Finance news

• Fed fears hit global stocks; travel shares fall

  19-05-2016 23:47 via news.yahoo.com
  
  World stock markets fell on Thursday as traders digested Federal Reserve signals that a possible US interest rate hike could be in the cards in June.
  
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• Factbox: Puerto Rico debt crisis bill keeps oversight board

  19-05-2016 23:42 via news.yahoo.com
  By Daniel Bases and Nick Brown NEW YORK/SAN JUAN (Reuters) - The U.S. House Natural Resources Committee early on Thursday released long-delayed revised legislation to address Puerto Rico's fiscal crisis, which is threatening to become a full-blown humanitarian disaster. The bill, also known as the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act (PROMESA), has two major aims: setting out a framework for restructuring the island's $70 billion in debt and putting the island's financia
  
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• Global growth tops agenda as G7 meeting kicks off in Japan

  19-05-2016 23:40 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Finance ministers and central bankers from the G7 kick off meetings in Japan on Friday as they look to breathe life into the wheezing global economy. The two days of talks, at a famous hot spring resort in a region badly hit by the 2011 quake-tsunami disaster, may highlight a sharp divide among the club of rich nations over currency policy and how to rev up global growth. Host Japan is keen to win an endorsement for its position that fiscal stimulus is the way to kickstart the world economy, aft
  
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• TSX hits a one-week low as financials retreat; losses mostly pared

  19-05-2016 23:33 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Fergal Smith TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index pared losses after hitting a one-week low earlier on Thursday as the materials group rose more than two percent, offsetting declines in the financial and industrial stocks. Worries that the U.S. Federal Reserve might raise interest rates as early as June weighed on stock markets globally. "The market seems to be still digesting the minutes from the Fed," said Ben Jang, portfolio manager at Nicola Wealth Management, adding the sell-off
  
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• Exclusive: Canadian PM Trudeau says C$30 billion budget gap figure not hard limit

  19-05-2016 23:13 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau suggested on Thursday that a C$30 billion budget deficit was not a hard limit as the government's focus should be on spurring economic growth. In a wide-ranging interview, Trudeau said that he was not obsessed with a "perfect number" for the budget deficit and instead vowed to find the right path to economic growth, saying that was more important than a specific deficit target. Trudeau also said he did not see a point at which the government would walk away
  
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• Statistics Canada says ending 20-second delay of economic data releases

  19-05-2016 22:27 via news.yahoo.com
  Canada's federal statistics agency said on Thursday it will end the 20-second delay it had put in place on publishing economic data from media lockups, saying it was satisfied releases were hitting its website on time. Economic data is normally released precisely at 8:30 a.m. EDT (1230 GMT), but Statistics Canada began delaying the opening of communications channels in early February due to delays in updating the agency's website. In March, the agency implemented a new standard release time from
  
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• S&P 500 hits lowest since March as rate fears deepen

  19-05-2016 22:21 via news.yahoo.com
  
  The S&P 500 fell on Thursday to its lowest since March as Wall Street became more worried that the Federal Reserve might raise U.S. interest rates as early as June. The timing of future Fed rate hikes in the face of a sluggish economy is a major ongoing concern among stock investors who have benefited from historically low borrowing costs since the 2008 financial crisis. In a new blow to Wall Street's confidence, New York Fed President William Dudley said the U.S. economy could be strong eno
  
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• Wall St. falls on Fed rate hike worry

  19-05-2016 22:06 via news.yahoo.com
  
  NEW YORK (Reuters) - The S&P 500 fell to its lowest level since March on Thursday as Wall Street became more worried that the U.S. Federal Reserve might raise interest rates as early as June.
  
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• S&P downgrades Alberta, cites fiscal uncertainty, debt

  19-05-2016 21:55 via news.yahoo.com
  By Eric M. Johnson CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) - S&P lowered its debt rating for Alberta To 'AA' From 'AA+' on Thursday, becoming the latest ratings agency to downgrade the Canadian province as it struggles with the impact of tumbling oil prices. The agency, which kept its negative outlook on Alberta, said the downgrade reflects the province's very weak budgetary performance and high, increasing debt burden. Standard & Poor's had stripped Alberta of its AAA credit rating in December.
  
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• Average 30-year mortgage rate ticks up to 3.58 percent

  19-05-2016 21:34 via news.yahoo.com
  WASHINGTON (AP) — Long-term U.S. mortgage rates were little changed this week at or near their lows for the year.
  
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• S&P 500 at lowest since March as rate fears set in

  19-05-2016 21:14 via news.yahoo.com
  
  The timing of future rate hikes by the Fed in the face of a sluggish economy is a major ongoing concern among stock investors who have benefited from historically low borrowing costs since the 2008 financial crisis. In a new blow to Wall Street's confidence, New York Fed President William Dudley said on Thursday the U.S. economy could be strong enough to warrant an interest rate increase in June.
  
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• Billionaire Steven Cohen wins dismissal of ex-wife's fraud case

  19-05-2016 20:55 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Billionaire investor Steven A. Cohen on Thursday won the dismissal of a long-running lawsuit in which his former wife accused him of cheating her out of millions of dollars in their 1990 divorce. Chief Judge Loretta Preska of the U.S. District Court in Manhattan said Patricia Cohen failed to show that her former husband fraudulently hid $5.5 million from a soured 1986 New York City real estate transaction, enabling him to lowball his net worth. The divorce came two years before Steven Cohen crea
  
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• SunEdison bankruptcy loan hearing moved to Friday

  19-05-2016 20:34
  
  NEW YORK, May 19 (Reuters) - A scheduled hearing on Thursday
  in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York
  on a $300 million bankruptcy loan for renewable energy company
  SunEdison...
  
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• Dudley joins chorus of Fed officials seeing rate hikes soon

  19-05-2016 20:00 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Lindsay Dunsmuir and Richard Leong NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. economy could be strong enough to warrant an interest rate increase in June or July, New York Federal Reserve President William Dudley said on Thursday, cementing Wall Street's view that the Fed will tighten policy soon. "We are on track to satisfy a lot of the conditions" for a rate increase, Dudley said. Dudley's comments reinforced the drum beat from within the Fed in recent days that rate increases are coming soon, with a ra
  
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• Europe close: Big oil, commodities retreat, banks rise

  19-05-2016 19:57 via news.yahoo.com
  (ShareCast News) - European stocks took a page out of Wall Street's book on Thursday, tracking losses Stateside following the release of more hawkish-than expected minutes of the US central bank's last ...
  
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• Fed Hike Threat Has Wall Street Braced for the Worst

  19-05-2016 19:51 via news.yahoo.com
  
  A long lull in the stock market looks set to end. It’s been nearly a year since the S&P 500 hit its all-time high. Headwinds are accumulating fast: uneven U.S. economic growth, evidence of caution by U.S. consumers, falling global trade volumes, energy sector defaults, an increasingly contentious U.S. presidential contest, credit woes in China, falling corporate profitability and, most importantly, indications that the Federal Reserve — spurred on by steady job growth and rebound
  
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• Global stocks fall on unrest over US rate hike

  19-05-2016 18:36 via news.yahoo.com
  
  World stock markets fell on Thursday, weighed down by the mining and travel sectors, as traders digested signs a possible US interest rate hike could be on the cards next month. Trading saw "Fed-centric uncertainty" return to the fore, Sheraz Mian of Zacks Investment Research said a day after the release of US Federal Reserve meeting minutes that lifted the odds of an increase of interest rates next month. Europe's main bourses were led lower by Wall Street, which fell after opening despite soli
  
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• Fed's Dudley says rate hike might be needed in June or July

  19-05-2016 18:33 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Lindsay Dunsmuir and Richard Leong NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. economy could be strong enough to warrant an interest rate increase in June or July, New York Federal Reserve President William Dudley said on Thursday, in the latest sign Wall Street may be underestimating the chances of near-term monetary tightening. "We are on track to satisfy a lot of the conditions" for a rate increase, Dudley said. Dudley's comments reinforced the view within the Fed revealed on Wednesday that most policym
  
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• Walter Energy defeats union bid to save contracts and benefits

  19-05-2016 18:26
  
  CHICAGO, May 19 (Reuters) - Walter Energy Inc defeated an
  attempt by union workers to salvage job contracts and keep
  retiree benefits after a judge upheld a lower court ruling
  allowing the bankrupt...
  
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• U.S. economic data point to second-quarter GDP rebound

  19-05-2016 18:23 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Lucia Mutikani WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The number of Americans filing for unemployment aid fell from a 14-month high last week, the latest sign the economy was picking up speed in the second quarter and likely would be healthy enough for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates in June. Minutes from the Fed's April 26-27 policy meeting, published on Wednesday, showed most officials considered it appropriate to raise rates next month if data continued to point to an improvement in second-qua
  
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• Britain's FTSE falls as travel stocks suffer

  19-05-2016 17:51
  
  * Prospect of U.S. Fed rate hike puts pressure on
  commodities(ADVISORY- Reuters plans to replace intra-day European and UK
  stock market reports with a Live Markets blog on Eikon - see...
  
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• Bank of Canada may sound dovish in May statement, hike seen next year: Reuters poll

  19-05-2016 17:49 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Leah Schnurr and Anu Bararia OTTAWA/BENGALURU (Reuters) - The Bank of Canada is expected to strike a more dovish tone in its May policy statement, partly due to a still-raging wildfire in Alberta that has disrupted oil production, but a Reuters poll suggests it will not cut interest rates again. The survey of more than 40 economists this week showed the central bank will probably not move to adjust rates again until the third quarter of next year, when it is expected to raise rates by 25 basi
  
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• Argentine lawmakers pass bill to stop layoffs; Macri veto awaits

  19-05-2016 17:44 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Argentina's opposition-controlled lower chamber of Congress on Thursday passed a bill to prevent layoffs in the public and private sectors, challenging the center-right government's efforts to cut a gaping fiscal deficit and spur investment in the battered economy. President Mauricio Macri, who took power in December on a pro-business platform, has already said he would veto the bill, arguing it would block the government's efforts to revive the economy and ultimately boost employment. Macri has
  
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• UPDATE 2-Tonix Pharma PTSD drug shows promise in mid-stage study

  19-05-2016 17:32
  
  * Shares rise as much as 30 pct(Adds CEO and analyst comments, details; updates shares)
  
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• Wall Street sharply lower amid rate hike bets, fall in oil

  19-05-2016 17:29 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Minutes of the Fed's April meeting, released on Wednesday, caught the market by surprise as they showed that most policymakers thought a June rate hike was appropriate, given continued improvement in the U.S. economy. New York Fed President William Dudley said on Thursday that June is definitely a "live" meeting and that a rate hike in June or July is a reasonable expectation. Crude oil prices fell more than 2 percent on Thursday as the dollar's surge on rate hike expectations drove players from
  
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• Top U.S. House Democrat hopes for quick action on Puerto Rico bill

  19-05-2016 17:25
  
  WASHINGTON, May 19 (Reuters) - U.S. House of Representatives
  Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi said on Thursday that she hopes
  lawmakers will act quickly to move a bill addressing Puerto
  Rico's...
  
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• UPDATE 4-Wal-Mart profit beats expectations; stock jumps

  19-05-2016 17:20
  
  May 19 (Reuters) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc on Thursday
  reported a higher-than-expected quarterly profit as increased
  drug prices and solid demand for basic apparel items boosted
  sales, and its shares...
  
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• China's high-tech future emerges in factory town Shenzhen

  19-05-2016 17:09 via news.yahoo.com
  
  SHENZHEN, China (AP) — Forget Beijing and Shanghai. China's economic future is emerging in Shenzhen.
  
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• U.S. State Department sanctions Islamic State branches in Libya, Yemen, Saudi Arabia

  19-05-2016 16:42 via news.yahoo.com
  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department said on Thursday it had designated Islamic State's branch in Libya as a "foreign terrorist organization." The department also designated the Sunni militant group's branches in Libya, Yemen and Saudi Arabia as "specially designated global terrorists." It said that designation "imposes sanctions and penalties on foreign persons that have committed, or pose a serious risk of committing, acts of terrorism that threaten the security of U.S. nationals o
  
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• Global stocks slide on unrest over US rate hike

  19-05-2016 16:26 via news.yahoo.com
  
  London (AFP) - World stock markets fell on Thursday, weighed down by the mining and travel sectors, while traders also reacted to concerns about a possible US rate hike next month.
  
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• South Africa cbank keeps key rate unchanged, sees tepid growth

  19-05-2016 16:22 via news.yahoo.com
  
  South Africa's Reserve Bank left its benchmark repo rate unchanged at 7 percent on Thursday, with the governor saying that moderating pressures to long term inflation left it room to pause in its tightening cycle. The Bank had raised lending rates by a total of 100 basis points at its previous three meetings, as it fought to keep headline inflation within its target band of between 3 and 6 percent as severe drought and a weaker currency weighed. Governor Lesetja Kganyago said the bank lowered it
  
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• Wall Street opens lower as Fed rate hike looms, oil falls

  19-05-2016 16:19 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Minutes of the Fed's April meeting, released on Wednesday, caught the market by surprise as they showed that most policymakers thought a June rate hike was appropriate, given continued improvement in the U.S. economy. "The potential for a June rate hike has put the market on edge a little bit but we expect to see one in July and then another hike later in the year," said Ed Hyland, global investment specialist at JP Morgan Private Bank in Atlanta, Georgia. Oil prices dropped more than 2.5 percen
  
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• Fed's Fischer: U.S. economy needs faster potential growth

  19-05-2016 16:19 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Lindsay Dunsmuir and Richard Leong NEW YORK (Reuters) - The United States requires faster potential economic growth in order to lift the long-run equilibrium interest rate, Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer said on Thursday. "What we need most, now that we are near full employment and approaching our target inflation rate, is faster potential growth," Fischer, the Fed's second-in-command, told an economics conference in New York. Fischer did not comment on the likelihood the Fed w
  
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• Drop in U.S. jobless claims boosts hopes of economic rebound

  19-05-2016 16:18 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Lucia Mutikani WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The number of Americans filing for unemployment aid fell from a 14-month high last week, the latest sign that the economy was regaining speed after stumbling in the first quarter. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits declined 16,000 to a seasonally adjusted 278,000 for the week ended May 14, the Labor Department said. The steady stream of firmer economic reports came amid signs that the Federal Reserve is moving closer to raising interest rates
  
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• U.S. motorists to hit roads on Memorial Day holiday in near-record numbers: AAA

  19-05-2016 16:14 via news.yahoo.com
  
  The number of Americans traveling by car for the Memorial Day holiday will hit an 11-year high this year, fueled by a growing economy and low gasoline prices, the nation's largest motorists' advocacy group said on Thursday. AAA projected 33.9 million people will hit the road and drive 50 miles (80 km) or more from home during the upcoming Memorial Day holiday period, the most since 37.3 million in 2005. The 2.1 percent increase in driving volumes for the May 26 to May 30 period from the holiday
  
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• EU seen on track to extend economic sanctions on Russia: sources

  19-05-2016 16:10 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Gabriela Baczynska BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union is on track to renew economic sanctions on Russia over the crisis in Ukraine when they expire in July, though an extension could be contested and only short-term, diplomats and officials said. While some states stress the resurgent Russia has not delivered on commitments in the so-called Minsk peace process for east Ukraine, others want to restore trade ties with Moscow. EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini told German newspaper
  
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• Investec increases earnings as banking and wealth managenment shine

  19-05-2016 15:37 via news.yahoo.com
  (ShareCast News) - Full year results from Investec showed the Anglo-South African bank increased profits as it makes progress with its rejigged model despite the turbulence in its markets.
  
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• BRIEF-Bind Therapeutics provides update on Chapter 11 proceedings

  19-05-2016 15:13
  
  * Bind therapeutics provides update on chapter 11
  proceedings and announces agreement with Hercules Technology
  III, L.P.
  
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• Wall Street to open slightly lower as Wal-Mart limits losses

  19-05-2016 14:59 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Minutes of the Fed's April meeting, released on Wednesday, caught the market by surprise as they showed that most policymakers thought a June rate hike was appropriate, given continued improvement in the U.S. economy. Dow component Wal-Mart's shares jumped 8.3 percent to $68.40 in premarket trading after the retailer reported first-quarter results that beat analysts' estimates, in contrast with a string of weak results by competitors. Cisco Systems was up 5.2 percent at $28.10 after the network
  
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• UPDATE 1-PE firm Cinven considering bid for Restaurant Group - Sky News

  19-05-2016 14:59
  
  May 19 (Reuters) - Private equity firm Cinven is
  considering a bid for Restaurant Group Plc, the owner of
  Mexican food chains Chiquito and Joe's Kitchen, Sky News
  reported on Thursday.
  
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• Top U.S. House Democrat: Puerto Rico bill restructuring process "can work"

  19-05-2016 14:50
  
  WASHINGTON, May 19 (Reuters) - U.S. lawmakers have found a
  workable compromise to address Puerto Rico's debt crisis with
  legislation that includes a workable restructuring process and
  other...
  
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• Nigeria raises 111 bln naira in T-bills at higher yields

  19-05-2016 14:38 via news.yahoo.com
  Nigeria sold 110.93 billion naira ($557.44 million) worth of short-dated Treasury bills at an auction on Wednesday with higher yields than at the previous sales reflecting the sharp spike in inflation growth in Africa's biggest economy, central bank data showed on Thursday. The bank sold 32.43 billion naira in the three-month paper at 8.10 percent, compared with 7.99 percent at the last auction on May 4. A total of 22.82 billion naira of the six-month bills were sold at 9.20 percent against 9 pe
  
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• Mozambique's economy slows to 5.3 percent in Q1 2016 - stats agency

  19-05-2016 14:12 via news.yahoo.com
  
  MAPUTO (Reuters) - Mozambique's economy slowed to 5.3 percent in the first quarter of 2016 compared to a revised growth rate of 6.1 percent in the previous quarter, data on the National Statistics Institute website showed on Thursday. (Writing by Mfuneko Toyana; Editing by James Macharia)
  
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• Pakistan shares hit record high; rupee weakens, o/n rates rise

  19-05-2016 14:09
  
  KARACHI, May 19 (Reuters) - Pakistan stocks closed at a
  record high on Thursday, helped by good foreign investor
  inflows, dealers said.
  
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• Ivory Coast consumer inflation up 2 pct yr-on-yr in April

  19-05-2016 14:01 via news.yahoo.com
  ABIDJAN (Reuters) - Consumer prices in Ivory Coast rose 2 percent year-on-year in April compared with 0.9 percent in March, data from the National Statistics Institute showed on Thursday. The monthly report showed that food and soft drink prices jumped 7.8 percent, while housing and utility prices climbed 1 percent. Transport costs dropped 1.2 percent, healthcare prices added 1 percent and communications costs rose 0.2 percent. The economy of the world's top cocoa grower makes up around 40 perce
  
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• Stocks slide after Fed signals June rate hike now possible

  19-05-2016 13:55 via news.yahoo.com
  
  LONDON (AP) — A surprise indication from the U.S. Federal Reserve that it may raise interest rates at its next policy meeting in June weighed on global stock markets on Thursday.
  
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• India's ruling party wins power in northeast, widens influence

  19-05-2016 13:52 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Tommy Wilkes NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ruling party on Thursday won power for the first time in the northeastern state of Assam, a victory that will help his right-wing nationalist government recover some reform momentum after poll losses last year. Grabbing power in Assam, one of five states electing new legislatures, is a sign that Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is expanding its political influence beyond its traditional heartland. It also meant a brui
  
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• Austria's new chancellor pushes 'New Deal' for private investment

  19-05-2016 13:46 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Austria's new Chancellor Christian Kern on Thursday proposed a 'New Deal' to boost private-public investment in the country, which is struggling to keep within EU deficit limits while economic growth remains sluggish. Kern, a Social Democrat and former head of Austria's state-owned railways, became chancellor on Tuesday after his predecessor Werner Faymann resigned amid a party revolt triggered by an embarrassing defeat in presidential elections. "We simply cannot afford no economic growth, even
  
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• ECB: Stimulus working, grounds for optimism about economy

  19-05-2016 13:33 via news.yahoo.com
  FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — European Central Bank officials at their last meeting saw "grounds for cautious optimism" about the economy as their stimulus measures take hold.
  
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• Does a 10% rise in earnings per share make National Grid plc a better buy than SSE plc?

  19-05-2016 13:33 via news.yahoo.com
  National Grid plc (LON: NG) continues to outperform smaller rival SSE plc (LON: SSE).
  
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