Finance news

• Weak retailers hit US stocks; Europe eyes Monte dei Paschi

  22-12-2016 23:59 via news.yahoo.com
  
  New York (AFP) - Shares of US retailers fell sharply Thursday on anxiety about the holiday shopping period, while European stocks were pressured by worries about Italy's Monte dei Paschi di Siena bank.
  
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• Prestige Brands to buy healthcare company C.B. Fleet for $825 million

  22-12-2016 23:19
  
  (Reuters) - Prestige Brands Holdings Incsaid on Thursday it would buy women's healthcare products maker C.B. Fleet Co for $825 million in cash.
  
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• Lawmakers ask SEC to bar sale of Chicago Stock Exchange to Chinese investors

  22-12-2016 23:12
  
  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Five members of Congress urged the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday to stop the planned sale of the Chicago Stock Exchange Inc to Chinese investors led by...
  
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• TSX extends winning run but stops shy of recent high

  22-12-2016 23:00 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Fergal Smith TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada's benchmark stock index climbed for the sixth straight session on Thursday, led by energy and telecom shares, but stopped short of the 19-month high it posted last week before the Federal Reserve raised U.S. interest rates. The market has been consolidating its gains since the Nov. 8 U.S. election, said Davis Rea Chief Strategist John Johnston, who believes that technical indicators, the trend in corporate earnings and the economic outlook point to high
  
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• Retailers weigh on Wall Street, Dow 20,000 slips away

  22-12-2016 22:25 via news.yahoo.com
  
  U.S. stocks fell on Thursday, weighed down by weakness in retailers, as investors stepped back from a recent rally fuelled by optimism that President-elect Donald Trump will invigorate economic growth. The decline pulled the Dow Jones industrial average further away from the 20,000 mark after it nearly breached that level this week for the first time. Retail stocks fell after CNN reported Trump's transition team is considering a tariff of as much as 10 percent on imports.
  
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• Funds buy fewest U.S. 10-year notes at auction since 2014

  22-12-2016 22:25
  
  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Large investment managers bought the fewest U.S. 10-year Treasury notes at an auction since November 2014, while they purchased nearly the same amount of 30-year Treasury bonds...
  
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• New Jersey man groped woman on flight, then wrote apology note: prosecutors

  22-12-2016 22:20 via news.yahoo.com
  
  A New Jersey man groped a woman during a transcontinental flight and then apologized in a pair of notes in which he acknowledged his actions were "stupid," U.S. authorities said on Thursday. Ganesh Parkar, 40, of Windsor appeared in federal court in Newark, New Jersey, on Thursday to face a charge of abusive sexual contact, one day after the female passenger was assaulted on an overnight Air India flight from Mumbai to Newark. Parkar had a business class seat but chose to sit in a middle seat ne
  
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• Global stocks fall, dollar muted as Trump rally pauses for second day

  22-12-2016 22:18 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Dion Rabouin NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stock markets around the globe dipped and U.S. equities posted their first back-to-back daily declines of the month on Thursday as the rally that has sent Wall Street shares to record highs since Donald Trump's U.S. election victory paused ahead of the Christmas holiday weekend. U.S. Treasury yields rose after data showed the U.S. economy grew faster than initially thought in the third quarter, notching its best performance in two years, and as investors prep
  
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• Oil prices up in quiet session as year-end approaches

  22-12-2016 21:39 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Oil prices rose in subdued trading on Thursday, supported by strong U.S. economic data and optimism that crude producers would abide by an agreement to limit output. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude settled up 46 cents, or 0.9 percent, to $52.95 a barrel. Overall volume for front-month crude futures was about 350,000 contracts, less than two-thirds of the total daily average over the last 200 days, according to Thomson Reuters data.
  
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• Blackstone in talks to buy stake in Energy Transfer assets

  22-12-2016 21:33
  
  (Reuters) - Private-equity firm Blackstone Group LPis in talks to buy a stake in assets owned by Energy Transfer Partners LP , the company building the controversial Dakota Access pipeline, a...
  
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• EPA denies automakers' request for more time on fuel economy review

  22-12-2016 21:26 via news.yahoo.com
  
  The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday told an automaker lobbyist group that it will not extend the deadline for a review of strict fuel economy standards through the 2025 vehicle model year, indicating the agency will push ahead with a plan to make the rules final before the Obama administration leaves office Jan. 20. Acting EPA Assistant Administrator Janet McCabe informed the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, which includes most major automakers in the U.S. market, in a lett
  
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• Monte dei Paschi woes in focus as stock markets ease

  22-12-2016 21:20 via news.yahoo.com
  
  World equities drifted Thursday, with worries about Italy's Monte dei Paschi di Siena bank creating the only disturbance in the force of pre-holiday inertia. London managed a small gain at the close, Paris ended flat and Frankfurt finished the day slightly down. Wall Street was lower approaching midday in New York, slipping a little further away from the elusive 20,000 target on the Dow index.
  
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• Bathroom law battles loom in more states after North Carolina controversy

  22-12-2016 20:49 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Jon Herskovitz AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - The storm over legislation seen as targeting transgender people is set to intensify in 2017 with several U.S. states proposing measures similar to a bathroom restriction statute in North Carolina that has prompted protests, lawsuits and economic boycotts. North Carolina legislators, in a one-day special session on Wednesday, had widely been expected to repeal their law, which requires people to use the bathroom of their birth gender, but the effort fel
  
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• Global stocks slip, dollar pauses as Trump rally stumbles a second day

  22-12-2016 20:31 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Dion Rabouin NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stock markets around the globe edged lower and U.S. equities headed for their first back-to-back daily declines of the month on Thursday as the rally that has sent Wall Street shares to record highs since Donald Trump's U.S. election victory paused ahead of the Christmas holiday weekend. The Dow was on track for its first two-day decline since Nov. 4. "We can barely see any significant moves in equities, fixed income or even currency markets today, suggesting
  
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• Wall Street recedes and Dow 20,000 slips further away

  22-12-2016 20:19 via news.yahoo.com
  
  U.S. stocks fell on Thursday as investors stepped back from a recent rally fuelled by optimism that President-elect Donald Trump will invigorate economic growth. The dip pulled the Dow Jones industrial average further away from the 20,000 mark after it nearly breached the level this week for the first time. Following a sharp rally since the Nov. 8 U.S. election, the Dow is up about 14 percent for the year and the S&P 500 is 11 higher on bets that the economy will benefit from Trump's plans f
  
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• Icahn says EPA, bank regulations hamper U.S. economy - CNBC

  22-12-2016 20:17 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Billionaire investor Carl Icahn targeted environmental and banking regulations on Thursday as big drags on U.S. corporate investment and said revamping them would be a top priority in his role as adviser to President-elect Donald Trump. Icahn, tapped by Trump on Wednesday as a special adviser for regulatory reform, also said in an interview on CNBC that he was surprised at criticism that his vast business dealings would pose conflicts of interest with his advisory role. "I honestly am sort of su
  
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• Alitalia agrees short-term funding deal to keep airline going

  22-12-2016 19:30
  
  ROME (Reuters) - Italy's Alitalia has approved a short-term financing deal and a new industrial plan that will include job cuts, it said on Thursday, as the loss-making flagship carrier steps up...
  
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• Vivendi defies Italian concerns to raise Mediaset stake further

  22-12-2016 19:22
  
  PARIS/ROME (Reuters) - Vivendiraised its stake in Mediasetfurther on Thursday, to 28.8 percent, while Italian politicians voiced their concerns over what the French media group's intentions might...
  
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• Wall Street lower in light trading as investors pause

  22-12-2016 19:12 via news.yahoo.com
  
  U.S. stocks have rallied since the Nov. 8 election, with the Dow up about 9 percent and the S&P 500 gaining 6 percent on bets that the economy would benefit from President-elect Donald Trump's plans for deregulation and infrastructure spending.
  
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• UPDATE 1-Nokia shares fall on patent dispute with Apple

  22-12-2016 19:01
  
  HELSINKI/BELGRADE, Dec 22 (Reuters) - Nokiashares fell by nearly 5 percent on Thursday in Helsinki as
  analysts warned a legal battle with Apple could delay
  for years royalty payments that are vital...
  
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• Nortel Networks, U.S. pension insurer reach bankruptcy deal

  22-12-2016 18:57
  
  WILMINGTON, Del. (Reuters) - Former telecommunications equipment maker Nortel Networks Inc [NRTLQN.UL] and the U.S. pension insurer have reached a deal that clears the way for the company to end its...
  
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• Britain's FTSE ends at 2-month high helped by oil stocks

  22-12-2016 18:21
  
  LONDON/MILAN, Dec 22 (Reuters) - British shares edged up to
  two-month highs on Thursday, led by gains in the energy sector
  and among precious metals miners.
  
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• Trump team promises transparency regarding Icahn's advisory role

  22-12-2016 17:39
  
  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's transition team on Thursday pledged proper oversights and transparency regarding billionaire and activist investor Carl Icahn's special...
  
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• Exclusive: U.S. regulator poised to approve Abbott purchase of St Jude - sources

  22-12-2016 17:34
  
  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. antitrust enforcers are poised to approve health care company Abbott Laboratories'purchase of medical device maker St. Jude Medical Inc , two sources knowledgeable about...
  
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• Wall Street falls as investors pause ahead of holiday season

  22-12-2016 17:27 via news.yahoo.com
  
  The Dow has been flirting with the historic level for the last several days and came within 13 points of the mark on Wednesday. U.S. stocks have rallied since the Nov. 8 election, with the Dow up about 9 percent and the S&P 500 gaining 6 percent on bets that the economy would benefit from President-elect Donald Trump's plans for deregulation and infrastructure spending.
  
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• Global stocks, dollar slip as Trump rally stumbles for second day

  22-12-2016 17:25 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Dion Rabouin NEW YORK (Reuters) - The dollar slumped and U.S. equities headed for their first back-to-back daily declines of the month as the rally that sent Wall Street stocks to record highs since Donald Trump's U.S. election victory paused ahead of the Christmas holiday weekend. "We can barely see any significant moves in equities, fixed income or even currency markets today, suggesting that more consolidation is expected throughout the remaining days of 2016." The Dow Jones Industrial Ave
  
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• Saudi Arabia announces 2017 budget with more spending

  22-12-2016 17:24 via news.yahoo.com
  
  RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Saudi Arabia has announced its 2017 budget, projecting an increase in spending and a lower budget deficit as the Saudi king acknowledges "very turbulent economic conditions."
  
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• Oil prices rise on softer dollar, OPEC cut expectations

  22-12-2016 17:24 via news.yahoo.com
  
  LONDON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices rose in quiet trading on Thursday, supported by strong U.S. economic data, a pause in the U.S. dollar rally and optimism that crude producers would abide by an agreement to limit output. The dollar index , which tracks the greenback against a basket of six currencies, slipped by 0.3 percent as investors took profits after its rise to a 14-year peak earlier this week.
  
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• Saudi Arabia deficit persists but lower than expected

  22-12-2016 17:22 via news.yahoo.com
  
  OPEC kingpin Saudi Arabia on Thursday projected another budget deficit in 2017 but reported a less-than-expected shortfall for this year after cutbacks in the face of lower oil prices. The plunge in global oil prices led Riyadh to intensify economic reform efforts, which are being led by Salman's son, Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, 31.
  
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• U.S. consumer spending slows; business investment perking up

  22-12-2016 16:45 via news.yahoo.com
  
  U.S. consumer spending increased modestly in November as household incomes failed to rise for the first time in nine months, suggesting the economy slowed in the fourth quarter after growing briskly in the prior period. The Commerce Department said consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity, rose 0.2 percent after increasing 0.4 percent in October. When adjusted for inflation, consumer spending edged up 0.1 percent last month after a similar gain in Octo
  
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• Long-term US mortgage rates hit highest levels since 2014

  22-12-2016 16:35 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Long-term US mortgage rates climbed again this week, hitting the highest levels since 2014. Mortgage giant Freddie Mac said Thursday that the rate on 30-year fixed-rate loans jumped to an average 4.30 ...
  
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• U.S. consumer spending slows in November on weak incomes

  22-12-2016 16:05 via news.yahoo.com
  
  U.S. consumer spending increased modestly in November as household incomes failed to rise for the first time in nine months, suggesting economic growth slowed in the fourth quarter. The Commerce Department said on Thursday that consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity, rose 0.2 percent after an upwardly revised 0.4 percent increase in October. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast consumer spending advancing 0.3 percent last month.
  
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• TSX barely up on energy; insurers and miners weigh

  22-12-2016 15:44 via news.yahoo.com
  
  TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index opened slightly higher on Thursday, as gains for heavyweight energy stocks offset slips for big insurers and gold miners. The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index was up 4.27 points, or 0.03 percent, at 15,310.16 shortly after the open. Half of its 10 main groups gained. (Reporting by Alastair Sharp; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
  
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• US economy grew at strong 3.5 pct. annual rate last quarter

  22-12-2016 15:32 via news.yahoo.com
  
  The U.S. economy grew at a 3.5 percent annual rate in the July-September quarter, the fastest pace in two years and more than the government had previously estimated. But the growth spurt isn't expected ...
  
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• Japan's Mitsui to sell part of Marcellus assets stake for $207 million

  22-12-2016 15:32
  
  TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese trading house Mitsui & Cosaid on Thursday it has agreed to sell a part of its stake in the Marcellus shale gas project in the United States to Alta Resources Development...
  
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• Airbus secures Iran Air deal with list price of $18 billion

  22-12-2016 15:32 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Airbus and Iran Air finalized Thursday a deal for 100 planes worth more than $18 billion dollars at list prices — a contract that's potentially a big boost for Iran's post-sanctions economy. Under the ...
  
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• Canada annual inflation cools in November, keeping rate cut odds alive

  22-12-2016 15:26 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Leah Schnurr OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada's annual inflation rate cooled in November, suggesting the Bank of Canada will maintain its cautious stance and keeping alive the possibility of another rate cut as new measures of underlying inflation also fell short of the central bank's target. Separate data from Statistics Canada on Thursday showed October retail sales rose more than expected, boding well for economic growth at the start of the fourth quarter. Three new measures of core inflation wer
  
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• Saudi Arabia projects $53 bn deficit in 2017

  22-12-2016 15:19 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Saudi Arabia on Thursday projected a 2017 budget deficit of about $53 billion and a lower than expected shortfall for this year after government cost-cutting in response to lower oil prices. "This budget comes at a time of a highly volatile economic situation... and which led to a slowdown in world economic growth and a drop in oil prices that impacted our country," King Salman said on official television, with Finance Minister Mohammed Aljadaan seated nearby at a table of cabinet ministers. The
  
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• US business investment rose in November for 2nd month

  22-12-2016 14:53 via news.yahoo.com
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. businesses stepped up their spending on industrial machinery, steel, and other big-ticket items last month, a sign that one of the economy's weak spots may be improving.
  
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• Actelion re-enters talks with J&J, sidelining Sanofi

  22-12-2016 14:44
  
  ZURICH/FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Swiss biotech company Actelionhas turned back to prospective bidder Johnson & Johnsonfor exclusive talks about a "strategic transaction", in an about-turn that...
  
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• U.S. third-quarter economic growth raised to 3.5 percent

  22-12-2016 14:36 via news.yahoo.com
  
  The U.S. economy grew faster than initially thought in the third quarter, notching its best performance in two years, amid solid consumer spending and a jump in soybean exports. Gross domestic product increased at a 3.5 percent annual rate instead of the previously reported 3.2 percent pace, the Commerce Department said in its third GDP estimate on Thursday. Growth was the strongest since the third quarter of 2014 and followed the second quarter's anemic 1.4 percent pace.
  
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• Euro, Italian shares up as Monte Paschi heads for rescue

  22-12-2016 14:14 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Marc Jones LONDON (Reuters) - European markets were poised for one last burst of action before the end of the year on Thursday, with Italy expected to outline plans to rescue the world's oldest and now its most troubled bank, Monte dei Paschi di Siena. Sources told Reuters the bank failed to pull off a last-ditch private rescue plan on Wednesday, meaning a state rescue looked inevitable with reports in Italy on Thursday saying that could be completed between two to three months. "My perceptio
  
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• GLOBAL MARKETS-Euro, Italian shares up as Monte Paschi heads for rescue

  22-12-2016 14:07 via news.yahoo.com
  
  LONDON, Dec (Shanghai: 600875.SS - news) 22 (Reuters) - European markets were poised for one last burst of action before the end of the year on Thursday, with Italy expected to outline plans to rescue the world's oldest and now its most troubled bank, Monte dei Paschi (Milan: BMPS.MI - news) di Siena. Futures pointed to a slightly lower open on Wall Street although U.S. shares remain very near all-time peaks. Shares (Berlin: DI6.BE - news) in Milan climbed 0.6 percent, flanked by the euro on hop
  
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• As 2016 ends, "Trumponomics" tempts investors back to equities

  22-12-2016 13:50 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Claire Milhench LONDON (Reuters) - Global investors' equity holdings rose to six-month highs in December on bets that U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's promised fiscal splurge would spur higher growth and inflation, a Reuters monthly poll showed on Thursday. Trump's plans to cut taxes and boost spending have sent Wall Street to record highs in December as investors pile into everything from banks, to energy and materials and other infrastructure-related names. The last Reuters asset allocat
  
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• Egypt's Suez Canal revenues fall to $389.2 mln in November

  22-12-2016 13:47 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Egypt's Suez Canal revenues fell 6.9 percent to $389.2 million in November from $418.1 million in October, the canal authority website said on Thursday, the lowest since February 2015. The canal is the fastest shipping route between Europe and Asia and one of Egypt's main sources of foreign currency. Egypt has been struggling to revive its economy since a 2011 uprising scared away tourists and foreign investors.
  
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• Burundi inflation at 7.1 pct year-on-year in November - stats office

  22-12-2016 13:44 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Burundi's inflation rose to 7.1 percent year-on-year in November from 6.0 percent the month before, driven by a rise in food costs in local markets, official data showed on Thursday. Food inflation rose 9.1 percent in November from 7.0 percent in October, the Institute of Economic Studies and Statistics (ISTEEBU) said in a report. Businesses and other economic activities have been seriously affected by several months of political violence sparked by President Pierre Nkurunziza's decision to run
  
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• Corrected - A volatile calm - the paradox of 2016 financial markets

  22-12-2016 13:31 via news.yahoo.com
  
  (Clarifies nature of transactions in 9th paragraph below crosshead in story released on Dec 21) By Jamie McGeever and Vikram Subhedar LONDON (Reuters) - Traditional measures of volatility at historic lows and Wall Street stocks at new record highs went hand-in-hand in 2016 with traders fretting about bouts of wild stock-price swings and currency flash-crashes. The past year has been nothing if not paradoxical for financial markets - a landscape that will probably persist in 2017. The proliferati
  
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• Poll: British funds add to stocks, see faster growth in 2017

  22-12-2016 13:22 via news.yahoo.com
  
  British investment funds picked up more equities in December on expectations that increased spending by some governments would drive an acceleration in economic growth, benefiting everything from banks to construction firms. Reuters' monthly survey of 13 UK-based investors, carried out from Dec. 15 to 21, showed funds increased their equity holdings to 45.4 percent, up one percentage point from November, and trimmed their cash positions to 7.5 percent from 9.6 percent. U.S. President-elect Donal
  
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• Poll: As 2016 ends, 'Trumponomics' tempts investors back to equities

  22-12-2016 13:22 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Global investors' equity holdings rose to six-month highs in December on bets that U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's promised fiscal splurge would spur higher growth and inflation, a Reuters monthly poll showed on Thursday. The last Reuters asset allocation poll of 2016 surveyed 45 fund managers and chief investment officers in mainland Europe, the United States, Britain and Japan. It showed equity holdings at 45.3 percent, the highest since June, capping an eventful year that saw a significan
  
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• CORRECTED-ANALYSIS-A volatile calm - the paradox of 2016 financial markets

  22-12-2016 13:10
  
  LONDON, Dec 21 (Reuters) - Traditional measures of
  volatility at historic lows and Wall Street stocks at new record
  highs went hand-in-hand in 2016 with traders fretting about
  bouts of wild...
  
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