Dhara RanasingheLONDON (Reuters) - Borrowing costs across the euro area shot higher on Tuesday as a cut in monthly ECB asset purchases became a reality, with hawkish comments from a top official and strong data hurting sentiment towards bonds on the first trading day of the year.Bonds from the bloc’s periphery, the biggest beneficiaries of European Central Bank stimulus, bore the brunt of th...Read More

Editor's Note: View Kitco News' full 2018 outlook coverage (Kitco News) - Known as a fan favorite, the Expert Series brings together well-known investors and Kitco regulars to find out where they will be putting their money in 2018.This year, in a new twist to the feature, Kitco News has asked some of the most influential mining sector newsletter writers how they would invest $100K in the mining s...Read More

Editor's Note: View Kitco News' full 2018 outlook coverage (Kitco News) - Known as a fan favorite, the Expert Series brings together well-known investors and Kitco regulars to find out where they will be putting their money in 2018.This year, in a new twist to the feature, Kitco News has asked some of the most influential mining sector newsletter writers how they would invest $100K in the mining s...Read More

* Oil trades near strongest levels since mid-2015* Media, retail stocks rise after positive broker recommendations* Casino stocks hit by downbeat December gambling revenue* Indexes up: Dow 0.2 pct, S&P 0.62 pct, Nasdaq 1.2 pct (Updates to early afternoon)By Sruthi ShankarJan 2 (Reuters) - Wall Street's major indexes were higher on the first trading session of 2018 on Tuesday, driven by gains i...Read More

   •  Broad-based USD weakness underpins.   •  Risk-off mood provides an additional boost.   •  Recovering US bond yields fail to  cap gains. Gold was seen building on its bullish momentum further beyond the $1300 handle and rose to fresh three-month highs during the mid-European session. The precious metal began 2018 on a firmer not...Read More

By Liz HamptonHOUSTON, Jan 2 (Reuters) - Shares of Weatherford International Plc fell more than 17 percent on Tuesday after the oilfield services companyabandoned a proposed joint venture with Schlumberger and instead sold its hydraulic fracturing business to Schlumberger, a bigger rival.The deal with Schlumberger, worth $430 million, gave Weatherford roughly $100 million less than originally anti...Read More

Forestry management company Active Energy Group PLC (LON:AEG) has successfully completed the initial testing of its five tonne per hour CoalSwitch biomass fuel plant in Utah. CEO Richard Spinks tells Proactive how this proves the technology is scalable to full commercial production and gives us the latest updates on projects in Newfoundland, Labrador and Alberta.  Meet Chaarat Gold Holdings L...Read More

2018 has just begun. What will a new year bring for the gold market?Macroeconomic outlook will remain unpleasantThe current economic expansion is surprisingly durable, as it has already lasted more than 100 months. It worries many investors who are afraid of the upcoming recessions. Surely, there are many reasons to worry, and the recession will eventually come. But we are not at this point yet. T...Read More

SAGE Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:SAGE) had a rip-roaring end to 2017, tacking on 78% in December, and touching an all-time high of $173.36 on Dec. 8. It appears the momentum might spill over into 2018, with the drug stock sending up a signal to buy short-term options right now.While SAGE stock vaulted up the charts, its short-term options prices remained in the proverbial basement. The equity's Sch...Read More

The European Union has taken over the chairmanship of the Kimberley Process for 2018, a decade after it last directed the initiative. Federica Mogherini, who is an Italian politician and the High Representative of the bloc for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, will be heading the operation. Kimberley is a process started in 2003 following the United Nations General Assembly's Resolution 55/56....Read More

The European Union has taken over the chairmanship of the Kimberley Process for 2018, a decade after it last directed the initiative. Federica Mogherini, who is an Italian politician and the High Representative of the bloc for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, will be heading the operation. Kimberley is a process started in 2003 following the United Nations General Assembly's Resolution 55/56....Read More

Editor's Note: View Kitco News' full 2018 outlook coverage(Kitco News) - It was a tale of two markets for gold in 2017, as prices made their biggest gains since 2010, but U.S. Mint coin sales were the weakest in a decade.The U.S. Mint said that sales of American Eagle gold and silver coins were the lowest since 2007 and American Buffalo coins had the worst year on record.The majority of analysts b...Read More

Editor's Note: View Kitco News' full 2018 outlook coverage(Kitco News) - It was a tale of two markets for gold in 2017, as prices made their biggest gains since 2010, but U.S. Mint coin sales were the weakest in a decade.The U.S. Mint said that sales of American Eagle gold and silver coins were the lowest since 2007 and American Buffalo coins had the worst year on record.The majority of analysts b...Read More

LONDON, Jan 2 (Reuters) - Yields on benchmark British gilts rose by the most in over six months on Tuesday as investors sold European government bonds after an ECB official said its bond-buying might not be extended and data showed strong economic growth in the euro zone.The yield on 10-year British gilts touched a high of 1.290 percent, their highest since Dec. 8, before closing at 1.289 percent,...Read More

U.S. equity futures are higher in the first trading session of 2018 offsetting Friday's last hour sharp drop, as Asian stocks roar to new all time highs, while a surging euro which has rallied near to a 3 year high pressured European stocks across the board.Read full newsRead More

* LME/ShFE arb: * LME zinc stocks down 70 percent since Sept. 2015* Cash to threes zinc backwardation highest since Nov. 30 (Adds closing prices)By Pratima DesaiLONDON, Jan 2 (Reuters) - Zinc scaled 10-year peaks on Tuesday as the market focused on looming deficits due to falling supplies, but gains were capped as prices are at levels which are likely to encourage investment in new output.Benchmar...Read More

The initial price of bitcoin, set in 2010, was less than 1 cent. Now it's crossed $16,000. Once seen as the province of nerds, libertarians and drug dealers, bitcoin today is drawing millions of dollars from hedge funds. The recent price surge may be a bubble. Or it could be a belated recognition by the broader financial community that so-called cryptocurrencies -- digital forms of money -- are go...Read More

A second Sino-Russian oil pipeline began operations on New Year's Day, doubling China's capacity to import crude from the East Siberia-Pacific Ocean system.Read full newsRead More

U.S. stocks are broadly higher halfway through the first trading day of 2018. While the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) has pared much of its triple-digit lead, the S&P 500 Index (SPX) and Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) are holding their early gains as tech and energy stocks outperform. Adding to the risk-on bias is the Markit purchasing managers manufacturing index (PMI) for December, which revealed...Read More

The corporate agenda tends to be mercifully light at the start of January, save for the retailers' Christmas updates, starting with Next Plc (LON:NXT).The fashion firm releases a trading update on Wednesday covering the important Christmas trading period, and shareholders have every right to be a tad nervous after reports that the Boxing Day sales were not the crowd-pullers they once used to be, p...Read More