SYDNEY, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) Governor Philip Lowe said on Friday a downgrade of Australia's triple-A sovereign credit rating would be a political event, not an economic one.Australia is among the few countries in the world with a such a rating. Standard & Poor's last month affirmed Australia's rating but kept its negative outlook on the country citing "signif...Read More

Gold prices inched lower, pausing after the dollar's weakness propelled the precious metal to its best day since March a day earlier.Read full newsRead More

FTSE 100 rises 20.84 points Standard Life Aberdeen slumps as Lloyds pulls fundsOld Mutual and Mondi shares jump on President Zuma resignsMosman Oil tanks after placing newsTiou Energy another loser on its Botswana bids CLOSEThe FTSE 100 closed strongly on Thursday, was up 20.84 or 0.29% at 7,234.81, helped by mining stocks which took their cue from the higher prices of metals.The more UK...Read More

SYDNEY, Feb 16 (Reuters) - The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) will wait for unemployment to nudge lower and inflation to hop into its 2 percent to 3 percent target range before considering raising interest rates, Governor Philip Lowe said on Friday. "As things currently stand, we expect that progress to be steady, but to be only gradual," Lowe said before a parliamentary economics commi...Read More

(Adds details, background)* Wakatabe seen as advocate of bolder easing* Veteran central banker Amamiya gets other deputy post - Nikkei* BOJ Kuroda likely to be reappointed, easy policy seen intact* Govt to submit nominees to parliament on Friday By Leika KiharaTOKYO, Feb 16 (Reuters) - The Japanese government is considering nominating economist Masazumi Wakatabe, an advocate of bolder monetary e...Read More

(Recasts, adds graphic, details, comment, byline)By Gertrude Chavez-DreyfussNEW YORK, Feb 15 (Reuters) - Foreigners sold Treasuries for a third straight month in December, data from the U.S. Treasury Department showed on Thursday, as investors started to price in a faster pace of interest rate increases by the Federal Reserve.Foreign investors sold Treasuries in seven of the last 12 months, with...Read More

(Adds close of U.S. markets)* Apple, Tencent, Airbus lead world stocks higher* Dollar weakens to 15-month low vs yen* U.S. yields drift lower, uptrend seen intact* U.S.-German bond yield gap hits 10-month high By Herbert LashNEW YORK, Feb 15 (Reuters) - World equity markets surged anew on Thursday as investors shrugged off the latest sign of rising U.S. inflation, while strong global growth weig...Read More

(Adds details, updates to close)Feb 15 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index rose on Thursday as gains in the financial sector and shares of TransCanada Corp offset a decline in natural resource companies.* The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index ended up 79.39 points, or 0.52 percent, at 15,407.66.* Investors were taking in a slew of Canadian corporate earnings, while global mar...Read More

WELLINGTON, Feb 16 (Reuters) - New Zealand's manufacturing activity started to recover in January after a slowdown in growth the previous month, but firms reported less positivity than usual, a survey showed on Friday.The Bank of New Zealand-Business NZ's seasonally adjusted Performance of Manufacturing Index (PMI) grew to 55.6 from 51.2 the previous month, its slowest rate in five years.A reading...Read More

The Dow notched its fourth triple-digit gain in five sessions, and its fifth straight win -- the index's longest winning streak since December. Well-received earnings for Cisco Systems (CSCO) boosted the blue-chip barometer back above 25,000, and another hot day for tech stocks helped Wall Street shake off concerns about rising inflation. As such, the S&P and Nasdaq also extended their winning str...Read More

(Adds quotes from Abassi)By Tarek AmaraTUNIS, Feb 15 (Reuters) - Former World Bank official and economics professor Marouane el Abassi was confirmed by Tunisia's parliament as the new central bank governor on Thursday, promising "extraordinary measures" to lift the country's economy.Abassi takes over at a time when Tunisia faces deep economic challenges including rising deficits and inf...Read More

Feb 16 (Reuters) - Stock MarketsNet ChngStock MarketsNet ChngS&P/ASX 200** 5,909.00067.800NZX 50**8,063.33 4.530DJIA**25,200.37306.88NIKKEI**21,464.98310.81Nasdaq**7,256.430112.815 FTSE**7,234.81 20.84S&P 500** 2,731.20 32.57 Hang Seng** 31,115.43599.83SPI 200 Fut 5,88220.00 STI** 3,443.51 40.65SSEC**3,199.1589014.20020KOSPI** 2,421.83 26.64-------------------------------------------------...Read More

NEW YORK, Feb 15 (Reuters) - Foreigners bought long-term U.S. securities for a sixth straight month in December, data from the U.S. Treasury department showed on Thursday.Offshore investors purchased $27.3 billion in long-term U.S assets after buying $57.5 billion in November. Including shorter-dated securities, however, overseas investors sold $119.3 billion in December, after buying $33.5 billio...Read More

Feb 16 (Reuters) - Australian shares are set to move slightly higher at Friday's open, tracking positive performance in equities and oil in the United States. All three major U.S. indices ended more than 1.2 percent higher on Thursday while U.S. crude oil futures settled up 1.2 percent, with a weak U.S. dollar in the backdrop. Australian share price index futures rose about 0.3 percent, or 20 poin...Read More

* Cisco shares up after upbeat results and forecast* Apple rises after Berkshire Hathaway boosts stake* Oil falls, dragging energy stocks* Indexes up: Dow 1.21 pct, S&P 1.21 pct, Nasdaq 1.58 pct (Updates to market close)By Noel RandewichFeb 15 (Reuters) - Wall Street surged on Thursday to notch its fifth straight session of gains, led by Apple and other technology stocks as investors shrugged...Read More

Feb 15 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index ended modestly higher on Thursday as gains in the financial sector and shares of TransCanada Corp offset a decline in natural resource companies.* The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index unofficially closed up 79.39 points, or 0.52 percent, at 15,407.66. (Reporting by Leah Schnurr in Ottawa; Editing by Phil Berlowitz) Disclaimer: The v...Read More

NEW YORK, Feb 15 (Reuters) - Wall Street surged on Thursday to notch its fifth straight session of gains, led by Apple and other technology stocks as investors shrugged off recent inflation worries that sent the market into a sell-off at the start of the month.The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 307.36 points, or 1.23 percent, to 25,200.85, the S&P 500 gained 32.62 points, or 1.21 percent, t...Read More

* Dollar hits 15-month low against yen* 10-year Treasury yields hit four-year high* Worries over U.S. budget, current account deficits (Updates quotes, news, table and prices)By Kate DuguidNEW YORK, Feb 15 (Reuters) - The dollar fell across the board on Thursday, hitting a fresh 15-month low against the yen late in the session, as negative sentiment about the U.S. currency outweighed a rise in 10-...Read More

Desert Gold Ventures Inc. ('Desert Gold' or 'the Company') (TSX.V: DAU, FF: QXR2, OTC: DAUGF) is pleased to announce that drilling has begun on its Farabantourou project located in western Mali.Read full newsRead More

(Updates prices, adds comment, adds graphic)By Saqib Iqbal AhmedNEW YORK, Feb 15 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks may have recovered only about half the ground lost in the recent selloff, but traders in the derivatives market are fast dialing down their fears of more ructions.The CBOE Volatility Index , the most widely followed barometer of expected near-term volatility in the S&P 500 , while not quit...Read More