Finance news

• US stocks jump on Fed; terror fears weigh in eurozone

  18-11-2015 23:44 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Wall Street stocks marched higher Wednesday, greeting US Federal Reserve meeting minutes that suggested a likely interest rate increase in December based on greater confidence in the economy.
  
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• California budget reserves to top $11.5 billion: watchdog

  18-11-2015 23:32 via news.yahoo.com
  
  California budget reserves are expected to come in at $11.5 billion for the 2016-17 fiscal year, beating a previous estimate by $3.6 billion, thanks to higher tax revenues and a growing economy, a state budget watchdog agency said on Wednesday. "California's state budget is better prepared for an economic downturn than it has been at any point in decades," the state's Legislative Analyst's Office (LAO) said in a report. California expects to end its 2015-16 fiscal year with $7.9 billion in reser
  
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• Deal news and bank gains send stock market solidly higher

  18-11-2015 23:03 via news.yahoo.com
  
  U.S. stocks notched their best day in nearly four weeks on Wednesday as investors welcomed new hints pointing to a Federal Reserve interest rate hike in coming weeks. Traders were also encouraged by more corporate deal news.
  
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• Wall Street rallies after Fed minutes solidify Dec. rate hike bets

  18-11-2015 22:39 via news.yahoo.com
  
  U.S. stocks closed higher on Wednesday and investors appeared positively inclined toward higher rates after minutes from the Federal Reserve October meeting showed a solid core of officials rallied behind a possible December rate hike. "I think the market is ready and comfortable for an increasing Fed funds rate," said Alan Rechtschaffen, portfolio manager at UBS Wealth Management Americas in New York. "We just have to turn this aircraft carrier around, get out of this zombie-like economy which
  
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• Fed minutes confirm December hike expectations

  18-11-2015 22:03 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Minutes of the Federal Reserve's late October policy board meeting confirmed Wednesday that participants expected to begin raising interest rates in December. While some at the October 27-28 meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee said it was already time for the first rate increase in over nine years, "most participants" expected the economic conditions would be right by their December 15-16 meeting, the minutes said. The minutes of the FOMC meeting showed that the group had largely droppe
  
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• Stocks move higher; ConAgra Foods jumps on spinoff news

  18-11-2015 21:25 via news.yahoo.com
  
  U.S. stocks were solidly higher in late-afternoon trading Wednesday as investors welcomed new hints that the Federal Reserve could begin to raise interest rates as early as next month. Minutes from the central bank's last meeting of its policymakers show Fed officials believed that the economy could improve enough to justify a rate hike in December.
  
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• Refusing to Wait, Paul Ryan Gets Ready to Push Tax Reform

  18-11-2015 21:07 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Newly ensconced House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-WI) signaled over the weekend that he may be a short-timer as the top leader in Congress. Asked during an interview with Scott Pelley of CBS’s 60 Minutes program how long he imagines being speaker, Ryan replied: “Fourteen months for now is what I know – for the rest of this term.”  While many assume he will be sticking around for a lot longer than that, Ryan clearly is a man in a hurry with a big policy agenda to promote
  
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• Fed minutes: Rate hike conditions 'could well be met' by December

  18-11-2015 20:36 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Most of the Federal Reserve's policy board expected that the US economy would be strong enough in December to justify a rate increase, minutes to their last meeting showed Wednesday. Some participants in the October 27-28 monetary policy meeting thought that economic growth, labor market strength and inflation were already strong enough for the Fed to begin raising rates off the zero level after nearly seven years. The minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee showed that the group had largel
  
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• Minutes of meeting show Fed pondering December rate hike

  18-11-2015 20:28 via news.yahoo.com
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve officials believed last month that the economic conditions needed to trigger the first interest rate hike in nearly a decade could "well be met" by their next meeting in December.
  
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• Fed pushed toward December hike last month, despite long-term concerns

  18-11-2015 20:11 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Howard Schneider and Jason Lange WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A solid core of Federal Reserve officials rallied behind a possible December rate hike at the central bank's last policy meeting, but central bankers also debated evidence the U.S. economy's long-term potential may have permanently shifted lower. After a summer and early fall that saw the Fed rattled by U.S. market volatility and a sell-off in China, "most" participants felt conditions for a rate hike "could well be met by the time of th
  
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• Leftist London mayor hopeful plans 'pick 'n' mix' strategy to better Boris

  18-11-2015 20:03 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By William James and Richard Mably LONDON (Reuters) - Chicago's infrastructure bank, Bill de Blasio's drive for technology skills in New York and Delhi's bid to improve air quality - these are all ideas London's left-leaning mayoral hopeful wants to use to help Britain's capital compete with its global rivals. To become London's mayor, a job overseeing a 17 billion pound budget in a city that accounts for more than a fifth of the British economy, Sadiq Khan knows he must court the big business l
  
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• UPDATE 3-Willis Group considers raising special div for Towers Watson -source

  18-11-2015 19:09
  Nov 18 (Reuters) - Willis Group Holdings is considering increasing its offer for Towers Watson & Co after failing to muster enough shareholder support for its $18 billion merger with the human...
  
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• MOVES-EM exec Fisher leaves Oppenheimer

  18-11-2015 19:07
  NEW YORK, Nov 18 (IFR) - Gregory Fisher has left Oppenheimer & Co, where he was a managing director and co-head of emerging market institutional fixed-income sales, sources told IFR on Wednesday.
  
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• Apple, health stocks boost U.S. indexes; Fed minutes awaited

  18-11-2015 19:00 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Abhiram Nandakumar REUTERS - Wall Street was higher on Wednesday, boosted by Apple and healthcare stocks, as investors treaded water ahead of minutes from the Federal Reserve's October meeting that could help clarify the central bank's position on a December rate hike. Apple's shares were up 2.6 percent at $116.65 after Goldman Sachs added the iPhone maker to its "conviction buy" list, saying it sees potential for the stock gaining as much as 43 percent from current levels. The stock provided
  
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• Fed's Kaplan says will not predict whether rate hike in December

  18-11-2015 18:53
  HOUSTON, Nov 18 (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve's newest policymaker, Rob Kaplan, on Wednesday declined to say whether he will support an interest rate rise in December.
  
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• Brazil Congress upholds veto on retiree benefits

  18-11-2015 18:44
  BRASILIA, Nov 18 (Reuters) - Brazil's Congress on Wednesday upheld a presidential veto of a bill to raise benefits for retirees in coming years, in another win for the administration's efforts to...
  
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• StanChart banks set for $84 mln from rights issue underwriting

  18-11-2015 18:40
  LONDON, Nov 18 (Reuters) - British bank Standard Chartered will pay about 55 million pounds ($84 million) to banks underwriting its $5.1 billion rights issue, according to details released on...
  
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• Madoff victims to soon recoup another $1.18 billion

  18-11-2015 18:38
  NEW YORK, Nov 18 (Reuters) - The trustee recouping money for victims of Bernard Madoff's Ponzi scheme will soon distribute another $1.18 billion to cover their losses, after receiving a federal...
  
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• NextEra makes offer for Energy Future's Oncor business

  18-11-2015 18:12
  Nov 18 (Reuters) - NextEra Energy Inc said on Wednesday it was prepared to buy Energy Future Holdings Corp's distribution business, the bankrupt power company's crown jewel, potentially disrupting an...
  
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• UPDATE 2-Germany says concrete security threat dashed soccer match

  18-11-2015 18:07
  BERLIN/MAINZ, (Germany) Nov 18 (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel urged Germans not to be cowed by the threat of Islamist attacks, saying a concrete security alert had forced officials to cancel...
  
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• Compensation at asset managers seen down 5 percent: report

  18-11-2015 18:03
  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Compensation for traders and fund managers at asset management firms are expected to fall 5 percent in 2015 from year-ago levels as recent market volatility has hurt investment...
  
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• WRAPUP 2-U.S. housing starts hit 7-month low; setback seen as temporary

  18-11-2015 17:44
  WASHINGTON, Nov 18 (Reuters) - U.S. housing starts in October fell to a seven-month low, weighed down by a steep decline in the construction of multi-family homes, but a surge in building permits...
  
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• Exclusive: Buffett's banker Trott looks to Europe with London office - sources

  18-11-2015 17:38
  LONDON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Warren Buffett's favored banker, Byron Trott, is planning to expand his investment and financial advisory firm BDT Capital Partners in Europe with a London office to...
  
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• GLOBAL MARKETS-U.S. stocks rise, bonds fall as investors await Fed minutes

  18-11-2015 17:18
  * Dollar treads water after hitting 7-month high (Adds U.S markets opening; changes dateline from LONDON)
  
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• TREASURIES-U.S. bond prices fall on supply before Fed minutes

  18-11-2015 16:57
  * Futures imply traders see 72 pct chance on Dec rate increase (Updates market action, adds Fed officials' remarks)
  
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• Fed officials again flag December; see smooth rates liftoff

  18-11-2015 16:46 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Jonathan Spicer and Rodrigo Campos NEW YORK (Reuters) - Federal Reserve officials on Wednesday continued to flag December as a possible time to raise interest rates after seven years near zero, with two expressing confidence they will be able to pull it off smoothly despite fears of an abrupt market reaction. Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester repeated her position that the U.S. economy is now strong enough to absorb a modest policy tightening. Atlanta Fed President Dennis Lockhart, sitti
  
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• EMERGING MARKETS-Brazil real rallies as Congress upholds presidential spending veto

  18-11-2015 16:46
  By Bruno Federowski SAO PAULO, Nov 18 (Reuters) - Brazil's real gained nearly 1 percent on Wednesday, bucking losses in other Latin American currencies after lawmakers upheld a presidential veto of a...
  
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• South Africa's Barclays Africa keeps credit taps open for drought-hit farmers

  18-11-2015 16:39 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Barclays Africa will keep lending taps open for South African farmers despite the worst drought in decades as growers can use high crop prices to offset lower output, the head of the lender's agribusiness said on Wednesday. The Johannesburg-listed bank, which funds farmers, is not concerned as yet despite the severity of the drought, Ernst Janovsky told reporters in Pretoria, adding that less than 0.2 percent of growers are defaulting on loans. A combination of El Nino and drought conditions hav
  
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• UPDATE 2-Russia says ready to ease some Ukraine debt terms, reiterates debt not commercial

  18-11-2015 16:33
  * Ready for talks if Kiev, IMF, lenders back offer by Dec. 8 (Updates with more Siluanov quotes, more details, background)
  
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• BlackRock closing global macro hedge fund

  18-11-2015 16:12
  NEW YORK, Nov 18 (Reuters) - BlackRock Inc is shutting down its Global Ascent Fund, a hedge fund, following a trying year for other similar investment strategies, the company said on Wednesday.
  
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• MIDEAST DEBT-Big new-issue premium for Bahrain bond is ill omen for Gulf

  18-11-2015 16:09
  DUBAI, Nov 18 (Reuters) - A big new-issue premium for Bahrain's $1.5 billion bond sale this week is a signal that Gulf borrowers will have to pay a lot more to issue debt in coming months because of...
  
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• South Africa's Eskom to sign credit deal with France

  18-11-2015 16:03
  JOHANNESBURG, Nov 18 (Reuters) - South Africa's power utility Eskom will on Monday sign a 150 million euro credit facility deal with the French development agency to help it build three new power...
  
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• Apple, energy stocks lead gains; Fed minutes awaited

  18-11-2015 16:03 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Apple's shares were up 3.2 percent at $117.31 after Goldman Sachs added the iPhone maker to its "conviction buy" list, saying it sees potential for the stock gaining as much as 43 percent from current levels. "All eyes are on the Fed, while geopolitical concerns remains on the minds of the investors," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at First Standard Financial in New York. The minutes of the Fed's meeting, due at 2:00 p.m. ET (1900 GMT), will give investors clues on the central bank'
  
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• Xi says China will keep economic growth on track

  18-11-2015 15:45 via news.yahoo.com
  
  MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday sought to reassure regional economic and political leaders that his government will keep the world's No. 2 economy growing.
  
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• UPDATE 1-Towers Watson falls short in shareholder support for Willis deal -sources

  18-11-2015 15:31
  Nov 18 (Reuters) - Towers Watson & Co adjourned a shareholder meeting on Wednesday after it failed to muster enough support for its $18 billion merger with insurance broker Willis Group Holdings,...
  
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• CANADA FX DEBT-C$ dips ahead of FOMC minutes despite firmer oil

  18-11-2015 15:30
  * Canadian dollar at C$1.3336 or 74.99 U.S. cents * Bond prices dip across the maturity curve By Fergal Smith TORONTO, Nov 18 (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar edged lower against the U.S. dollar on...
  
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• MONEY MARKETS-U.S. rates futures weaker after Fed officials' remarks

  18-11-2015 15:19
  NEW YORK, Nov 18 (Reuters) - U.S. interest rates futures were steady to lower on Wednesday as remarks from several top Federal Reserve officials reinforced the notion the central bank would raise...
  
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• UK aims to close coal-fired power plants by 2025

  18-11-2015 15:17 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Susanna Twidale LONDON (Reuters) - Britain aims to close its coal-fired power plants by 2025 under plans announced on Wednesday, becoming the first major economy to put a date on shutting coal plants to curb carbon emissions. Instead, the country will look to nuclear and natural gas-fired power plants to complement intermittent renewable energy, Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change Amber Rudd said. "It cannot be satisfactory for an advanced economy like the UK to be relying on pol
  
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• Markets now calmed, Fed should soon raise U.S. rates - Lockhart

  18-11-2015 15:08 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Global financial markets have settled since the August turmoil that caused the U.S. Federal Reserve to delay raising rates, so that it will soon be appropriate to make the policy change, Atlanta Fed President Dennis Lockhart said on Wednesday. "I am now reasonably satisfied the situation has settled down... So I am comfortable with moving off zero soon, conditioned on no marked deterioration in economic conditions," Lockhart told a conference of bankers, traders and regulators.
  
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• BRIEF-Valeant seeing 'anxiety' among US staff, will expand retention program - spokeswoman

  18-11-2015 15:03
  * Likely to make tuck-in acquisitions, but debt repayment the focus - spokeswoman
  
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• WRAPUP 1-U.S. housing starts fall to seven-month low, permits rise

  18-11-2015 14:57
  WASHINGTON, Nov 18 (Reuters) - U.S. housing starts in October fell to a seven-month low as single-family home construction in the South tumbled, but a surge in building permits suggested the housing...
  
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• DBRS to add 19 countries in challenge to big three rating agencies

  18-11-2015 14:54
  LONDON, Nov 18 (Reuters) - Ratings firm DBRS plans to cover 19 more countries over the next two to three years, challenging the dominance of the big three agencies Standard & Poor's, Moody's and...
  
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• TREASURIES-U.S. bond prices hold losses after housing starts data

  18-11-2015 14:47
  NEW YORK, Nov 18 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasuries prices hovered near their session lows on Wednesday as domestic housing starts slowed to a seven-month low in October but a rise in building permits...
  
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• Towers Watson falls short in shareholder support for Willis deal-sources

  18-11-2015 14:44
  Nov 18 (Reuters) - Towers Watson & Co adjourned a shareholder meeting on Wednesday after it failed to muster enough support for its $18 billion merger with insurance broker Willis Group Holdings,...
  
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• Angola's Unitel CEO expects no growth in mobile phone users this year

  18-11-2015 14:36 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By TJ Strydom CAPE TOWN (Reuters) - Angola's largest mobile operator Unitel expects no growth in mobile users this year, its chief executive said on Wednesday, citing weak consumer spending and an economy suffering due to the falling price of oil. The company has 11.5 million users and is 25 percent-owned by Brazil's Oi SA, which got the stake in the company after a merger with Portugal Telecom. "We're holding our own," Unitel Chief Executive Tony Dolton told Reuters at the AfricaCom conference
  
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• Kenya trims 2015 growth view again, cites El Nino, monetary tightening

  18-11-2015 14:35 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Duncan Miriri NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenya's finance minister further trimmed the country's 2015 economic growth forecast on Wednesday, citing tighter monetary policy and the potential impact of the El Nino weather phenomenon that has brought heavy rains. Henry Rotich said growth would be in the range of 5.8 to 6.0 percent. While still on track to outpace the 5.3 percent growth it recorded in 2014, Kenya's economy has this year been buffeted by international and domestic factors.
  
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• Caesars' bankruptcy timeline, lawyers in focus at Chicago hearing

  18-11-2015 14:30
  CHICAGO, Nov 18 (Reuters) - The largest U.S. casino group, bankrupt Caesars Entertainment Operating Co, squares off against its bondholders in court on Wednesday over a slew of issues ranging from a...
  
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• Russia will never agree to its Ukrainian bonds being treated like private creditors' - finance minister

  18-11-2015 14:21
  MOSCOW, Nov 18 (Reuters) - Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said on Wednesday that Russia would never agree to having its Ukrainian Eurobonds treated the same way as ones belonging to private...
  
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• Brazil's Levy proposes ceiling for Brazilian public debt

  18-11-2015 14:05
  BRASILIA, Nov 18 (Reuters) - Brazilian Finance Minister Joaquim Levy said on Wednesday that the country should discuss establishing a ceiling for its public debt as a way to discipline government...
  
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• Target raises earnings forecast after profit rises

  18-11-2015 14:03 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Target Corp on Wednesday reported a bigger-than-expected increase in quarterly profit as revenue got a boost from online sales and strong growth in product categories at the center of its turnaround plan. Target, the fourth-largest U.S. retailer, also raised the lower end of its earnings forecast for its fiscal year. It said it expected earnings of $4.65 to $4.75 per share, excluding special items, against its previous outlook of $4.60 to $4.75.
  
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