Finance news

• U.S.-based Treasury funds attract most new cash since February: Lipper

  22-09-2016 23:57
  
  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Investors poured $1 billion into U.S. Treasury funds in the week ended Sept. 21, the funds' biggest inflows since mid-February, as the Federal Reserve left interest rates...
  
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• Harvard's endowment loses 2 percent as stock bets fueled decline

  22-09-2016 23:56
  
  BOSTON (Reuters) - Harvard University's investment arm, which oversees America's largest endowment, on Thursday said its portfolio lost 2 percent during the 2016 fiscal year, marking the single...
  
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• Savers’ fault is in R-star

  22-09-2016 23:35
  
  (Reuters) - The neutral interest rate to keep the economy in balance, R-star, is in hot debate among economists and central bankers as secular stagnation seems to have driven it lower.
  
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• Texas regulators express 'deep concern' over NextEra deal

  22-09-2016 23:32
  
  (Reuters) - Texas regulators voiced "deep concern" on Thursday over some terms of NextEra Energy Inc's$18.4 billion acquisition of reorganized Energy Future Holdings Corp, the owner of an 80...
  
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• U.S.-based Treasury funds attract most new cash since Feb: Lipper

  22-09-2016 23:27
  
  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Investors poured $1 billion into U.S. Treasury funds in the week ended Sept. 21, the funds' biggest inflows since mid February, data from Thomson Reuters' Lipper service showed...
  
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• Exclusive: Vanda Pharmaceuticals prepares to explore a sale - sources

  22-09-2016 23:08
  
  (Reuters) - Vanda Pharmaceuticals Inc , a U.S developer of medicines for the central nervous system, is preparing to consider strategic alternatives including a potential sale, according to people...
  
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• Wall Street extends Fed-fuelled rally; Nasdaq hits new high

  22-09-2016 22:31 via news.yahoo.com
  
  U.S. stocks climbed on Thursday, with big tech names leading broad gains, building on strength from a day earlier that was fuelled by the Federal Reserve's decision to stand pat on interest rates. The S&P 500 tallied its best two-day performance in more than two months, while the Nasdaq closed at a record high. Fed Chair Janet Yellen said on Wednesday that U.S. growth was looking stronger and rate increases would be needed to keep the economy from overheating and fuelling high inflation.
  
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• Wall Street extends Fed-fueled rally; Nasdaq hits new high

  22-09-2016 22:23 via news.yahoo.com
  
  The S&P 500 tallied its best two-day performance in more than two months, while the Nasdaq closed at a record high. Fed Chair Janet Yellen said on Wednesday that U.S. growth was looking stronger and rate increases would be needed to keep the economy from overheating and fuelling high inflation. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 98.76 points, or 0.54 percent, to 18,392.46, the S&P 500 gained 14.06 points, or 0.65 percent, to 2,177.18 and the Nasdaq Composite added 44.34 points, or 0.8
  
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• Clinton proposes 65 percent tax on U.S. billionaire estates

  22-09-2016 21:30 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Democratic U.S. presidential nominee Hillary Clinton on Thursday proposed raising taxes on inherited property to 65 percent for the largest estates as she bolstered plans for tax hikes on the wealthiest Americans. Known by conservative opponents as the "death tax," the estate tax, levied on property transferred to heirs after its owner dies, currently is imposed only on inherited assets worth $5.4 million or more for an individual. Clinton's plan, posted on her campaign's website, would raise th
  
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• Ex-Cuomo advisers, others charged in New York corruption cases

  22-09-2016 21:25 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Nate Raymond NEW YORK (Reuters) - Federal and state prosecutors on Thursday announced charges against 10 men, including two onetime senior advisers to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, in corruption and fraud cases involving state contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars. The charges followed a federal investigation into Buffalo Billion, a signature $1 billion economic development project of Cuomo aimed at revitalizing the area around the city of Buffalo, once an upstate industrial power
  
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• Wall Street builds on Fed-fuelled rally; Nasdaq hits new high

  22-09-2016 20:44 via news.yahoo.com
  
  U.S. stocks climbed on Thursday, led by big tech names, building on gains from a day earlier that were fuelled by the Federal Reserve's decision to stand pat on interest rates. The S&P 500 was on pace for its best two-day performance in more than two months, while the Nasdaq set a new intraday high. Fed Chair Janet Yellen said on Wednesday that U.S. growth was looking stronger and rate increases would be needed to keep the economy from overheating and fuelling high inflation.
  
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• Canada, China agree to tighten trade ties, mull extradition pact

  22-09-2016 20:44 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By David Ljunggren OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada and China on Thursday settled a trade dispute and said they would start exploratory talks on a free trade pact, but gave few details about a possible extradition treaty for Chinese fugitives which has triggered criticism in Canada. Canada's Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, elected last year, is trying to improve ties and increase trade with the world's second-largest economy after a decade of rocky relations under his Conservative predecessor. T
  
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• Wall Street builds on Fed-fueled rally; Nasdaq hits new high

  22-09-2016 20:43 via news.yahoo.com
  
  The S&P 500 was on pace for its best two-day performance in more than two months, while the Nasdaq set a new intraday high. Fed Chair Janet Yellen said on Wednesday that U.S. growth was looking stronger and rate increases would be needed to keep the economy from overheating and fuelling high inflation. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 71.26 points, or 0.39 percent, to 18,364.96, the S&P 500 gained 9.78 points, or 0.45 percent, to 2,172.9 and the Nasdaq Composite added 32.97 points,
  
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• Global mail fraud network targeted by US

  22-09-2016 20:36 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Officials announced criminal charges, economic sanctions, asset seizures and other actions aimed at companies and individuals based in Canada, France, Singapore, Turkey, India, the United States and other countries. The scams followed a familiar pattern, according to the US Justice Department, which said "direct mailers" sent phony letters, frequently to the elderly, claiming the recipients had won cash or prizes that could be collected for processing fees. Among others, the effort targeted an I
  
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• U.S. states' sluggish revenue dims outlook for financial year 2017 budgets: study

  22-09-2016 20:05 via news.yahoo.com
  
  The public policy research arm of the State University of New York reported that taxes mainly on sales and personal and corporate income slumped by 2.1 percent in the second quarter based on preliminary data, after growing just 1.6 percent in the first quarter compared with the same quarters in 2015. "The sharp declines in oil prices and the weak stock market appear to be the primary causes of the depressed state tax revenues. This weakening raises a yellow flag for state budgets," the report co
  
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• Senators seek Labor Department probe of Wells Fargo over wage, hour violations

  22-09-2016 20:05
  
  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Eight U.S. senators asked the Labor Department on Thursday to launch a probe into whether Wells Fargomay have violated wage and hour laws by failing to pay overtime to...
  
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• Homebuilder Lennar to buy WCI for $643 million to expand in Florida

  22-09-2016 19:41
  
  (Reuters) - Lennar Corp , the No. 2 U.S. homebuilder, said it would buy fellow Florida-based homebuilder WCI Communities Incfor about $643 million, boosting its land bank in one of the fastest...
  
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• Vietnam seeks to up retiring age as population pressures pensions

  22-09-2016 19:21 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Vietnam is trying to raise the retirement age of both men and women to mitigate the economic impact of a rapidly aging population and take pressure off of its depleted social welfare funds. The Labour Ministry wants to get the issue on the agenda of parliament having faced resistance from legislators fearful that by keeping people in work longer, the younger generation might have problems getting jobs. Vice labour minister Pham Minh Huan on Wednesday said the aim was to gradually raise the retir
  
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• Bank of England's Carney calls for progress on green bonds

  22-09-2016 19:12 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Bank of England Governor Mark Carney called for faster development of green bond markets to reduce climate change risks for the world economy and urged Germany to use its presidency of the Group of 20 economies in 2017 to make progress. Carney said total issuance of so-called green bonds -- for example, to help finance water or renewable power projects aimed at reducing carbon emissions -- could double in 2016 from last year's $42 billion. "The development of this new global asset class is an op
  
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• Turkey snips rates to revive economy post-coup bid

  22-09-2016 19:08 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Turkey's central bank cut its main interest rate for the seventh successive time on Thursday to counter a slowdown in economic growth in the wake of the botched July coup and terror attacks. The central bank said after the latest meeting of its monetary policy committee the overnight lending rate was trimmed by 25 basis points to 8.25 percent from 8.5 percent. The cut was also the sixth straight trimming by the central bank under new governor Murat Cetinkaya after taking over from Erdem Basci in
  
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• Cargo giant Maersk to bulk up transport as steers away from energy

  22-09-2016 19:01
  
  COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - The world's biggest shipping firm, A.P. Moller-Maersk, set a new course on Thursday that will see the $30 billion firm bulk up its transport business while seeking alliances or...
  
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• Wall Street extends rally after Fed rate decision

  22-09-2016 18:58 via news.yahoo.com
  
  While the Fed said the risks to economic outlook were roughly "balanced", it left rates unchanged for want of "further evidence of continued progress". The Fed also slowed the pace of future hikes and cut its longer run interest rate forecast, but sent a strong signal for a rate hike by the end of this year. The consensus among economists is for a move in December as the Fed's November meeting comes just ahead of the U.S. Presidential elections.
  
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• Puerto Rico governor says island working to restore power

  22-09-2016 18:54
  
  Sept 22 (Reuters) - Puerto Rico's governor on Thursday said
  the island's power utility hoped to restore electricity to about
  half its 1.5 million customers by the afternoon, after a fire at
  an energy...
  
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• US home sales fell in August as inventories plummet

  22-09-2016 18:31 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Americans retreated from home-buying in August, as a worsening inventory shortage appears to be hurting sales and pushing prices higher. Housing has been a bright spot amid weak economic growth for much ...
  
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• US Fed holds rates but signals hike could come later this year

  22-09-2016 18:22 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Stock market investors have piled in after the US Federal Reserve confirmed it would wait longer to lift interest rates. Financial markets, which were watching closely for any sign of a clear timing for rate increase in the world's biggest economy, responded with the dollar losing value - standing at about $1.31 versus the pound. Lower US rates for longer ease pressure on the emerging market economies whose appetite for commodities is important for the miners.
  
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• Ex-Cuomo aide, eight others charged in New York corruption case

  22-09-2016 17:44 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Federal prosecutors on Thursday announced charges against nine men, including two former advisers to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, in a corruption and fraud case involving state contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars. The charges followed a federal investigation into Buffalo Billion, a signature $1 billion economic development project by Cuomo aimed at revitalizing the area around the one-time industrial powerhouse city of Buffalo. Joseph Percoco, a former executive deputy secretary t
  
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• U.S. job market firming; tight inventories constraining housing

  22-09-2016 17:40 via news.yahoo.com
  
  The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell last week to a two-month low, pointing to labor market strength that could pave the way for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates by December. The upbeat initial jobless claims data came a day after the U.S. central bank left interest rates unchanged but strongly signaled it could raise borrowing costs by the end of the year, citing a recent pickup in economic growth and continued progress in the labor market. "The
  
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• South Africa holds key rate, hints at end of tightening cycle

  22-09-2016 17:36 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo PRETORIA (Reuters) - South Africa's central bank kept interest rates unchanged at 7 percent for a third consecutive time this year on Thursday, with a weak economic growth outlook balancing out concerns about inflation. The Reserve Bank said the growth outlook remained constrained, but revised upwards its forecast for this year to 0.4 percent growth having previously said the economy would remain at a standstill. "Given improvements in the inflation forecast, the weak d
  
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• Reduce 'huge sums' paid to VW bosses, says activist investor TCI

  22-09-2016 17:30
  
  LONDON (Reuters) - Volkswagenshould reduce the "huge sums of money" paid to executives and any bonuses should be given in shares, activist investor TCI Fund Management said in a letter to the car...
  
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• Wall Street rally continues after Fed rate decision

  22-09-2016 17:28 via news.yahoo.com
  
  While the Fed said the risks to economic outlook were roughly "balanced", it left rates unchanged as inflation continued to run below its 2 percent target and members saw room for improvement in the labor market. The Fed also slowed the pace of future hikes and cut its longer run interest rate forecast, but sent a strong signal for a move by the end of this year. The consensus among economists is for a hike in December as the Fed's November meeting comes right around the U.S. Presidential electi
  
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• Exclusive: Maersk Oil eyes Shell's North Sea assets ahead of spin-off

  22-09-2016 17:22
  
  LONDON (Reuters) - A.P. Moller-Maerskis in talks to buy a portfolio of North Sea assets from Royal Dutch Shellas the Danish group considers adding scale to its oil and gas business ahead of a...
  
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• Nigeria hunts down 700,000 firms in tax crackdown to offset oil slump

  22-09-2016 17:10 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Alexis Akwagyiram ABUJA (Reuters) - Nigeria has hunted down 700,000 firms that have never paid taxes as the country seeks new revenue sources to offset low oil prices that have pushed Africa's biggest economy into its first recession in more than 20 years, its tax chief said. Tunde Fowler, executive chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), said in a rare interview that he also expected 10 million individuals to be discovered by December and made to pay taxes for the first time.
  
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• Exclusive: Nigeria hunts down 700,000 firms in tax crackdown to offset oil slump

  22-09-2016 16:54 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Alexis Akwagyiram ABUJA (Reuters) - Nigeria has hunted down 700,000 firms that have never paid taxes as the country seeks new revenue sources to offset low oil prices that have pushed Africa's biggest economy into its first recession in more than 20 years, its tax chief said. Tunde Fowler, executive chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), said in a rare interview that he also expected 10 million individuals to be discovered by December and made to pay taxes for the first time.
  
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• US average 30-year mortgage rate declines to 3.48 percent

  22-09-2016 16:25 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Long-term U.S. mortgage rates edged lower this week. Mortgage giant Freddie Mac says the average for the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage declined to 3.48 percent from 3.50 percent last week. The benchmark ...
  
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• Thomson Reuters purchases buy-side tech firm REDI

  22-09-2016 16:17
  
  LONDON (Reuters) - Thomson Reuters has agreed to acquire trading technology firm REDI Holdings, it said in a statement on Thursday.
  
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• Venezuela opposition fumes as door slams on 2016 Maduro vote

  22-09-2016 16:12 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Andrew Cawthorne and Deisy Buitrago CARACAS (Reuters) - Foes of President Nicolas Maduro vowed to protest and accused Venezuela's election authority on Thursday of ignoring popular will by quashing their push for a referendum this year on recalling the unpopular socialist leader. The election board gave a timetable on Wednesday for a potential plebiscite to happen in early 2017, meaning that should Maduro lose, the vice-president would take over under constitutional rules on succession. Blami
  
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• Bank of England may have double-counted Brexit costs - Forbes

  22-09-2016 16:06 via news.yahoo.com
  
  The Bank of England may need to revise up its growth forecasts after double-counting some of the costs of economic uncertainty linked to the country's Brexit vote, policymaker Kristin Forbes said in an interview published on Thursday. "We may be over-counting the effects," Forbes was quoted as saying by Bloomberg News. "I've worried a bit in our forecast that we control for many of the measures that simultaneously control for uncertainty, and then we put in uncertainty effects, so we're putting
  
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• South Africa holds repo rate, lowers inflation forecasts

  22-09-2016 16:05 via news.yahoo.com
  
  South Africa's Reserve Bank kept its benchmark repo rate unchanged at 7 percent on Thursday, with a weak economic growth outlook balancing out its concerns about the inflation trajectory. The bank's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) revised its forecast for growth in Africa's most industrialised country to 0.4 percent this year having said in July that the economy was expected to remain at a standstill. "Given improvements in the inflation forecast, the weak domestic economic outlook and the asses
  
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• Turkish central bank cuts rate to boost slowing economy

  22-09-2016 15:54 via news.yahoo.com
  
  ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey's central bank cut a key interest rate for the seventh month in a row on Thursday as it tries to shore up an economy that has been shaken by a series of bombings and an attempted coup.
  
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• Nasdaq hits record high after Fed leaves rates unchanged

  22-09-2016 15:53 via news.yahoo.com
  
  While the risks to economic outlook were roughly "balanced", the Fed maintained rates as inflation continued to run below its 2 percent target and members saw room for improvement in the labor market. The central bank slowed the pace of future hikes and cut its longer run interest rate forecast to 2.9 percent from 3 percent, but sent a strong signal for a move by the end of this year. "The Fed probably appeared less hawkish than what the markets had expected," said Ryan Larson, head of equity tr
  
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• ECB sees surprise jump in banks' demand for cheap loans

  22-09-2016 15:49 via news.yahoo.com
  
  European banks took up almost twice the amount of cheap loans analysts had predicted in a second round of European Central Bank refinancing, data showed Thursday, which could signal good news for businesses and households in need of credit. The ECB said it had agreed to lend 45.3 billion euros ($51 billion) to 249 banks in the eurozone through its so-called TLTRO 2 programme, under which lenders are expected to quickly pass the funds on to customers to provide a much needed boost to economic gro
  
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• Nigeria naira at record black market low as dollar reserves shrink

  22-09-2016 15:48 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Nigeria naira hit a new record low of 436 on the black market on Thursday as dollar shortages on the official market persist, funelling importers to the unofficial market, amidst declining currency reserves in Africa's biggest economy, traders said. Nigeria's dollar reserves stood at $24.83 billion by Sept. 19, down 3.4 percent from a month ago, to its lowest level in more than 11-years, as the central bank sells the greenback on the interbank market to support the naira. The naira ended at 305.
  
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• Nasdaq hits record high as Fed defers rate hike

  22-09-2016 15:32 via news.yahoo.com
  
  (Reuters) - U.S. stocks gained at the open on Thursday, with the Nasdaq touching a record intraday high, a day after the Federal Reserve soothed markets by not raising interest rates. The Dow Jones industrial average was up 75.51 points, or 0.41 percent, at 18,369.21, the S&P 500 was up 9.92 points, or 0.46 percent, at 2,173.04 and the Nasdaq composite was up 27.82 points, or 0.53 percent, at 5,323.00.
  
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• U.S. jobless claims drop to two-month low as labor market firms

  22-09-2016 15:02 via news.yahoo.com
  
  The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell last week to a two-month low, pointing to labor market strength that could pave the way for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates by December. The upbeat initial jobless claims data came a day after the U.S. central bank left interest rates unchanged but strongly signaled it could raise borrowing costs by the end of the year, citing a recent pickup in economic growth and continued progress in the labor market. Initi
  
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• Bank of England's Forbes sees no case for further rate cut

  22-09-2016 14:19 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By David Milliken LONDON (Reuters) - Bank of England policymaker Kristin Forbes said she did not see a case for a further interest rate cut to help Britain's economy after June's vote to leave the European Union, putting her at odds with the majority of her fellow rate-setters. Forbes established herself as one of the central bank's most sceptical rate-setters last month when she opposed restarting purchases of government bonds, although she did back a cut in the BoE's benchmark borrowing cost t
  
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• Soothing Fed lifts stocks, Wall Street eyes record highs

  22-09-2016 14:03 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Marc Jones LONDON (Reuters) - Wall Street had record highs back in its sights on Thursday as world shares and bonds rallied after the Federal Reserve signalled an increasingly cautious approach to future U.S. rate increases. European markets followed Asia's lead, with Britain’s FTSE 100 climbing 1.3 percent and Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC 40 both jumping almost 2 percent ahead of what was expected to be a third day of gains in New York. The yen also hit a four-week high o
  
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• Soothing Fed lifts world stocks, Wall Street eyes record highs

  22-09-2016 14:01 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Marc Jones LONDON (Reuters) - Wall Street had record highs back in its sights on Thursday as world shares and bonds rallied after the Federal Reserve signalled an increasingly cautious approach to future U.S. rate increases. European markets followed Asia's lead, with Britain’s FTSE 100 climbing 1.3 percent and Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC 40 both jumping almost 2 percent ahead of what was expected to be a third day of gains in New York. The yen also hit a four-week high o
  
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• China's Baosteel details Wuhan deal to forge ArcelorMittal rival

  22-09-2016 13:59
  
  SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China's Baosteel Group fleshed out its plans to buy rival Wuhan to create the world's second-largest steelmaker behind ArcelorMittal on Thursday, part of Beijing’s effort to...
  
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• Brazil police arrest former minister in Petrobras probe: source

  22-09-2016 13:57 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Brad Haynes and Patricia Duarte SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Brazilian police arrested former Finance Minister Guido Mantega on Thursday as part of a sweeping corruption investigation into political kickbacks on contracts at state-run oil company Petroleo Brasiliero, according to a source close to the former minister. In a statement, prosecutors said they were investigating a former minister who was chairman in 2012 of Petrobras, as the company is known, a description fitting Mantega. Mantega served
  
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• Banks take up higher-than-expected 45.3 bn euros in ECB loans

  22-09-2016 13:55 via news.yahoo.com
  
  European lenders took up almost twice the amount of cheap loans that analysts had predicted in a second round of European Central Bank refinancing, according to data released Thursday. In a move suggesting banks may be increasingly willing to lend to households and businesses, the ECB announced that it had agreed to lend 45.3 billion euros ($51 billion) to 249 banks in the eurozone under the so-called TLTRO 2 programme. Under the programme, financial institutions are expected to quickly lend the
  
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