Finance news

• Investors cast wary eye on U.S. industrial stock rebound

  10-03-2016 23:51 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Many U.S. industrial companies' shares that slid last year over concerns of an economic slowdown have regained their footing in recent weeks, but some investors and analysts suspect the stocks still may be standing on uncertain ground. Shares of about 10 large industrial manufacturers and distributors, such as Caterpillar Inc , Parker-Hannifin Corp and Eaton Corp Plc , have climbed between roughly 5 percent and 15 percent this year, although most have not recouped significant declines they suffe
  
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• U.S.-based stock funds break nine-week streak of outflows: Lipper

  10-03-2016 23:39
  
  NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S.-based stock funds attracted $4.6 billion in new cash during the week ended March 9, Lipper data showed on Thursday, breaking a nine-week streak of outflows.
  
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• Bridgewater continues management transition with Rubinstein co-CEO hire

  10-03-2016 23:04
  
  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bridgewater Associates, the largest hedge fund manager in the world, continued its efforts to transition some responsibilities away from founder Ray Dalio.
  
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• Wall Street ends flat as Draghi disappoints

  10-03-2016 22:57 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Stocks jumped early in the day after the ECB pushed its deposit rate deeper into negative territory and increased its asset-buying program to 80 billion euros a month from 60 billion in an effort to boost growth in the region. "The world was really, really happy with this mainly because we're all addicted to zero interest rates," said Kim Forrest, research analyst at Fort Pitt Capital Group in Pittsburgh. When Draghi said future cuts would happen only under extreme circumstances, investors expec
  
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• Telecom giant MTN offers $1.5 billion to settle record fine

  10-03-2016 22:27 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Telecom giant MTN has offered to pay 300 billion naira ($1.5 billion) to settle a record fine levelled by Nigeria for failing to disconnect unregistered subscribers, according to a letter from the company's lawyer released on Thursday. Africa's biggest wireless operator was fined $3.9 billion in October after failing to disconnect 5.1 million subscribers amid concerns the lines were being used by Boko Haram insurgents. The offer is in the "shared interest in the development of the country's tele
  
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• Euro rallies on ECB's Draghi rate-cut remark

  10-03-2016 21:35 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss NEW YORK (Reuters) - The euro jumped to a three-week high against the dollar on Thursday, rallying from a six-week low after European Central Bank (ECB) President Mario Draghi said he did not anticipate more interest rate cuts to revive a sluggish euro zone economy. Europe's shared currency earlier fell 1.6 percent against the greenback as the ECB unleashed a raft of measures, many of which the market had not expected, to stimulate euro zone growth and inflation. The
  
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• A wheezing, unloved bull market tries to keep running

  10-03-2016 21:31 via news.yahoo.com
  
  NEW YORK (AP) — It's been seven years since one of the stock market's best-ever runs began, but the anniversary is passing without a party yet again.
  
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• Hedge funds score tiny gains in February - HFR data

  10-03-2016 21:28
  
  (This version of the story corrects last paragraph to reflect 10 percent gain is for 2016 not for 2015.)
  
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• ECB fires off new volley of shots in eurozone's anti-deflation battle

  10-03-2016 21:23 via news.yahoo.com
  
  The European Central Bank on Thursday fired off a new volley of shots in its ongoing battle to avert deflation in the euro area and jumpstart economic recovery in the region. The ECB slashed already record-low interest rates, said it would pump massive new sums into the banking system and, for the first time, would start buying corporate bonds. Initially, the unprecedented scale of the ECB's action took financial markets by surprise, sparking a rise in eurozone stock markets and sending the euro
  
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• Higher stock prices, home values lift US household wealth

  10-03-2016 20:35 via news.yahoo.com
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans' household wealth jumped in the final three months of last year, pushed higher by rising stock prices and greater home values. That leaves many households, particularly wealthy ones, with more money to spend — a potential boost to economic growth.
  
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• Greece battles to win back tourists amid migrant crisis

  10-03-2016 20:19 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Tina Bellon BERLIN (Reuters) - When Michelle Barns, a 45-year-old English mother of three, booked her family's summer vacation on the Greek island of Kos last year, she hadn't seen footage of the migrant influx that later made her consider cancelling the trip. Kos, a sun-drenched tourist destination in the South Aegean, saw the arrival of over 23,000 migrants last year and images of violent clashes with the police spread around the world, with the island's mayor warning of bloodshed and Brita
  
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• European Central Bank surprises with broad stimulus action

  10-03-2016 19:55 via news.yahoo.com
  
  FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — European Central Bank launched an unexpectedly broad array of stimulus measures Thursday aimed at boosting a modest economic recovery in the 19 countries that use the euro and nudging up dangerously low inflation.
  
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• TransCanada in talks to buy Columbia Pipeline Group: sources

  10-03-2016 19:43 via news.yahoo.com
  
  TransCanada said in a statement it was in discussions with a third party for a potential transaction, but no agreement had been reached. The Wall Street Journal, which first reported talks between the two companies on Thursday, said the deal could be valued at more than $10 billion. Columbia Pipeline Group had a market value of about $8 billion as of Wednesday's close and long-term debt of $2.75 billion as of Dec. 31.
  
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• Euro climbs, stocks fall as ECB signals end to rate cuts

  10-03-2016 19:08 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Caroline Valetkevitch NEW YORK (Reuters) - The euro rose and global stock markets fell on Thursday as major new stimulus measures by the European Central Bank were offset by a signal from ECB chief Mario Draghi that it will only cut interest rates again in the most extreme of circumstances. Investors had initially cheered the ECB's announcement that it will cut rates to fresh record lows, start buying corporate debt for the first time and effectively begin paying banks to borrow from it to le
  
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• Ethiopia plans new 2,000 MW dam: PM

  10-03-2016 18:51 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Aaron Maasho ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - Ethiopia, which plans to become a top regional electricity exporter, will soon launch a new 2,000 megawatt hydropower dam, Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn said on Thursday. "The launch of this new dam will be commenced soon," Hailemariam told parliament, without giving further details.Ethiopia's bid to tap several rivers for power generation is part of plans to boost manufacturing and industrialise its agrarian economy. It already has an array of proje
  
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• South Africa's M&R sees lower 2017 earnings as oil clients cut back

  10-03-2016 18:45 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Nqobile Dludla JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South African engineering and building group Murray & Roberts expects earnings to fall further in its next financial year as clients in the energy industry slash expenditure to cope with low crude prices, its CEO said on Thursday. Like its peers, Murray & Roberts is battling a market hit by a commodities price rout that has seen producers in the mining and oil and gas sectors cut spending and projects. The oil and gas division is the largest div
  
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• Tunisia mounts charm offensive to save battered tourism sector

  10-03-2016 18:37 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Maria Sheahan BERLIN (Reuters) - Slim Zghal's three beach hotels in Tunisia had their best month ever in June last year. Three major militant attacks last year, including two on foreign visitors, as well as travel warnings by countries including Britain, have battered the tourism industry which accounts for 7-8 percent of Tunisia's economy. "Tunisia is safe," Tourism Minister Selma Elloumi Rekik said.
  
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• Apple sets March 21 event, Wall Street sees new, smaller iPhone

  10-03-2016 18:36 via news.yahoo.com
  
  (Reuters) - Apple Inc sent an invite to reporters on Thursday for an event at its Cupertino, California headquarters on March 21, possibly signaling the unveiling of a new, smaller iPhone. The world's best-known technology company often reveals new products at such events. It is expected to update its flagship iPhone and iPad products soon.
  
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• TransCanada in talks to buy Columbia Pipeline Group: source

  10-03-2016 18:35 via news.yahoo.com
  
  The deal could be announced in coming weeks and could be valued at well over $10 billion, the Wall Street Journal, which first reported the news, cited sources as saying. Columbia Pipeline Group had a market value of about $8 billion as of Wednesday's close and long-term debt of $2.75 billion as of Dec. 31. Details of the possible deal, including the role of Columbia Pipeline Partners LP , could not be learned, the Journal said.
  
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• U.S. services data suggests upward revision to fourth quarter growth: JPMorgan

  10-03-2016 18:34 via news.yahoo.com
  
  U.S. economic growth for the fourth quarter is likely to be revised higher after data on Wednesday showed a stronger pace of consumer spending on services than previously estimated, according to JPMorgan. It said the Commerce Department's quarterly services survey, or QSS, showed consumption on services increased at a faster clip than the government had assumed in its second estimate of gross domestic product published last month. JPMorgan economist Daniel Silver said the QSS data suggested four
  
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• South Africa's rand backtracks, stocks slip

  10-03-2016 18:31 via news.yahoo.com
  
  South Africa's rand weakened on Thursday, weighed down by poor economic data, after surrendering brief gains made on the back of the European Central Bank's (ECB) decision to expand its stimulus programme. Stocks also ended slightly lower, with insurer Sanlam topping the decliners' list after it posted a below-average increase in annual profit. An announcement by the ECB that it would expand its bond-buying programme and slash lending rates lifted the rand to its highest level in 2-1/2 months bu
  
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• Eurozone stock rally burns out fast after ECB 'bazooka'

  10-03-2016 18:29 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Eurozone stocks on Thursday failed to sustain a rally prompted by the ECB slashing interest rates as investors' focus quickly shifted to the central bank's gloomy economic forecasts instead. Equities surged in an initial reaction to the ECB cutting its main interest rate to zero percent for the first time, and boosting the amount of stimulus it is pumping into the economy, with Paris and Milan rising more than three percent within minutes of the announcement, and Frankfurt by over two percent. "
  
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• Apple sets March 21 event, Wall Street expects new iPhone

  10-03-2016 18:24 via news.yahoo.com
  
  (Reuters) - Apple Inc sent an invite to reporters on Thursday for an event at its Cupertino, California headquarters on March 21, possibly signaling the unveiling of a new iPhone. The world's best-known technology company often reveals new products at such events. It is expected to update its flagship iPhone and iPad products soon. Apple shares have risen in the past two weeks as Wall Street bets the company will launch a less expensive iPhone this month to boost sales in developing countries li
  
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• U.S. household net worth rose on eve of financial turmoil

  10-03-2016 18:01 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Rising stock prices and home values pushed the net worth of U.S. households higher in the fourth quarter, a sign households were on solid footing before getting hit by financial market turmoil earlier this year. Growth in U.S. consumer spending accelerated last year as the jobless rate fell and wage increases picked up, but the outlook has been clouded this year by worries over the health of the global economy that have ravaged the financial markets in America and abroad. Thursday's data suggest
  
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• Wall Street sheds gains as oil slide weighs

  10-03-2016 17:23 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Wall Street retreated sharply in volatile trading on Thursday as a slide in oil prices undermined gains from the European Central Bank's move to cut rates and expand its stimulus program. The ECB pushed deposit rate deeper into negative territory and increased its asset-buying program to 80 billion euros a month from 60 billion euros in an effort to boost growth in the region. "Europe continues to be stimulative...(but) there's only so much this can continue to help the markets," said Philip Bla
  
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• ECB fires off new volley of shots in anti-deflation battle

  10-03-2016 17:14 via news.yahoo.com
  
  The European Central Bank on Thursday fired off a new volley of shots in its ongoing battle to avert deflation in the euro area and jumpstart economic recovery in the region. The ECB slashed already record-low interest rates, said it would pump massive new sums into the banking system and, for the first time, would start buying corporate bonds. Initially, the unprecedented scale of the ECB's action took financial markets by surprise, sparking a rise in eurozone stock markets and sending the euro
  
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• Friday preview: Wetherspoon expected to reveal first half earnings decline

  10-03-2016 17:11 via news.yahoo.com
  
  (ShareCast News) - JD Wetherspoon is expected to report a decrease in first half earnings on Thursday as margins decline due to higher salaries.
  
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• Bankers Petroleum earnings down with oil prices

  10-03-2016 17:08 via news.yahoo.com
  
  (ShareCast News) - Bankers Petroleum talked up its focus on the balance sheet in its final results for the 2015 calendar year on Thursday, with lower oil prices making for a set of depressed figures.
  
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• Euro rallies as ECB's Draghi says does not see further rate cuts

  10-03-2016 17:01 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss NEW YORK (Reuters) - The euro rose to a three week-high against the dollar on Thursday, rallying from a six-week low after European Central Bank (ECB) President Mario Draghi said he did not anticipate more interest rate cuts to revive a sluggish euro zone economy. Europe's shared currency earlier took a tumble as the ECB unleashed a raft of measures, many of them not expected by markets, to stimulate euro zone growth and inflation. The ECB sliced its marginal and refi
  
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• ECB package can't solve economic problems in Europe: Merkel ally

  10-03-2016 16:34 via news.yahoo.com
  
  A senior lawmaker from Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives said on Thursday the European Central Bank's package of rate cuts would not tackle the euro zone's economic woes, but could cause the property market to overheat. "The ECB package cannot and will not solve the economic problems in Europe," said Ralph Brinkhaus, deputy parliamentary floor leader of Merkel's conservative bloc.
  
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• Average US rate on 30-year mortgage edges up to 3.68 percent

  10-03-2016 16:19 via news.yahoo.com
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — Average long-term U.S. mortgage rates rose this week for only the second time this year.
  
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• Factbox: What the ECB did at its March 10 meeting

  10-03-2016 16:14 via news.yahoo.com
  
  FRANKFURT (Reuters) - The European Central Bank on Thursday unveiled a large package of measures to stimulate the euro zone economy and boost inflation. Here are the highlights: INTEREST RATES - The main refinancing rate, which provides the bulk of liquidity to the banking system, was cut to zero from 0.05 percent. - The overnight deposit rate, which is paid to banks that keep their money with the ECB, was cut to -0.4 percent from -0.3 percent, meaning banks are paying to deposit. - The rate for
  
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• For U.S. seniors, healthcare quality is all over the map

  10-03-2016 16:09
  
  CHICAGO (Reuters) - Seniors living in Manhattan spend an average of nearly 25 days a year at doctor visits or at a hospital. But in Lebanon, New Hampshire, contact with the healthcare system is far...
  
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• Trump calls global currency devaluations 'dangerous' for U.S

  10-03-2016 15:39 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on Thursday blasted currency devaluations around the world for hurting the U.S. economy and costing American jobs, and defended his calls for a tougher U.S. stance on trade. Asked about the European Central Bank's decision on Thursday to cut interest rates, Trump told CNBC that such devaluations were driving manufacturing and other jobs outside of the United States. "We just sit back and do nothing," Trump said.
  
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• Invest and chill: Why millennials are such cool investors

  10-03-2016 15:39
  
  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Ian Wishingrad may only be 30 years old, but he already considers himself an investing veteran. So when the market began to swoon in early 2016, he kept his cool.
  
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• What are negative interest rates and how do they work?

  10-03-2016 15:28 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Desperate to jolt the eurozone economy back to life, the European Central Bank has cut a key interest rate that was already at less than zero. The ECB cut Thursday its key deposit rate to minus 0.4 percent from minus 0.30 percent previously. The ECB has three main interest rates with which it can steer prices and, by extension, the economy.
  
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• Finnish parliament to debate euro zone exit in following weeks

  10-03-2016 15:28 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Finland's parliament will debate in the coming weeks whether the country should quit the euro, an official said on Thursday, following a petition on the issue signed by more than the required 50,000 citizens. The debate is very unlikely to lead to Finland's exit from the common currency but the decision to hold such a debate demonstrates a high level of dissatisfaction among Finns with their country's economic performance. The petition, signed by more than 53,000 people, demands a referendum on
  
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• ECB actions to boost eurozone economy

  10-03-2016 15:11 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Here are the main actions taken Thursday by the European Central Bank kickstart the chronically weak eurozone economy. - The ECB lowered the main rate at which it lends to commercial banks -- the so-called refi rate -- to zero for the first time ever from 0.05 percent. - It pushed the interest rate on its deposit facility for commercial banks to -0.40 percent from -0.30 percent.
  
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• U.S. jobless claims hit five-month low as labor market strengthens

  10-03-2016 15:07 via news.yahoo.com
  
  The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits fell more than expected last week, hitting its lowest level since October, pointing to sustained strength in the labor market that should further dispel fears of a recession.    Initial claims for state unemployment benefits declined 18,000 to a seasonally adjusted 259,000 for the week ended March 5, the lowest reading since mid-October, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Claims are being watched for any sign of labor ma
  
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• Tough environmental rules do not hamper global exports: OECD

  10-03-2016 14:58 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Countries with tough environmental policies such as carbon levies and air pollution rules are not at a big disadvantage when trading globally compared with countries that have looser regulations, a study by the OECD said on Thursday. The report comes at a time when lawmakers in Europe are thrashing out details of how to compensate energy-intensive industries for costs associated with the bloc’s Emissions Trading System (ETS) which charges polluters for each tonne of carbon dioxide they emi
  
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• Second-round inflation fears prompted ECB action: Draghi

  10-03-2016 14:55 via news.yahoo.com
  
  The European Central Bank cut interest rates and increased its asset-buying program in order to stop exceptionally lower inflation from leaking into the overall economy, ECB President Mario Draghi said on Thursday. The ECB said it now expected 2016 euro zone inflation to be 0.1 percent, well down from its previous forecast of 1.0 percent. Draghi also said the bank intended to keep interest rates low or even lower for an extended period of time.
  
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• Text: ECB statement after policy meeting

  10-03-2016 14:52 via news.yahoo.com
  
  (Reuters) - Following is the text of the ECB's statement issued after its policy meeting on Thursday: Based on our regular economic and monetary analyses, we have conducted a thorough review of the monetary policy stance, in which we also took into account the new macroeconomic projections by our staff extending into the year 2018. As a result, the Governing Council has decided on a set of measures in the pursuit of its price stability objective. This comprehensive package will exploit the syner
  
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• Applications for US unemployment aid fall to 5-month low

  10-03-2016 14:51 via news.yahoo.com
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of people seeking U.S. unemployment aid fell last week to the lowest level since October, evidence that employers are confident enough in the economy to hold onto their staffs.
  
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• Algeria in talks with China over iron mining project

  10-03-2016 14:49 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Hamid Ould Ahmed ALGIERS (Reuters) - Algeria is in talks with China to exploit one of the North African country's largest mining deposits as the OPEC member tries to diversify its economy away from oil and gas, an industry and mines ministry official said on Thursday. Negotiations started last month in Algiers with officials from China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) for a partnership in the Gara Djebilet iron deposit in the southwestern province of Tindouf, the official to
  
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• Krispy Kreme UK eyes London IPO: Sky News

  10-03-2016 14:42 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Sky said the timing and size of the initial public offering were not clear, but cited market sources as saying it would likely happen this year. Krispy Kreme UK owner Alcuin Capital Partners did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and Krispy Kreme UK declined to comment. The UK IPO market has been subdued so far this year amid worries about a global economic slowdown and uncertainty about Britain's future in the European Union.
  
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• Trump says global currency moves cost U.S. jobs

  10-03-2016 14:21 via news.yahoo.com
  
  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said on Thursday currency devaluations around the world are hurting the U.S. economy and are costing American jobs. Asked about the European Central Bank's decision earlier on Thursday to cut interest rates, he told CNBC: "Everybody's doing that except us, and manufacturing is going elsewhere, and lots of other things are going elsewhere, and we just sit back and do nothing." "That's getting to be very dangerous, as far a
  
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• ECB cuts rates, increases assets buys more than expected

  10-03-2016 14:10 via news.yahoo.com
  
  The European Central Bank cut all three of its interest rates and expanded its asset-buying program on Thursday, delivering a bigger-than-expected cocktail of actions to boost the economy and stop ultra low inflation becoming entrenched. The ECB cuts its deposit rate deeper into negative territory, charging banks more for parking their cash, and increased monthly asset buys to 80 billion euros from 60 billion euros, exceeding expectations for an increase to 70 billion. Surprising markets, it cut
  
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• Refugee crisis creating 'significant problems' for Greek economy: OECD

  10-03-2016 14:05 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Europe's refugee crisis is posing risks for the Greek economy and the debt-laden country needs substantial help to deal with the migratory flows, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development said on Thursday. "The refugee crisis creates significant problems for the Greek economy and growth," OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurria told reporters after meeting Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras in Athens.
  
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• Euro dives as ECB pulls out stops in growth push

  10-03-2016 14:02 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Patrick Graham LONDON (Reuters) - The euro sank a full cent against the dollar on Thursday after the European Central Bank unveiled a raft of measures, many of them not expected by markets, to stimulate growth and inflation in the euro zone. The ECB cut its marginal and refinancing rates as well as making a widely expected 10 basis point cut in deposit rates. Expectations had been high that ECB policymakers would deliver a telling blow in the central bank's campaign to get inflation rising ag
  
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• TransCanada reportedly near deal to buy U.S. pipeline company Columbia

  10-03-2016 13:16 via news.yahoo.com
  
  TransCanada is in talks to take over a U.S. pipeline firm, Columbia Pipeline Group Inc., for $8 billion, according to the Wall Street Journal. TransCanada shares were off about three per cent and Columbia shares jumped by 15 per cent after the newspaper — citing unnamed sources familiar with the negotiations — said a deal could be announced in the coming weeks. In a statement, Calgary-based TransCanada said, "While we are in discussions regarding a potential transaction with a t
  
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