BERLIN, Jan 18 (Reuters) - The current level of Germany's trade surplus is not justified, IMF chief Christine Lagarde told German broadcaster ARD on Thursday, urging Berlin to increase its investments.Lagarde also told ARD that the IMF supported the pursuit of loose monetary policies by the European Central Bank and all central banks as long as inflationary targets had not been met, adding, "...Read More

Subscribers to Schaeffer's Option Advisor service recently doubled their money on our Century Aluminum Co (NASDAQ:CENX) March 16, 2018 16-strike call recommendation. Here's a closer look at why we became bullish on CENX stock, and how the winning options trade unfolded.When we recommended the call option in late December, shares of the aluminum services name had recently pulled back to their 320-d...Read More

By Matt Scuffham and John TilakTORONTO, Jan 18 (Reuters) - Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce is targeting a valuation of 10 times earnings for the potential listing of its FirstCaribbean business in New York, which would give it a market value of around $1.4 billion, five sources familiar with the matter told Reuters over the past week.That would represent a 30 percent discount to FirstCaribbean'...Read More

* Morocco started more flexible currency system this week* Kingdom will implement FX reform in gradual way* Morocco hopes dirham move will boost growth* Inflation could also rise-central bank (Adds details, background)By Ulf Laessing and Zakia AbdennebiRABAT, Jan 18 (Reuters) - The flexible exchange rate system introduced this week in Morocco could raise annual inflation by 0.4 percent "in an...Read More

Jan 18 (Reuters) - Music streaming company Spotify launched a feature that will allow listeners to see stories, news and other content through photos, videos and text, the company said on Thursday, expanding beyond music ahead of taking itself public.The feature, called 'Spotlight', will have content from BuzzFeed News, Cheddar and Crooked Media, among others, Spotify said in a blog post on Thursd...Read More

Jan 19 (Reuters) - Stock MarketsNet ChngStock MarketsNet ChngS&P/ASX 200** 6,014.60 -1.20 NZX 50**8,272.67 -25.0DJIA26,017.26-98.39NIKKEI**23,763.37-104.97Nasdaq7,303.1244.85FTSE**7,700.96 -24.47S&P 500 2,798.94 -3.62 Hang Seng** 32,121.94138.53SPI 200 Fut 5,969.017.0STI** 3,521.31 -20.60SSEC**3,475.91 31.24 KOSPI** 2,515.81 0.38-------------------------------------------------------------...Read More

* Treasury yields hit highest in 10 months* Wall Street dips as Boeing stalls* Dollar remains soft (Updates with European market close)By Chuck MikolajczakNEW YORK, Jan 18 (Reuters) - A gauge of world stock markets dipped on Thursday, pausing after notching a string of record highs, as a decline in Boeing and healthcare names weighed on U.S. equities.Shares on Wall Street took a breather after the...Read More

China's top nickel supplier aims to boost output of a material used in car batteries by 40 percent this year, joining the ranks of global producers ramping up operations to meet demand from electric vehicles.Read full newsRead More

(Kitco News)- While investors can expect to see volatility in silverprices through 2018, the market has plenty of room to move higher due togrowing demand and shrinking supply, according to the Silver Institute. In a report released Thursday, Michael DiRienzo, executive director of the institute saidthat strong industrial demand, jewelry demand and renewed investor interestwill continue to support...Read More

(Kitco News) - Gold and silver prices were ending the U.S. day session lower Thursday, on somenormal profit-taking pressure after both markets earlier this week hitmulti-month highs. February Comex gold was last down $10.10 an ounce at $1,329.10.March Comex silver was last down $0.171 at $16.995 an ounce.Theprecious metals did not show much reaction to growing concerns in themarketplace regarding...Read More

(Kitco News) - Gold and silver prices were ending the U.S. day session lower Thursday, on some normal profit-taking pressure after both markets earlier this week hit multi-month highs. February Comex gold was last down $10.10 an ounce at $1,329.10. March Comex silver was last down $0.171 at $16.995 an ounce.The precious metals did not show much reaction to growing concerns in the marketplace regar...Read More

NEW YORK, Jan 18 (Reuters) - The U.S. bond market's gauges of inflation expectations on Thursday extended their rise following data that showed the strongest auction demand for 10-year Treasury Inflation Protected Securities in about 3-1/2 years.At 1:24 p.m. (1824 GMT), the 10-year inflation breakeven rate, or the yield gap between 10-year TIPS and regular 10-year Treasury notes, was 2.09 percent,...Read More

* Boeing dips 2.4 pct, weighs on Dow* Morgan Stanley up slightly on earnings beat* House vote on extension of govt funding after 2:30 p.m. ET* Dow up 0.34 pct, S&P up 0.13 pct, Nasdaq up 0.05 pct (Updates to early afternoon)By Sruthi ShankarJan 18 (Reuters) - Losses in healthcare and industrial stocks paused Wall Street's new year rally that had driven the blue-chip Dow index to its fastest ev...Read More

NEW YORK, Jan 18 (Reuters) - The U.S. government on Thursday sold $13 billion in 10-year Treasury Inflation Protected Securities to the strongest demand since 2014 at a yield of 0.548 percent, which was the highest yield in two years, Treasury data showed.The ratio of bids to the amount of 10-year TIPS issue offered was 2.69, which was the highest reading since May 2014. This gauge of overall auct...Read More

Jeff Desjardins on January 18, 2018If for some reason, you still think that the commodity markets are predictable, today's chart provides a nice piece of humble pie.The Periodic Table of Commodity Returns, which comes to us annually from our friends at U.S. Global Investors, shows the returns of commodities over each year of the past decade.As you may have guessed, commodities are a volatile ass...Read More

Jeff Desjardins on January 18, 2018If for some reason, you still think that the commodity markets are predictable, today's chart provides a nice piece of humble pie.The Periodic Table of Commodity Returns, which comes to us annually from our friends at U.S. Global Investors, shows the returns of commodities over each year of the past decade.As you may have guessed, commodities are a volatile ass...Read More

The 20 stocks listed in the table below have attracted the highest total weekly options volume during the past 10 days. Stocks highlighted in yellow are new entries to the list. Data is courtesy of Schaeffer's Senior Quantitative Analyst Rocky White. One of the names to note is Snapchat parent Snap Inc. (NYSE:SNAP). Below, we'll break down recent options trading activity on SNAP.Snap stock has b...Read More

An Italian professor at the Politecnico di Milano says that there could be an iron throne right below the apex of the Pyramid of Cheops, located in the Giza pyramid complex, Egypt.If there is such an artifact, says Professor of Archaeoastronomy Giulio Magli, it would not be melted iron but meteoritic iron, that is, fallen from the sky in the form of iron meteorites. Such mineral is distinguishable...Read More

Richard Cowan, Susan CornwellWASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House on Wednesday threw its support behind a Republican proposal to avert a government shutdown at week’s end with a one-month extension in funding, but it was unclear whether there were enough votes to pass it in Congress.Congress has been struggling for months to reach an agreement to fund the government, which is currently ope...Read More

BHP Billiton Ltd., the world's biggest mining company, said quarterly iron ore output rose 3 percent on improved rail and plant performance, putting the exporter on target for record annual production.Read full newsRead More