(Bloomberg) - Gold is going digital.Blockchain technology may help keep track of the roughly $200 billion of the precious metal dug from remote mines, traded by middlemen and melted down by recyclers that's sold each year to buyers scattered around the world.The London Bullion Market Association, which oversees the world's biggest spot gold market, will seek proposals including the use of blockch...Read More

(Bloomberg) - Gold is going digital.Blockchain technology may help keep track of the roughly $200 billion of the precious metal dug from remote mines, traded by middlemen and melted down by recyclers that's sold each year to buyers scattered around the world.The London Bullion Market Association, which oversees the world's biggest spot gold market, will seek proposals including the use of blockch...Read More

By Gertrude Chavez-DreyfussNEW YORK, Jan 24 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury debt prices slumped on Wednesday, after Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin backed a weaker dollar to help boost America's global trade, breaking from the traditional strong currency policy of past administrations.U.S. 30-year bond yields, which move inversely to prices, rose to their highest in more than three months, while those...Read More

Shares of SAGE Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:SAGE) gapped 70% higher on Dec. 7, after the biotech reported well-received data for one of its depression drugs. The shares have yet to slow down, topping out at a record high of $183.05 earlier. Though SAGE stock was trading down 0.4% at $179.85 at last check, if history is any guide, the drug name could still be headed deeper into uncharted territory.Spec...Read More

SAO PAULO, Jan 24 (Reuters) - Caixa Econ??mica Federal has unveiled plans to shore up its balance sheet and replace a dozen vice presidents as the Brazilian state bank deals with a string of graft investigations.In a statement late on Tuesday, Caixa said it would meet Basel III capital requirements this year and next by issuing perpetual debt in global markets, selling part of its loan portfolio a...Read More

MILAN, Jan 24 (Reuters) - Kepler Cheuvreux sees the enterprise value of IPO candidate Italo at around 2.15 billion euros ($2.7 billion), a copy of a presentation to investors showed. The broker sees the equity value of the Italian high speed railway group, which is offering up to 40 percent of its shares in an initial public offering expected in February, at around 1.7 billion euros. The company,...Read More

(Adds details throughout on sectors and stocks; updates prices)* TSX falls 8.9 points, or 0.05 percent, to 16,348.65* Six of the index's 10 main groups fall* Valeant declines 7.7 percent* The materials group adds 1.6 percent TORONTO, Jan 24 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index edged lower on Wednesday, weighed by declines for Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc and Canadian National Railw...Read More

BERLIN, Jan 24 (Reuters) - Germany defended its arms export policy on Wednesday in response to accusations of "moral depravity" after sales increased last year to countries beyond its European Union and NATO allies.Germany is the world's third-biggest arms exporter, but weapons sales remain a domestically sensitive issue given the country's World War Two history.The debate has been furth...Read More

Shares in M2 Cobalt Corp (CVE:MC) were off to the races on Wednesday after the company announced the acquisition of exploration licenses in east Africa and resumed trading in Toronto.During lunchtime trade the Vancouver-based junior was exchanging hands for $1.00 up 61.3% after a halt on trading on the TSX Venture Exchange in place since November was lifted. Around 67,000 shares were traded givin...Read More

(Adds stocks, updates levels)JOHANNESBURG, Jan 24 (Reuters) - South Africa's rand firmed against the dollar on Wednesday, breaking through 12 per dollar for the first time since mid-2015, supported by a weaker greenback and expectations the new leader of the ruling ANC would rejuvenate the economy.At 1518 GMT, the rand traded at 11.9450 per dollar, up 0.75 percent from its New York close on Tuesd...Read More

Shares in M2 Cobalt Corp (CVE:MC) were off to the races on Wednesday after the company announced the acquisition of exploration licenses in east Africa and resumed trading in Toronto.During lunchtime trade the Vancouver-based junior was exchanging hands for $1.00 up 61.3% after a halt on trading on the TSX Venture Exchange in place since November was lifted. Around 67,000 shares were traded givin...Read More

MILAN, Jan 24 (Reuters) - Italy's Edizione Holding, the investment vehicle of the Benetton family, plans to double its stake in the country's biggest insurer Generali to around 2 percent, a banking source said on Wednesday.Edizione Holding declined to comment on the issue.The holding firm, which currently owns a stake of 0.94 percent in the insurer, is cash-rich after having sold a majority stake...Read More

By Steve SlaterLONDON, Jan 24 (IFR) - Just whisper it among European bank executives, but US bank chiefs reckon changes to US taxes are going to make them stronger and able to more aggressively hire from rivals and invest in technology.The tax changes cost the big five US banks a combined US$32.9bn in their recent fourth-quarter results, but that did little to dampen their enthusiasm for the new r...Read More

BUDAPEST, Jan 24 (Reuters) - The National Bank of Hungary (NBH) will make its monetary policy interest rate swap (IRS) facility for commercial banks fixed-rate instead of variable-rate, the bank said in a statement on Wednesday.Access to the IRS will be proportional to the size of the assets of bidders according to new rules which take effect on Jan. 29. The bank reiterated that it planned to offe...Read More

* Existing home sales fall 3.6 percent in December* Housing inventory tumbles 11.4 percent* Median house price rises 5.8 percent year-on-year By Lucia MutikaniWASHINGTON, Jan 24 (Reuters) - U.S. home sales fell more than expected in December as the supply of houses on the market dropped to a record low, pushing up prices and likely sidelining some potential buyers. The National Association of Rea...Read More

Douglas Conn, director at Stewart & Wight Plc (LON:STE), introduces the property fund to Proactive.Conn gives some of the history to the company saying it's been around since 1888 where it first began trading as a bakery before switching its focus to property.The portfolio consists of 19 shops throughout England, all of them fully let, with tenants including Costa, Clarks shoes and Specsavers....Read More

* Mnuchin says weak dollar is good for U.S. trade* Dollar index hits fresh 3-year low* Trump expected to push "America First" message in Davos speech (Updates prices and market activity to U.S. market open, changes dateline; previous LONDON)By Saqib Iqbal AhmedNEW YORK, Jan 24 (Reuters) - The dollar fell to a fresh three-year low against a basket of major currencies on Wednesday after th...Read More

LONDON, Jan 24 (Reuters) - The Bank of England said on Wednesday it had not approved any prize for an auction at the Presidents Club charity gala held last week in London, where women working as hostesses were harassed, according to the Financial Times."The Governor (Mark Carney) is deeply dismayed that such an event could take place," the Bank said in a statement after the FT reported t...Read More

Texas Instruments Incorporated (NASDAQ:TXN) said fourth-quarter profit plunged 67%, due mostly to costs related to U.S. tax reform. On an adjusted basis, the company reported earnings of $1.09 per share -- matching the consensus estimate. While the chipmaker's $3.75 billion in quarterly revenue edged past the forecast, TXN stock is down 5.4% to trade at $113.46, following a disappointing current-q...Read More

United Continental Holdings Inc (NYSE: UAL) yesterday reported stronger-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings, but the stock is still trading 8.4% lower today at $71.44. The move is likely the result of the company's announcement that it's raising capacity to gain an advantage against lower-cost competitors. Some investors may be concerned this decision will eat into United's profit margins, howev...Read More