ABUJA, Jan 8 (Reuters) - Nigeria's foreign reserves reached $40.4 billion as of Jan. 5, an increase of roughly $1 billion from December, the central bank said on Monday.Successful debt sales, including multiple Eurobond offerings last year, have helped the government accrue billions of dollars in foreign reserves, although they remain far from the peak of $64 billion in August 2008.In its statemen...Read More

LAGOS, Jan 8 (Reuters) - Nigeria's Union Bank has raised 49.7 billion naira through a rights issued which it said was 120 percent subscribed.The mid-sized lender launched the share sale last September at a ratio of five new shares for every seven held. (Reporting by Chijioke Ohuocha, editing by David Evans) Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflec...Read More

Small investors are betting that bitcoin's price will rise, while hedge funds and other large traders are betting it will fall. And if the recent past is any indication, bitcoin is about to surge as yet another short squeeze develops...Read full newsRead More

* S&P, Dow lower as healthcare, bank stocks drag* Dollar index hits one-week high as euro falters* U.S. bond prices gain ahead of auctions (Updates with early U.S. market activity, changes dateline, byline)By Caroline ValetkevitchNEW YORK, Jan 8 (Reuters) - The dollar hit a more than one-week high against a basket of currencies and the euro eased on Monday, while U.S. stocks were little change...Read More

Time is more important than price. That's what we - investors - are often made to believe regarding the future price movement. And rightfully so. The price could reach a bottom several dollars ahead of the predicted price target or it could break through it, leaving investors wondering, if there was a breakdown and thus they should expect to see another big downswing shortly. With time, things are...Read More

U.S. stocks are trading in a tight range today, as the market continues to absorb last week's huge gains. While the Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) has managed to push higher, both the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) and S&P 500 Index (SPX) are holding just below breakeven -- potentially due to a round of profit-taking -- though all three indexes tagged record highs earlier. There's little to digest on...Read More

(Adds central bank comments)BUCHAREST, Jan 8 (Reuters) - Romania's central bank began raising interest rates for the first time in a decade on Monday, in an effort to curb inflation, now above its 2017 forecast.The bank raised its benchmark rate by a quarter point to 2.0 percent, becoming the second of the European Union's central and eastern states to start tightening from record low levels, aft...Read More

Italy's Treasury said on Monday it would offer up to 6.0 billion euros over two bonds at auction on Jan. 11.BOND TYPE 3-year BTP7-year BTPMATURITYOct. 15, 2020 Nov. 15, 2024TRANCHE5th 7thCOUPON 0.20 pct1.45 pctAMOUNT OFFERED 2.5-3.0 2.5-3.0(bln euros)SETTLEMENT DATEJan. 15, 2018(Reporting by Milan Newsroom)Keywords: ITALY BONDS/AUCTION ANNOUNCEMENT Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article...Read More

MADRID, Jan 8 (Reuters) - Spanish real estate company Metrovacesa on Monday announced its intention to float in a move it said was aimed at widening its shareholder base, making it easier to access capital markets to get financing for projects.The residential developer will look to sell existing shares owned by Spanish banks Banco Santander and BBVA in the offering, it said in a statement. The com...Read More

* Steinhoff drops off ECB's holdings list* ECB set for loss of up to 55 pct on investment (Writes through)By Francesco CanepaFRANKFURT, Jan 8 (Reuters) - The European Central Bank sold its bonds of scandal-hit South African retailer Steinhoff last week, data showed on Monday, potentially losing more than half the amount it had invested.Steinhoff, the owner of brands such as Conforama and Poundland...Read More

Gold prices closed higher for an 11th straight session on Friday -- the longest daily win streak on record. And while February gold futures are trading down 0.2% today at $1,319.80 an ounce, they are still holding near September highs. This price action has been mirrored in the SPDR Gold Trust ETF (GLD), though bullish options traders have been relatively absent amid the recent boon. After bottomi...Read More

By Steve SlaterLONDON, Jan 8 (IFR) - Deutsche Bank's warning that fourth quarter trading revenues will fall more than a fifth from the year before is even worse than it looks, as unlike most rivals it is down from one of its weakest periods ever.Deutsche also signalled that costs are not falling as fast as expected, raising concern that chief executive John Cryan is making little progress with his...Read More

* Caterpillar opens at a record high after brokerage upgrade* Nasdaq biotech index on track for its worst day since Oct. 26* GoPro plunges to new lows after Q4 sales warning* Dow down 0.15 pct, S&P off 0.08 pct, Nasdaq up 0.1 pct (Changes comment, adds details, updates prices)By Sruthi ShankarJan 8 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 and the Dow were trading slightly lower on Monday, as losses in heal...Read More

KOLWEZI, Democratic Republic of Congo, Jan. 08, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) - Ivanhoe Mines (TSX:IVN) (OTCQX:IVPAF) Executive Chairman Robert Friedland and Chief Executive Officer Lars-Eric Johansson announced today that ongoing upgrading work at the Mwadingusha hydropower plant in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has almost tripled the plant's interim power output from 11 to 32 megawatts (MW)....Read More

KOLWEZI, Democratic Republic of Congo, Jan. 08, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) - Ivanhoe Mines (TSX:IVN) (OTCQX:IVPAF) Executive Chairman Robert Friedland and Chief Executive Officer Lars-Eric Johansson announced today that ongoing upgrading work at the Mwadingusha hydropower plant in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has almost tripled the plant's interim power output from 11 to 32 megawatts (MW)....Read More

* Euro falls as investors take profits* Bitcoin drops as South Korea reviews accounts (Updates prices and market activity to U.S. market open; new byline, changes dateline; previous LONDON)By Saqib Iqbal AhmedNEW YORK, Jan 8 (Reuters) - The dollar hit a more than one-week high against a basket of other major currencies on Monday, helped by a pullback in the euro as investors took profits after the...Read More

(Updates with details)LISBON, Jan 8 (Reuters) - Portugal's IGCP debt agency said on Monday that the government's net borrowing requirement in 2018 is around 10.9 billion euros and that it plans on gross issuance of 15 billion euros worth of bonds.It said bond issuance will be carried out through regular auctions as in previous years, to be held on the second, fourth or fifth Wednesday of every mo...Read More

Gold companies have free cash flow yields at par with global average of 6.2% but not greater than a minus 20% lower limit.Free cash flows of these companies reflect strong performance in production and gearing.Gold prices can influence returns on marginal ounces in the mine plan. Source: Gainesville News Investment Thesis: In our gold universe, we were able to screen for gold stocks. We filtered o...Read More

ASUNCION, Jan 8 (Reuters) - Paraguay plans to sell bonds on the international market in the first half of February, Finance Minister Lea Gimenez said on Monday.She did not give details on the planned issuance but said Paraguay's 2018 budget authorizes up to $600 million in foreign and domestic currency debt. Of that, $300 million is to be used to cover existing obligations and the rest can be used...Read More

* Listing seen end-March -sources* Deal expected to value Healthineers at about 40 bln euros* Strong 2018 pipeline of German IPOs (Adds background on market, other IPOs)By Alexander H? 1/4 bner and Arno SchuetzeMUNICH, Jan 8 (Reuters) - Siemens plans to list its 40 billion euro ($48 billion) healthcare unit Healthineers in March, two people close to the matter said, as the group hopes to execute t...Read More