Finance news

• Canadian dollar strengthens to an 11-day high as oil rallies

  11-04-2016 23:55 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Fergal Smith TORONTO (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar strengthened to an 11-day high against its U.S. counterpart on Monday as higher oil prices improved the outlook for Canada's economy ahead of the Bank of Canada interest rate announcement mid-week. "You've got a huge economic growth swing from favoring the U.S. just in mid-February to now favoring Canada," said Michael Goshko, corporate risk manager at Western Union Business Solutions. Oil prices rose despite doubts that a meeting of produc
  
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• Commodities rise as dollar slips; global stocks end flat

  11-04-2016 23:15 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Rodrigo Campos NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. dollar touched its lowest level in nearly eight months on Monday, lifting metals prices and commodity sector stocks, and U.S. crude reversed losses to settle above $40 a barrel. Safe-haven gold hit a three-week high while the yen hit its highest against the dollar in almost a year and a half, as investors remained anxious about the strength of the global economy. The yen's strength pushed Tokyo to warn it could again intervene against its currency'
  
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• Obama, Fed chair Yellen discuss outlook for economy

  11-04-2016 23:09 via news.yahoo.com
  WASHINGTON (AP) — With the U.S. economy improving, President Barack Obama and Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen discussed the outlook for near and long-term economic growth during a Monday afternoon meeting in the Oval Office, the White House said.
  
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• Biden urges 'unified, federal and democratic Iraq' to Abadi, Barzani

  11-04-2016 23:06 via news.yahoo.com
  
  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Vice President Joe Biden made separate calls on Monday to Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and Kurdish regional President Massoud Barzani to underscore the need for cooperation amid the country's political crisis, the White House said. "The vice president conveyed continued U.S. support for a unified, federal, and democratic Iraq, and encouraged close cooperation between the Government of Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional Government as they take steps to strengthen
  
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• US stock indexes waver ahead of company earnings reports

  11-04-2016 22:59 via news.yahoo.com
  
  NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks ended Monday's session mostly unchanged as investors waited for first-quarter company earnings to start rolling in. Overseas markets gained as investors hoped for more stimulus in China, the world's second-largest economy.
  
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• Wall Street closes lower as investors ready for earnings

  11-04-2016 22:54 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Wall Street closed slightly lower on Monday, with gains in materials and banks countered by declines in consumer staples shares, as investors girded for the start of an earnings season expected to be gloomy. Investors are next looking for cues from the first-quarter earnings season, beginning in earnest with Alcoa's report after the bell on Monday. Ahead of the results, Alcoa shares rose 3.9 percent.
  
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• Obama, Fed's Yellen discussed economic risks in White House meeting

  11-04-2016 22:44 via news.yahoo.com
  
  President Barack Obama and Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen discussed risks to the economy and progress from Wall Street reform during a rare meeting in the Oval Office on Monday, the White House said. "They discussed both the near and long-term growth outlook, the state of the labor market, inequality, and potential risks to the economy, both in the United States and globally," the White House said in a statement about the meeting.
  
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• Nasdaq short interest down 1.6 percent in late March

  11-04-2016 22:05 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Short interest on the Nasdaq fell 1.6 percent in the second half of March, the exchange said on Monday. As of March 31, short interest fell to about 8.862 billion shares, compared with 9.004 billion shares as of March 15.
  
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• Under Armour drops as Wall Street traders focus on Spieth meltdown

  11-04-2016 21:45 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Noel Randewich SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Shares of sports apparel maker Under Armour dropped nearly 6 percent on Monday, a day after defending champion Jordan Spieth lost the Masters golf tournament in a shocking meltdown. Spieth last year signed a 10-year agreement to wear the No. 2 U.S. sportswear maker's golf shoes and other clothes, and his collapse in Sunday's final round appeared to be partly behind the drop in the company's shares. Also hurting the stock, Morgan Stanley said in a note
  
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• Options investors cautious as consumer staples earnings loom

  11-04-2016 21:13 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Consumer staples stocks have served investors well through the last 12 months of market turmoil, but with quarterly earnings around the corner, activity in the options market spells caution. With the exception of the smaller telecom and utilities sectors, consumer staples is the best performing S&P 500 sector in 2016, up 5.5 percent for the year to date. S&P 500 consumer staples are expected to report a first-quarter earnings decline of 2 percent, compared with a 7.6 percent drop for the
  
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• Prada says shop closures to offset openings in 2016/17

  11-04-2016 21:09 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Italian fashion house Prada will offset new shop openings with selective closures this year and the next in an effort to shield profit margins from weaker demand. "I don't see a real change in the market trend," Prada Chairman Carlo Mazzi told an analyst call on Monday. "The problems of the market in terms of the world's economic situation and of changes...in consumers, especially the new generations...are quite clear for everybody." Prada embarked on a breakneck retail expansion after listing o
  
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• U.S. urges Ukraine to quickly approve reform-minded cabinet

  11-04-2016 21:08 via news.yahoo.com
  
  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States urged Ukraine's parliament on Monday to quickly approve a new cabinet that backed political and economic reforms, especially a loan program backed by the International Monetary Fund. "We believe it is important that the Rada approve as soon as possible a new cabinet that is committed to implementing needed reforms, in particular those recommended by the IMF," State Department spokesman Mark Toner told a news briefing following the resignation of Ukraine's
  
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• Canadian Pacific ends bid to acquire Norfolk Southern

  11-04-2016 21:08 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Canadian Pacific Railway announced Monday that it was ending its hostile takeover bid for American railway Norfolk Southern, which had fought bitterly to block a deal. "We have long recognized that consolidation is necessary for the North American rail industry to meet the demands of a growing economy," CP chief executive Hunter Harrison said in a statement. CP had made several offers over the past months to acquire Norfolk Southern, for about $28 billion.
  
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• Bank of Canada seen talking up risks to keep lid on Canadian dollar rebound

  11-04-2016 20:58 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Andrea Hopkins TORONTO (Reuters) - Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz is expected to talk up economic risks and play down signs of stronger growth when the central bank sets interest rates on Wednesday, anxious to keep a recovering currency from choking off exports. The central bank is widely expected to keeping rates on hold on Wednesday even as it raises growth forecasts to incorporate a stronger-than-expected start to the year and major stimulus spending in the first budget from Canada'
  
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• Wall Street edges higher as investors gird for earnings

  11-04-2016 20:49 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Investors are next looking for cues from the first-quarter earnings season, set to begin in earnest with Alcoa's report after the bell on Monday. Ahead of the results, Alcoa shares were up 4 percent. Profits at S&P 500 companies are expected to have fallen 7.7 percent in the first quarter, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
  
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• Obama 'pleased' with Fed's Yellen: White House

  11-04-2016 20:02 via news.yahoo.com
  
  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama is happy with the job done by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen, with whom he is meeting on Monday to discuss regulatory issues and world economy, the White House said. "The president has been pleased with the way she has fulfilled what is a critically important job," White House spokesman Josh Earnest said at a news briefing. (Reporting by Clarece Polke)
  
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• BRIEF-Golden Band Receives Notice of Default and Notice of Intention to Enforce Security

  11-04-2016 19:39
  
  * Golden Band receives Notice Of Default and Notice Of
  Intention to Enforce Security
  
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• Wall Street gains as weak dollar boosts commodities

  11-04-2016 19:01 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Profits at S&P 500 companies are expected to have fallen 7.7 percent on average in the first quarter, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S, under pressure from a weak global economy. Alcoa , seen as the unofficial start to quarterly earnings season, is set to post first-quarter results after the market closes. Crude oil, which has been a big influence on the stock market this year, was up more than 2 percent ahead of next Sunday's meeting of producers aimed at freezing output.
  
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• City of London says Brexit would hit growth

  11-04-2016 18:56 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Leaving the European Union would be a shock to Britain's financial industry, threatening foreign investment and crimping growth, a leading City of London Corporation official said on Monday. Mark Boleat, policy chairman for the municipal authority that runs the historic "square mile" financial district, said if Britain voted to leave the EU this would create unprecedented uncertainty. "The uncertainty would hit the London market, the UK economy but also the global economy," he said in a speech t
  
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• Stocks rise ahead of company earnings reports

  11-04-2016 18:48 via news.yahoo.com
  
  NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks were slightly higher in midday trading Monday as investors wait for first-quarter company earnings to start rolling in. Overseas markets were also rising as investors hoped for more stimulus in China, the world's second-largest economy.
  
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• Most European stocks push higher

  11-04-2016 18:21 via news.yahoo.com
  
  London (AFP) - Most European stock markets rose Monday as traders reacted positively to inflation data out of China and a rebound in oil prices, with Italian banking shares racing higher.
  
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• Malawi's economy grew 3 percent in 2015, seen at 5.1 percent in 2016 - central bank

  11-04-2016 18:18 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Malawi's economy grew by 3 percent in 2015 from 6.2 percent in the previous year as the agricultural sector was ravaged by a drought, the central bank said on Monday, but forecast a rebound. Gross domestic product would recover to 5.1 percent in 2016, the Reserve Bank Of Malawi said in statement, adding however, that the growth rate could be revised downwards due to the impact of El Nino weather conditions on the agricultural sector.
  
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• UK's FTSE falls, underperforms rival European markets

  11-04-2016 18:08
  
  LONDON, April 11 (Reuters) - Britain's top shares index fell on Monday to underperform gains elsewhere in Europe, as a drop in housebuilding stocks took the shine off a rise in banking and mining...
  
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• UPDATE 3-Chesapeake surprises by keeping $4 bln borrowing base

  11-04-2016 18:06
  
  * Chesapeake shares rise 13 percent (Adds details of credit accord)
  
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• World Bank lending hits post-financial crisis peak

  11-04-2016 18:02 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Lending to needy countries by the World Bank surged to a level last year normally only seen during financial crises, the Bank said Monday. Facing slowing growth and low commodity prices, developing countries borrowed the most money from the World Bank in 2015 since the 2008-2009 crisis. "As developing countries continue to face strong economic headwinds, demand for lending from the World Bank has risen to levels never seen outside a financial crisis," the World Bank said in a statement.
  
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• Tech, materials stocks push Wall Street higher

  11-04-2016 17:41 via news.yahoo.com
  
  A rise in technology and materials stocks drove gains on Wall Street on Monday as a weaker dollar boosted commodity prices, just before the earnings season kicks off. Earnings at S&P 500 companies are expected to have declined 7.7 percent on average in the first quarter, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Alcoa, seen as the unofficial start to quarterly earnings season, will post results after the market closes. Oil, which has been a big influence on the stock market this year, was higher
  
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• Tech, materials stocks push Wall St higher

  11-04-2016 17:38 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Earnings at S&P 500 companies are expected to have declined 7.7 percent on average in the first quarter, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Alcoa, seen as the unofficial start to quarterly earnings season, will post results after the market closes. Oil, which has been a big influence on the stock market this year, was higher ahead of next Sunday's meeting by producers aimed at freezing output.
  
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• UK finance minister publishes tax details

  11-04-2016 17:29 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Britain's finance minister and the head of the Labour opposition on Monday released details of their last tax returns after days of controversy following the publication of the so-called Panama Papers. The release showed finance minister George Osborne had a total taxable income of £198,738 (247,900 euros/$283,500) during the 2014/15 financial year. Osborne paid income tax of £72,210 for the year.
  
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• Dell's SecureWorks valued at $1.42 billion in year's first tech IPO

  11-04-2016 17:19 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Dell Inc's [DI.Ul] cyber security unit, SecureWorks Corp, could be valued at up to $1.42 billion in its initial public offering, the first major U.S. listing of a technology company this year. Atlanta, Georgia-based SecureWorks said on Monday its offering was expected to be priced at $15.50-$17.50 per Class A share, raising as much as $157.5 million. The share issue market worldwide plunged to a seven-year low in the first quarter, more than halving from a year earlier to $106.6 billion, as worr
  
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• UPDATE 3-Two pro-business candidates look to Peru runoff, markets rise

  11-04-2016 17:04
  
  LIMA, April 11 (Reuters) - Keiko Fujimori, the conservative daughter of a jailed former president, led Peru's election on Monday and was heading towards a tight runoff against investor favorite Pedro...
  
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• UPDATE 2-Puerto Rico unveils new debt restructuring proposal

  11-04-2016 16:59
  
  SAN JUAN, April 11 (Reuters) - Puerto Rico on Monday
  unveiled a revised restructuring proposal that would cut its
  debt more modestly, offering general obligation holders about 74
  cents on the dollar...
  
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• UK's FTSE rises but underperforms rival European markets

  11-04-2016 16:44
  
  LONDON, April 11 (Reuters) - Britain's top shares index rose on Monday, lifted by gains at mining and banking stocks, although a fall in housebuilding stocks meant the London market underperformed...
  
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• Stocks open higher amid Chinese stimulus hopes

  11-04-2016 16:29 via latimes.com
  
  U.S. stocks opened higher on Wall Street following gains overseas as investors held out hope for more economic stimulus from China.
  
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• C$ strengthens to an 11-day high as oil rallies

  11-04-2016 15:59 via news.yahoo.com
  
  The Canadian dollar strengthened to an 11-day high against its U.S. counterpart on Monday as higher oil prices improved the outlook for Canada's economy ahead of the Bank of Canada interest rate announcement mid-week. Oil prices rose despite doubts that a meeting of producers in Doha next Sunday will improve the demand-supply balance. The Bank of Canada is widely expected to hold interest rates at 0.5 percent on Wednesday.
  
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• Wall Street higher as earnings season begins

  11-04-2016 15:58 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Wall Street was higher on Monday as investors braced for corporate earnings season, with Alcoa set to post first-quarter results after the market closes. Earnings at S&P 500 companies are expected to have declined 7.6 percent on average in the first quarter, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Big bank earnings are also on the cards through the week, starting with JPMorgan Chase & Co on Wednesday. "We're in a bit of a holding pattern until earnings, which kick off with Alcoa tonight, b
  
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• Turkish cabinet meets in strife-torn southeast as fighting rages

  11-04-2016 15:56 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Fighting raged on Monday between Turkish security forces and Kurdish militants in southeast Turkey as the cabinet held an unprecedented meeting on the edge of the restive region to discuss ways of rebuilding its shattered economy. The Turkish army said 39 members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) had been killed in clashes in four towns across the region over the weekend, adding to a death toll that has risen sharply since the collapse of a ceasefire last July. Prime Minister Ahmet D
  
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• US should not surrender global economic leadership: Lew

  11-04-2016 15:51 via news.yahoo.com
  
  US Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew called Monday for the US to maintain its global economic leadership and not cede it to others like China in a tide of protectionist sentiment. With some US presidential candidates advocating a pullback from the post-World War II Bretton Woods structure that rebuilt the global economic structure guided by the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, Lew said the next administration needs to remain committed to those principles. "If we want it to work for the Ame
  
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• Israel to tax foreign companies' online activities

  11-04-2016 15:45 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Israel is to start collecting value added tax (VAT) and income taxes from foreign companies that do substantial business over the Internet in Israel. Under new guidelines issued by the Israel Tax Authority on Monday, foreign companies that operate websites and sell various services such as advertising and brokerage will be subject to 17 percent VAT as well as income tax on their activities in Israel.
  
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• World stock markets edge up amid Chinese stimulus hopes

  11-04-2016 15:43 via news.yahoo.com
  
  NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks opened higher on Wall Street following gains overseas as investors held out hope for more economic stimulus from China.
  
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• TSX rises as higher commodity prices support resource stocks

  11-04-2016 15:43 via news.yahoo.com
  
  TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index rose on Monday as higher commodity prices supported energy an mining stocks, while financial sector stocks also advanced. The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index was up 59.71 points, or 0.45 percent, at 13,456.44, shortly after the open. Nine of the index's 10 main groups were higher. (Reporting by Fergal Smith; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
  
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• Four Iran army special forces troops killed in Syria: agency

  11-04-2016 15:13 via news.yahoo.com
  Four soldiers in Iran's regular army were killed in Syria, the Tasnim news agency reported on Monday, only a week after Tehran announced the deployment of army commandos to help President Bashar al-Assad in the civil war there. Tehran is Assad's main regional ally and has provided military and economic support to his fight against rebel groups and Islamic State militants.
  
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• Pakistani stocks end lower; rupee weakens, o/n rates rise

  11-04-2016 15:07
  
  KARACHI, April 11 (Reuters) - Pakistani stocks ended lower on Monday as political uncertainty hit investor sentiment, with the opposition calling for more accountability from Prime Minister Nawaz...
  
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• Nigeria wants to boost non-oil income by 87 pct to offset oil slump

  11-04-2016 15:01 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Chijioke Ohuocha LAGOS (Reuters) - Nigeria expects its non-oil revenues to nearly double this year as Africa's top oil producer seeks to offset a slump in oil revenues, according to a presentation seen by Reuters on Monday. President Muhammadu Buhari plans a record 6.06 trillion naira ($30.6 billion) budget to stimulate Africa's biggest economy, which has been hammered by a fall in oil exports that had made up 70 percent of state income. Detailing its plans, the government expects to generate
  
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• Investors starting to show interest in Russia again: Credit Suisse

  11-04-2016 14:58 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Polina Devitt and Katya Golubkova MOSCOW (Reuters) - Investors are starting to look at Russia again after cutting off exposure amid geopolitical tensions two years ago, the head of Credit Suisse's $60 million Russian Equity Fund said. There are no big inflows yet but a rebound in Russian stock markets in the past few months as the oil price and the rouble have picked up is encouraging interest, Anna Vaananen told Reuters. "The same people, I am seeing for the first time in two years, are now
  
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• Nigerian stocks down after MSCI says could remove Nigeria from frontier index

  11-04-2016 14:50 via news.yahoo.com
  Nigerian stocks shed 2.49 percent on Monday after index provider MSCI said it could remove Nigeria from its frontier markets index after the central bank's introduction of currency controls last year. MSCI said late on Thursday that it was seeking feedback from investors on the ease of access to the Nigerian stock market, of which about $480 million of MSCI benchmarked money was in Nigeria. The Nigerian stock market, which has the second-biggest weighting behind Kuwait on the MSCI frontier marke
  
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• UPDATE 1-Oakbay to try to restore relations with South Africa banks - Bloomberg TV

  11-04-2016 14:47
  
  JOHANNESBURG, April 11 (Reuters) - Oakbay Investments is to start talks with South African banks to restore relations after some companies severed links with it amid speculation that its owners, the...
  
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• Puerto Rico unveils new debt restructuring proposal

  11-04-2016 14:35
  
  April 11 (Reuters) - Puerto Rico on Monday unveiled a new
  debt restructuring proposal with more modest debt cuts, offering
  general obligation holders about 74 cents on the dollar with
  other creditor...
  
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• Earnings Season: Will a Profits Recession Lead to an Economic One?

  11-04-2016 14:00 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Stocks and the economy are looking vulnerable, and hopes for corporate profits are not high. The difference, in his mind, is that recessions tend to require policy tightening by the Federal Reserve, which doesn’t appear imminent.
  
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• South Africa's growth path not at risk over political tensions: Treasury

  11-04-2016 13:47 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Political upheavals will not divert the government's attention from implementing growth policies in South Africa as it battles to stave off potential credit rating downgrades, the Treasury said on Monday. President Jacob Zuma survived an impeachment vote and has faced calls to step down after the constitutional court ruled that he had breached the constitution by ignoring a directive to pay some of the state money spent on renovating his home. Ratings agency Standard & Poor's said last week
  
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• Futures up as earnings season begins

  11-04-2016 13:43 via news.yahoo.com
  
  (Reuters) - Stock futures pointed to a higher opening for Canada's main stock index on Monday ahead of the much-awaited corporate earnings season. June futures on the S&P TSX index were up 0.61 percent at 7:15 a.m. ET. No major economic releases are expected for the day. Canada's main stock index jumped almost 1 percent on Friday, led by gains in energy companies as crude oil prices surged, helping the index eclipse most of the losses sustained earlier in the week. Dow Jones Industrial Avera
  
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