining, Cora Gol...Read More
(Kitco News)- The gold market continues to ignore U.S. economic data withweaker-than-expected home sales data unable to push prices higher Wednesday.Wednesday, National Association of Realtors (NAR) said on Wednesday thatexisting home sales declined 3.2% in January, to a seasonally adjusted andannualized rate of 5.38 million units, compared to December's annualized rate of5.56 million homes. Econo...Read More
Shares of e-commerce concern Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) are higher out of the gate, after receiving a price-target hike to $1,750 from $1,350 from MKM Partners, which also maintained its "buy" rating. The brokerage firm said Amazon boasts "the best growth story of all the mega-caps over the very long term," and upped its long-term earnings estimates. In response, the FAANG stock was up 1.3% a...Read More
Russia has overtaken China as the fifth-biggest sovereign holder of gold, allowing it to diversify its foreign currency holdings amid a deepening rift with the U.S.The Bank of Russia in January increased its holdings by almost 20 metric tons to 1,857 tons, topping the People's Bank of China's reported 1,843 tons. While Russia has increased its holdings every month since March 2015, China last repo...Read More