Finance news

• Fed's Williams says September rate hike should be in play

  18-08-2016 23:59 via news.yahoo.com
  
  ANCHORAGE (Reuters) - San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank President John Williams said on Thursday that while he is not in a hurry to raise interest rates, the view that the Fed would not change policy for a year or more is inconsistent with the economic outlook.
  
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• U.S. muni bond funds post $1.1 billion in inflows: Lipper

  18-08-2016 23:23
  
  U.S. municipal bond funds reported $1.1 billion of net inflows in the week ended Aug. 17, compared with $871 million in inflows in the previous week, according to data released by Lipper on Thursday.
  
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• Fed's Williams says rate hikes 'make sense,' and sooner than later

  18-08-2016 23:15 via news.yahoo.com
  
  San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank President John Williams on Thursday joined a growing chorus of his colleagues signaling support for an interest rate hike in coming months, saying that waiting too long could be costly for the economy. "In the context of a strong domestic economy with good momentum, it makes sense to get back to a pace of gradual rate increases, preferably sooner rather than later," Williams said in remarks prepared for delivery to the Anchorage Economic Development Corporation
  
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• Fed's Williams says need to take away punch bowl of low rates

  18-08-2016 23:15 via news.yahoo.com
  
  San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank President John Williams on Thursday joked that while the U.S. economy may not feel like a raucous party, the U.S. central bank's job is still to take away the 'punch bowl' of low rates. "Right now inflation is low, right now the economy is just growing at around 2 percent," Williams said in answer to an audience question after a speech here.
  
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• World stock markets climb on labour data, oil gains

  18-08-2016 22:43 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Dion Rabouin NEW YORK (Reuters) - World equity markets rose on Thursday, helped by a weaker dollar and surging oil prices that touched their highest in six weeks to lift energy sector stocks. The U.S. dollar was near an eight-week low against major currencies in the wake of minutes from the Federal Reserve's July meeting published on Wednesday showing policymakers were unlikely to raise interest rates soon. Key indexes on Wall Street edged up, aided by gains in the energy sector and by big-bo
  
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• World stock markets climb on labor data, oil gains

  18-08-2016 22:39 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Dion Rabouin NEW YORK (Reuters) - World equity markets rose on Thursday, helped by a weaker dollar and surging oil prices that touched their highest in six weeks to lift energy sector stocks. The U.S. dollar was near an eight-week low against major currencies in the wake of minutes from the Federal Reserve's July meeting published on Wednesday showing policymakers were unlikely to raise interest rates soon. Key indexes on Wall Street edged up, aided by gains in the energy sector and by big-bo
  
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• UPDATE 2-Gawker.com to shut down as Univision buys other sites

  18-08-2016 22:33
  
  Aug 18 (Reuters) - U.S. internet publisher Gawker Media
  Group Inc said on Thursday that it would shut down its news and
  gossip website Gawker.com next week after Univision Holdings Inc
  successfully...
  
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• Apparel retailer Gap's adjusted profit beats estimates

  18-08-2016 22:32
  
  Aug 18 (Reuters) - Apparel retailer Gap Inc reported
  a better-than-expected adjusted quarterly profit largely due to
  higher customer visits to its Old Navy stores in June.
  
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• Exclusive: Kinross to retreat from Chile, puts unit on the block

  18-08-2016 21:29
  
  TORONTO/SANTIAGO (Reuters) - Canada's Kinross Gold Corp is looking to retreat from Chile and has put its main assets in that country up for sale, according to people familiar with the process.
  
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• Citi CEO seen asking for more patience as targets still elusive

  18-08-2016 20:56
  
  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Earlier this year, an analyst asked Citigroup Inc Chief Executive Michael Corbat what he would do if activist investors tried to shake things up after what seems like eons of...
  
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• Kerry to travel to Kenya, Nigeria and Saudi Arabia

  18-08-2016 20:49 via news.yahoo.com
  
  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will travel to Kenya, Nigeria and Saudi Arabia next week for talks with senior government officials on regional issues, the State Department said on Thursday. State Department spokesman John Kirby said the visit to Kenya would focus on South Sudan's peace process and Somalia's political transition. In Nigeria, he would meet President Muhammadu Buhari to discuss cooperation on the fight against Boko Haram militants, the Nigerian economy an
  
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• Credit Suisse banker dispute shows challenge of CEO's new strategy

  18-08-2016 20:21 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Olivia Oran NEW YORK (Reuters) - Credit Suisse Group AG is accusing a group of five investment bankers who left for Jefferies Group LLC in May of stealing confidential information and trying to coax former colleagues to join them. The dispute, which has not been previously reported, offers insight into how the Swiss bank's push into wealth management under Chief Executive Officer Tidjane Thiam may be prompting the departure of bankers that Wall Street businesses want to retain. Credit Suisse
  
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• Bookmakers Rank Group, 888 drop pursuit of rival William Hill

  18-08-2016 20:19
  
  (Reuters) - Casino and bingo hall operator Rank Group Plc and online gambling company 888 Holdings Plc ended efforts to take over rival British bookmaker William Hill Plc days after a revised offer...
  
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• Before a career break, millennials need a money game plan

  18-08-2016 19:20
  
  NEW YORK (Reuters) - (The opinions expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for Reuters.)
  
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• Gawker.com to shut down next week

  18-08-2016 19:16
  
  Aug 18 (Reuters) - U.S. internet publisher Gawker Media
  Group said on Thursday that it would shut operations of online
  news and gossip website Gawker.com next week, ending a 14-year
  run.
  
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• Wall Street flat as drop in tech stocks offsets oil gains

  18-08-2016 19:09 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Wall Street pared earlier gains and was little changed in early afternoon trading on Thursday, as a drop in technology stocks offset gains in energy companies on the back of higher oil prices. Cisco fell 1.7 percent to $53.57 after the network equipment provider said it would cut 5,500 jobs and gave a disappointing forecast.
  
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• Hong Kong-Shenzhen stock link no quick fix for MSCI entry

  18-08-2016 18:54
  
  HONG KONG (Reuters) - Connecting the giant stock markets of Hong Kong and Shenzhen is unlikely to fast-track the inclusion of Chinese shares in a major investment benchmark index as foreign access to...
  
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• Volkswagen to cut hours at four plants amid supply row: minister

  18-08-2016 18:44 via news.yahoo.com
  Volkswagen is looking to cut working hours in some parts of production at its core factory and three other plants across Germany, a German state minister said on Thursday. "Since further supply chain developments cannot be foreseen at the moment, shortened working hours are considered in partial areas at the plants in Kassel, Wolfsburg, Braunschweig and Zwickau," said Olaf Lies, Economy Minister of Germany's state of Lower Saxony, the carmaker's second-largest shareholder, at the state's parliam
  
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• Zambia's Lungu shrugs off challenge, says will boost growth

  18-08-2016 18:37 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Chris Mfula LUSAKA (Reuters) - Zambia will control spending and act to boost economic growth, President Edgar Lungu said on Thursday, dismissing criticism by the main opposition leader who is challenging his re-election at the helm of Africa's second-largest copper producer. The southern African nation is in the throes of an economic slump due to depressed commodity prices with mine closures, rising unemployment, power shortages and soaring food prices that his rival, Hakainde Hichilema, blam
  
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• Obama to head to China, Laos for last visit in his 'rebalance' push

  18-08-2016 18:08 via news.yahoo.com
  
  U.S. President Barack Obama next month will make what is expected to be his final trip to Asia, a region at the center of his administration's foreign policy, to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping and other world leaders, the White House said on Thursday. During his time in the White House, Obama has sought to "rebalance" America's defense and economic policy to counter China's rising influence. During the trip from Sept. 2-9, Obama will attend the G20 summit in Hangzhou, China, where he will als
  
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• Abandoned in Saudi desert camps, migrant workers won't leave without pay

  18-08-2016 17:43 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Marwa Rashad and Katie Paul QADISIYA LABOUR CAMP, Saudi Arabia (Reuters) - Migrant construction workers, abandoned in their thousands by Saudi employers in filthy desert camps during the kingdom's economic slump, say they will not accept a government offer of free flights home unless they receive months of unpaid wages. The plight of the workers, stranded for months in crowded dormitories at labor camps with little money and limited access to food, water or medical care, has alarmed their hom
  
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• Wall Street boosted by rise in oil, Wal-Mart

  18-08-2016 17:42 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Wall Street was slightly higher in late morning trading on Thursday, boosted by a jump in Wal-Mart shares and higher oil prices. Wal-Mart rose as much as 3.1 percent to a more than 14-month high of $75.19 after the retailer's better-than-expected quarterly profit. The stock provided the biggest boost to the S&P 500.
  
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• FTC closes probe into scrapped merger of Williams, ETE

  18-08-2016 17:38
  
  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. antitrust enforcers said on Thursday that they have formally closed their probe into the now-scrapped merger of Energy Transfer Equity, LPand the Williams Companies .
  
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• Canada's new child benefit set to boost back-to-school shopping

  18-08-2016 17:21 via news.yahoo.com
  By Leah Schnurr OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada's newly revamped cash handout to families ahead of the start of a fresh school year could spur retail sales during a period of weak economic growth and high consumer debt. The Canada Child Benefit gives eligible families an annual benefit of up to C$6,400 ($4,980.54) for each child under 6 years old, and up to C$5,400 for each child between 6 and 17. Dana Calder in North River, Nova Scotia plans to use her C$148 monthly check to let her two daughters, 4
  
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• Philippines worried for poor despite strong growth

  18-08-2016 17:19 via news.yahoo.com
  
  The Philippine economy expanded 7.0 percent in the second quarter, official data showed Thursday, but President Rodrigo Duterte's new government said major changes were needed to fix one of Asia's biggest rich-poor divides. The April-to-June period covered the final months of Benigno Aquino's administration, capping six years of stellar growth that helped boost the Philippines' credit ratings and end its reputation as one of the region's economic laggards. Duterte's economic chiefs on Thursday c
  
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• World stocks rise, backed by oil gains, weak dollar

  18-08-2016 17:17 via news.yahoo.com
  
  World stock markets moved higher as oil prices rose and the dollar sank to a near eight-week low on Thursday after minutes from the U.S. Federal Reserve's latest meeting showed policymakers were divided over whether to raise interest rates soon. A lower-than-expected reading on new U.S. jobless claims and comments on the "hollowing out" of the labor market from New York Fed President William Dudley gave U.S. stocks a modest boost in early trading.
  
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• Urgent action needed to stop southern Africa hunger crisis extending into 2017: U.N.

  18-08-2016 17:08 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Alex Whiting ROME (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Farmers in drought-hit southern Africa urgently need help to plant the next harvest, or else the food crisis gripping the region will continue into 2017, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization said on Thursday. Southern Africa has been badly affected over the past year by the El Nino weather pattern which has wilted crops, slowing economic growth and driving food prices higher. "If there is good support from (local) governments an
  
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• Simpler laws needed to avert conflict over India's scarce land

  18-08-2016 16:59 via news.yahoo.com
  By Rina Chandran MUMBAI (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Conflicts over land in India will only increase as its economy grows quickly, and the most effective way to prevent them is to ensure land laws are simpler and more transparent, a leading campaigner said. India has introduced several land laws in the past decade aimed at giving more rights to farmers and indigenous people. "We need fewer laws, and we need them to be clear and predictable," Rangaraju, co-founder of India Property Rights Allia
  
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• Wall Street little changed; Wal-Mart up after results

  18-08-2016 16:02 via news.yahoo.com
  
  (Reuters) - Wall Street was little changed in early trading on Thursday as the impact of a rise in oil prices and strong results at Wal-Mart was offset by weakness in consumer discretionary and financial stocks.
  
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• Ghana pumps first oil from second offshore TEN field

  18-08-2016 15:44 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Kwasi Kpodo TAKORADI, Ghana (Reuters) - Ghana began pumping crude from a second offshore field operated by British company Tullow Oil on Thursday, hoping the additional revenue will boost its flagging economy. The Tweneboa, Enyenra and Ntomme (TEN) field expects to average around 23,000 barrels per day (bpd) in 2016, eventually reaching 80,000 bpd along with associated gas to be harnessed to ease a domestic power deficit. President John Dramani Mahama opened the valves on the $1 billion Float
  
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• Wall St opens flat as Fed divided on rates

  18-08-2016 15:35 via news.yahoo.com
  
  REUTERS - Wall Street opened little changed on Thursday, a day after minutes of the Federal Reserve's July meeting showed policymakers were divided over whether to raise interest rates in the near-term. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 1.99 points, or 0.01 percent, to 18,571.95, the S&P 500 gained 0.3 points, or 0.01 percent, to 2,182.52 and the Nasdaq Composite index added 0.35 points, or 0.01 percent, to 5,229.01. (Reporting by Tanya Agrawal; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)
  
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• Wall Street opens flat as Fed divided on rates

  18-08-2016 15:33 via news.yahoo.com
  
  (Reuters) - Wall Street opened little changed on Thursday, a day after minutes of the Federal Reserve's July meeting showed policymakers were divided over whether to raise interest rates in the near-term.
  
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• Zambia's Lungu says to limit spending, boost economic growth

  18-08-2016 15:05 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Zambia will control expenditure and take measures to boost economic growth, President Edgar Lungu who was re-elected to the helm of Africa's second-largest copper producer at a vote on Aug. 11, said on Thursday. Lungu faced a tough challenge from United Party for National Development (UPND) leader Hakainde Hichilema in a campaign to rule over the southern African nation which has suffered an economic slump due to depressed commodity prices. Lusaka and the International Momentary Fund had reached
  
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• Wall Street set to open flat as Fed divided on rates

  18-08-2016 15:01 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Fed officials were generally upbeat about the U.S. economy but some expressed the need to keep their options open in the need of more data pointing to strength, the minutes showed. "The Fed was less hawkish than the market had expected.
  
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• South African opposition takes charge in Mandela Bay as ANC unseated

  18-08-2016 15:01 via news.yahoo.com
  
  A mayor from South Africa's main opposition party took office in a major urban centre on Thursday, unseating the African National Congress (ANC) as the ruling party paid the price for its worst countrywide election result since apartheid ended. Underlining its political credentials by rallying smaller parties to form a coalition, the Democratic Alliance (DA) took over Nelson Mandela Bay municipality to end 22 years of uninterrupted control by the ANC. "(Voters) have endorsed our offer of stoppin
  
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• ECB officials saw shock from UK vote as largely contained

  18-08-2016 14:13 via news.yahoo.com
  
  FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Officials at the European Central Bank saw the initial impact from Britain's vote to leave the EU as largely confined to that country despite much uncertainty about whether it would hurt the global economy in the future.
  
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• Zambia's Lungu says to cut spending, boost economic growth

  18-08-2016 14:11 via news.yahoo.com
  
  LUSAKA (Reuters) - Zambia will control expenditure and take measures to boost economic growth, President Edgar Lungu who was re-elected to the helm of Africa's second-largest copper producer at a vote on Aug. 11, said on Thursday. "I have five years now which is sufficient time to take more decisive action. I will take measures to grow the economy and control expenditure," Lungu said in a statement after a meeting with business leaders. (Reporting by Chris Mfula; Writing by TJ Strydom; Editing b
  
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• Disasters cost $71bn in first half of 2016: Swiss Re

  18-08-2016 13:42 via news.yahoo.com
  
  From earthquakes in Japan to wildfires in Canada, disasters cost the world economy $71 billion (62 billion euros) in the first half of the year, reinsurer Swiss Re said on Thursday. The global insurance industry covered 44 percent of the disaster-linked losses, or $31 billion, up 51 percent from a year earlier. Three separate severe US weather events cost insurers over $7.0 billion, it said, with a single massive storm in Texas in April raking up insurance costs of $3.1 billion after large hails
  
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• Global stocks diverge on Fed, post-Brexit data

  18-08-2016 13:36 via news.yahoo.com
  
  London (AFP) - European stocks rose Thursday as traders reacted to the outlook for US interest rates and Britain's better-than-expected economic health after the country voted to quit the European Union.
  
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• ECB officials saw shock from British vote as contained

  18-08-2016 13:34 via news.yahoo.com
  FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Officials at the European Central Bank saw the initial impact from Britain's vote to leave the EU as "geographically confined" to that country despite much uncertainty about whether it would hurt the global economy in the future.
  
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• Futures flat as minutes show Fed divided over rate

  18-08-2016 13:32 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Fed officials were generally upbeat about the U.S. economy but some expressed the need to keep their options open in the need of more data pointing to strength, the minutes showed. New York Fed President William Dudley, who on Tuesday unnerved the markets by saying a rate hike was possible in September, is scheduled to give a press briefing at 10:00 a.m. ET (1400 GMT). San Francisco Fed President John Williams speaks on economic outlook in Anchorage, Alaska at 4:00 p.m. ET.
  
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• Column: Social Security texting snafu underscores customer service woes

  18-08-2016 13:07
  
  CHICAGO (Reuters) - (The writer is a Reuters columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.)
  
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• Nigeria's Buhari says monetary policy alone not enough to expand economy

  18-08-2016 12:39 via news.yahoo.com
  
  ABUJA (Reuters) - Nigeria will need to combine monetary policies with fiscal and structural policies in order overcome its worst economic crisis in decades and return to growth, President Muhammadu Buhari said on Thursday. (Reporting by Chijioke Ohuocha and Felix Onuah; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
  
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• What the stock market tells us about the British economy post-Brexit

  18-08-2016 12:32 via news.yahoo.com
  
  The FTSE rebounded after its Brexit shock – but how long will it last?
  
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• British retail sales rebound sharply post Brexit vote

  18-08-2016 12:21 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Retail sales in Britain, a key driver of the economy, rebounded 1.4 percent in July from June's drop, official data showed Thursday, indicating no immediate fallout from Brexit but analysts warn of a tough year ahead. Sales by volume rose far higher than expected following a 0.9-percent drop in June that had been caused by wet summer weather, according to the Office for National Statistics. The ONS noted however that all sectors showed sales growth in July amid warmer weather, "with the main con
  
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• Lombard Odier strikes alliance with UnionBank in Philippines

  18-08-2016 11:37
  
  ZURICH (Reuters) - Lombard Odier has struck an agreement with the Philippines' UnionBank that expands the Swiss private bank's Asia footprint, it said on Thursday.
  
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• Asia stocks cautious after Fed minutes, Tokyo sinks

  18-08-2016 10:43 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Asian stock markets moved cautiously Thursday after minutes from the Federal Reserve's July meeting showed caution about raising interest rates, supporting some markets but hitting Japan. Tokyo's main index sank as the dollar fell against the safe haven Japanese currency, slumping below 100 yen for the second time this week, impacting Japan's exporters. “The message from the Fed is that they’re going to be cautious in raising rates,” Shane Oliver, Sydney-based global investment
  
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• South Africa's rand firms as Fed minutes indicate halt to rate hike

  18-08-2016 09:43 via news.yahoo.com
  
  JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa's rand recouped the previous sessions losses as expectations for a September U.S rate hike subsided, and as traders looked on to a string of local and global economic data due later in the session. * At 0650 GMT, the rand trades at 13.2600 per dollar, 0.82percent firmer from its Wednesday close. * The U.S Fed July meeting minutes published on Wednesdayshow Fed policymakers were generally upbeat about the U.S.economic outlook and labour market. ...
  
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• Taiwan reveals cautious first budget as Tsai pledges growth

  18-08-2016 09:29 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Taiwan's new government unveiled its first budget Thursday as it tries to kickstart the island's fragile economy, but the cautious spending plan raised questions over whether it was investing enough. President Tsai Ing-wen was voted in by a landslide in January partly because of public anger over stagnant wages, lack of job opportunities and a rising cost of living. Trade deals with China under former leader Ma Ying-jeou were seen as helping big business, not the ordinary citizen.
  
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• Stop saving and start investing!

  18-08-2016 09:03 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Sick of low rates on your current or savings account? Want to grow your wealth over the long term? Grab your cash and head to the stock market.
  
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