Saqib Iqbal AhmedNEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stock markets are unlikely to return to the unusually calm conditions seen last year, even though equities have already recovered more than half the ground lost in the recent selloff and traders have rapidly dialed down fear.Stock market volatility spiked to a multi-year high in the selloff and some products that flourished in low volatility collapsed. A...Read More

VIENNA (Reuters) - International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde has no objection to plans to turn the euro zone’s bailout fund into a European Monetary Fund, she said in comments published on Saturday.The European Commission has suggested transforming the role of the government-controlled European Stability Mechanism (ESM) into a full-blown European Monetary Fund under parliamentary c...Read More

(Kitco News) - Analysts are optimistic when it comes to Chinese gold demandfor the Lunar New Year, stating that they expect to see strong growth despitehigher gold prices. China is already seeing an improvement in gold demand ahead ofthe Lunar celebrations, which will usher in the year of the Dog on Feb. 16. The occasion has historically been a key gold-buying opportunity for consumers in acount...Read More

(Kitco News) - Analysts are optimistic when it comes to Chinese gold demand for the Lunar New Year, stating that they expect to see strong growth despite higher gold prices. China is already seeing an improvement in gold demand ahead of the Lunar celebrations, which will usher in the year of the Dog on Feb. 16. The occasion has historically been a key gold-buying opportunity for consumers in a c...Read More

* Government does not say why central bank governor detained* Governor Rimsevics also sits on ECB Governing Council* Finance minister urges Rimsevics to step down pending inquiry (Adds background)By Gederts GelzisRIGA, Feb 18 (Reuters) - Latvia's anti-corruption agency has detained central bank Governor Ilmars Rimsevics, prompting calls for him to step aside while he is under investigation.Prime M...Read More

* Cabinet approves bankruptcy law - sources* Modern bankruptcy framework currently absent in kingdom* Passage could provide a lifeline to struggling firms By Tom Arnold, Reem Shamseddine and Katie PaulDUBAI/KHOBAR, Saudi Arabia, Feb 18 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's cabinet has approved a bankruptcy law, sources familiar with the matter said on Sunday, giving a boost to efforts to make the kingdom mo...Read More

JOHANNESBURG, Feb 18 (Reuters) - A South African industry group representing mining companies has agreed to postpone a court challenge against new regulations that included a requirement for more black ownership of mines, to allow for negotiations with new President Cyril Ramaphosa.The uncertainty around the new rules has deterred investment into a sector that accounts for 8 percent of South Afric...Read More

After shutting down more than 5,000 stores in 2017, store-closings are accelerating in 2018 with news of the potential bankruptcy of Winn-Dixie chain parent, and plans to shut almost 200 stores as part of the move - either before or after the filing.Read full newsRead More

RIGA, Feb 18 (Reuters) - Latvia's central bank Governor Ilmars Rimsevics should step down while he is under investigation by the country's anti-corruption agency, its finance minister said on Sunday.Prime Minister Maris Kucinskis said earlier on Sunday that Rimsevics, who is a member of the European Central Bank's Governing Council, had been detained by the anti-corruption agency. "Given that...Read More

(Adds details)JERUSALEM, Feb 18 (Reuters) - Israel's economy ended 2017 on a strong note, growing a more-than-expected annualised 3.6 percent in the fourth quarter, the Central Bureau of Statistics said on Sunday, although it was a slightly slower pace than the prior three months.A Reuters poll of economists had forecast 3.4 percent growth for the October-December quarter.The bureau revised up it...Read More

JERUSALEM, Feb 18 (Reuters) - Israel's economy grew at an annualised 3.6 percent in the fourth quarter, a bit more moderate than the prior three months, the Central Bureau of Statistics said on Sunday, citing slower gains in exports and consumer spending.A Reuters poll of economists had forecast 3.4 percent growth for the October-December quarter.The bureau revised up its third-quarter gross domes...Read More

CAIRO, Feb 18 (Reuters) - Egypt aims to sell Eurobonds worth $3-4 billion in the 2018-2019 fiscal year which begins in July, deputy finance minister Ahmed Kouchouk told the Saudi-owned Al Arabiya television network on Sunday.Egypt raised $4 billion in a dollar-denominated Eurobond sale that closed late on Tuesday, the finance ministry said, in bonds issued in five, 10- and 30-year tenors.The finan...Read More

RIGA, Feb 18 (Reuters) - Latvian central bank governor Ilmars Rimsevics has been detained by the country's anti-corruption agency, the prime minister's office said in a statement on Sunday."The Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau (KNAB) has applied the status of being detained to the Governor of Bank of Latvia [Ilmars Rimsevics]," Prime Minister Maris Kucinskis said in an emailed...Read More

(Adds details, background)By Tom Arnold and Nadine AwadallaDUBAI/CAIRO, Feb 18 (Reuters) - Qatar National Bank (QNB) , the Middle East's largest lender by assets, said it will sell a 2 percent stake in its Egyptian unit QNB Alahly to comply with Cairo listing rules.A QNB spokesman said the bank had no current plans to further reduce its stake, which will stand at 95 percent after the sale.The sal...Read More

(Adds context, details of future plans)By Stanley CarvalhoABU DHABI, Feb 18 (Reuters) - In a move that could attract fresh money to the United Arab Emirates' equity markets, the Nasdaq Dubai exchange launched futures contracts on Sunday covering the main indexes of the country's two main stock markets in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.The futures provide exposure to the General Index of the Abu Dhabi Securi...Read More

The national park's full planning committee will visit the site on 27 February before making a decision.Read full newsRead More

ABU DHABI, Feb 18 (Reuters) - The Nasdaq Dubai exchange launched equity index futures on Sunday for the main indexes of Dubai Financial Market and the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, a top official said.The new instruments could help to attract fresh money to the exchanges by giving investors more opportunity to hedge. Nasdaq Dubai began trading single-stock futures for shares in some of the United...Read More

DUBAI/CAIRO, Feb 18 (Reuters) - Qatar National Bank (QNB) has hired CI Capital to advise it on the sale of a small stake in its Egyptian unit.QNB plans to reduce its 97.125 percent stake in QNB Alahly to 95percent, the bank said in a statement.The sale is intended to comply with the rules of listing on the stock exchange, which requires that the free float shall not be less than 5 percent, it said...Read More

DUBAI, Feb 18 (Reuters) - Most major Gulf stock markets edged up in early trade on Sunday although Dubai fell, partly because of a continued slide in Shuaa Capital .The Saudi index was up 0.5 percent after 55 minutes with blue-chip bank Al Rajhi gaining 0.9 percent. National Medical Care Co rose 1.3 percent after proposing to resume dividend payments for 2017.But Buruj Cooperative Insurance sank 6...Read More

China's Shandong Gold Mining Co Ltd and Zijin Mining Group Co Ltd are in separate talks with Acacia Mining Plc to form a joint venture for the London-listed company's gold mines in Tanzania, three people familiar with the matter told Reuters.Read full newsRead More