JERUSALEM, Feb 15 (Reuters) - Israel's annual inflation rate rose for the fifth straight month in January, data from the Central Bureau of Statistics showed on Monday.The consumer price index showed prices gained 0.1 percent from a year earlier versus a 0.4 percent increase in December. Analysts polled by Reuters had predicted a 0.1 percent rise.Inflation in 2017 was 0.4 percent, as prices in the...Read More

* Jan. producer prices rise as much as expected* Cisco shares up after upbeat results and forecast* Apple gains after Berkshire Hathaway boosts stake* Indexes up: Dow 0.2 pct, S&P 0.2 pct, Nasdaq 0.5 pct (Changes comment, adds details, updates prices)By Sruthi Shankar and Aparajita SaxenaFeb 15 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes were trading higher on Thursday with gains in technology and...Read More

* "Transatlantic spread" hits 216 bps, highest since April 2017* Inflation triggers fresh U.S. Treasury sell-off* Political risk caps European government bond yields (Updates prices)By Abhinav RamnarayanLONDON, Feb 15 (Reuters) - The gap between German and U.S. 10-year borrowing costs reached its widest point since April on Thursday after higher-than-expected inflation in the United Stat...Read More

LONDON, Feb 15 (Reuters) - London Metal Exchange (LME) stocks of aluminium have surged by almost a quarter of a million tonnes over the last five days.A cumulative 265,475 tonnes have "arrived" in the LME's warehouse network, including 166,225 tonnes on Monday, which showed up in the exchange's Tuesday stocks report.That was the most dramatic single-day "arrivals event" since March 18, 2014, when...Read More

STOCKHOLM, Feb 15 (Reuters) - Swedish Central Bank Deputy Governor Martin Floden is set to get a new term when his mandate expires in May, with a formal decision likely on Friday, three sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.Considered one of the more hawkish members on the six-person rate-setting board, Floden's vote could tilt the balance towards the Riksbank's beginning to raise inte...Read More

Feb 15 (Reuters) - Australia's top gold miner, Newcrest Mining Ltd, on Thursday reported a 58-percent fall in half-year underlying profit, dragged down by disruptions such as an earthquake hitting one of its key sites earlier in 2017.Underlying profit slid to $116 million in the six months to Dec. 31, down from $273 million the year before and below a forecast of $143 million based on the average...Read More

* Graphic: World FX rates in 2018 * Graphic: Trade-weighted sterling since Brexit vote By Tommy WilkesLONDON, Feb 15 (Reuters) - Sterling gained for the fourth day on the trot against the dollar on Thursday, briefly touching $1.41 on the back of a broadly weakened U.S. currency, with traders eyeing earnings data next week to give the pound fresh momentum.The pound has rallied in 2018 on the back o...Read More

By Bruno FederowskiSAO PAULO, Feb 15 (Reuters) - Latin American markets rose on Thursday as global stocks shrugged off recent losses and traded higher, supporting demand for riskier assets.Currencies and stocks throughout the region rose as global markets recovered from a deep sell-off triggered by figures showing rising U.S. wages. Some investors fear that increased inflationary pressure could dr...Read More

* Output down in Nov-Dec, hitting 2017 GDP* Jan industrial output up 2.9 pct, yr/yr, beating forecasts* Growth may be short-lived, analyst says (Adds details, analysts, background)By Zlata GarasyutaMOSCOW, Feb 15 (Reuters) - Russia's industrial output rose 2.9 percent in January compared with January a year ago, recovering after two months in red, the state statistics service said on Thursday.Anal...Read More

ZAGREB, Feb 15 (Reuters) - Croatia will offer 1.3 billion kuna ($218.13 million) worth of treasury bills at an auction next week, the Finance Ministry said on Thursday.On Feb. 20, the ministry will again offer one-year paper which has been the only paper offered in several recent auctions as well. Occasionally the ministry also offers bills of three-month and six-month maturities as well as those...Read More

(Adds quotes, details)VERONA, Italy, Feb 15 (Reuters) - Italy's largest coffee group Lavazza does not plan to go public for the time being and is still busy integrating the four companies bought in the last three years, its vice president said."Before thinking to new acquisitions we have to consolidate what we have done last year," Marco Lavazza said.Lavazza's acquisition spree has shar...Read More

MOSCOW, Feb 15 (Reuters) - Polyus, Russia's largest gold producer, posted a 7 percent increase in 2017 adjusted net profit to $1.02 billion, the company said on Thursday.The gold producer saw rising sales last year and expects to both invest and produce more in 2018, as it aims to ramp up production at its newly-launched Natalka gold deposit in Russia's far east.In the fourth quarter, Polyus saw a...Read More

It's already been a challenging start to 2018 for Texas-based oil-and-gas stock Newfield Exploration Co. (NYSE:NFX), with the shares down nearly 19% on a year-to-date basis. But if history is any guide, NFX is on the cusp of more heavy losses in the holiday-shortened week ahead.According to data from Schaeffer's Senior Quantitative Analyst Rocky White, NFX stands out as one of the worst-performing...Read More

GOLD (in USD) Bullish momentum. Gold is recovering after its recent strong sell-off. Resistance at 1337 (12/09/2017) is broken, confirming a strong bullish bias. Further resistance at 1358 (08/09/2017) approaches. Supports given at 1306 (04/01/2018 low) and 1290 (16/10/2017) remain. The technical structure suggests further upside moves. In the long-term, the technical structure suggests that...Read More

It was a strange day. Inflation surged yesterday. But gold dropped initially, only to quickly reverse the fall and fly into the air. What happened? And - importantly - will gold soar on the inflation fuel?Inflation rears its ugly head (or tries to, at least)The recent payrolls report showed that wages had jumped 2.9 percent in January on an annual basis. It was the best result since 2009, which aw...Read More

Square Inc (NYSE:SQ) stock is in focus today, after receiving a price-target hike to $43 from $37 at Deutsche Bank. The brokerage firm noted that the payment processing company has solid revenue momentum, and traders are willing to pay for high-profile growth and massive market opportunity. As a result, Square stock is up 3.8% to trade at $43.42 this morning.After touching a record high of $49.56...Read More

(Updates with Romanian auction, prices)* Polish zloty leads gains with 0.3 pct rise vs euro* Helped by comments from EU Commission head - analyst* Romania fails to sell bonds, leu still near record low* Stocks rise following gains across the globe By Marcin GoettigWARSAW, Feb 15 (Reuters) - Weakness in the dollar fuelled gains in most central European currencies on Thursday, with the zloty gettin...Read More

OSLO, Feb 15 (Reuters) - Norway's central bank awarded 12.73 billion Norwegian crowns($1.63 billion) in an F-loan for Feb. 15-20 with a lowest rate of 0.50 percent, it said on Thursday.There was 100 percent awarded at the lowest rate. A total of 12.73 billion crowns was sought by banks.($1 = 7.7911 Norwegian crowns) (Reporting by Oslo newsroom) Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are...Read More

Getty ImagesHomebuilder enthusiasm is on the rise. The numbers: The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo housing market index stayed at 72 in February. That's a very strong reading, and just slightly below December's cycle-high reading of 74, as any reading over 50 indicates "good" performance. What happened: The component on sales expectations in the next six months rose two points...Read More

The accompanying daily chart of Cboe Global Markets (NASDAQ:CBOE) provides a prototype illustration of the most prominent risk of "momentum investing" (even more profoundly highlighted over this past week with the implosion of the inverse volatility exchange-traded funds). Share price action can be strong over lengthy time frames -- sometimes strong enough to result in gains of 100% or more in per...Read More