Finance news

• Global stocks gain as Wall Street eyes Trump inauguration

  18-01-2017 23:43 via news.yahoo.com
  
  New York (AFP) - Most major stock indices posted gains on Wednesday while Wall Street appeared to have little steam, with the vaunted Dow finishing lower for a fourth straight trading session.
  
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• Allied World Announces Expiration of “Go-Shop” Period and Schedules Fourth Quarter 2016 Earnings Announcement

  18-01-2017 23:24 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Allied World Assurance Company Holdings, AG (NYSE:AWH) today announced the expiration of the 30-day “go-shop” period included in the terms of the definitive merger agreement announced on December 18, 2016 under which Allied World will be acquired by Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited (TSX: FFH and FFH.U). Under the agreement, Allied World and its representatives were permitted to solicit and engage in negotiations with respect to alternative acquisition proposals until 12:01 a.m. (Ne
  
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• Fed's Yellen says 'nonpartisan' central bank close to goals

  18-01-2017 23:23
  
  The US central bank is close to achieving its inflation and employment goals, but any policy moves will depend on how the economy evolves, Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said Wednesday. Speaking just two days before President-elect Donald Trump takes office, perhaps the most remarkable thing about the speech was that Yellen twice emphasized that the Fed is nonpartisan and designed to be isolated from political pressures. "At the Fed, we too are nonpartisan and focused squarely on the public
  
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• Business euphoria over Trump gives way to caution, uncertainty

  18-01-2017 23:21 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Patrick Rucker and Sarah N. Lynch WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Early optimism among business lobbyists and executives that Donald Trump's election heralded better days has slowly given way to uncertainty as the president-elect fires off mixed and sometimes confusing messages on healthcare, taxes and trade. Some of that has frayed as questions arise over the nuts and bolts of Trump's campaign promises, although many in the business community said they remained optimistic. Doubts deepened over the we
  
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• S&P 500 ends up slightly with boost from financials; Netflix up late

  18-01-2017 23:18 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Caroline Valetkevitch NEW YORK (Reuters) - The S&P 500 ended a choppy session slightly higher on Wednesday, helped by a rise in financials after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said it "makes sense" to gradually lift interest rates. The S&P financials index rose 0.8 percent, adding to gains late in the session following Yellen's remarks to the Commonwealth Club of California in San Francisco. Financials have rallied since the November U.S. election on expectations of higher rates a
  
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• Egypt on track to receive IMF loan's second tranche

  18-01-2017 23:16
  
  By Lin Noueihed and Ahmed Aboulenein CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt is on track to receive the second tranche of a $12 billion three-year loan from the International Monetary Fund pending a visit in the end of February to review progress on its economic reform program, the Fund said on Wednesday. "Although (economic indicators) for December have not been published yet, early indications are that the benchmarks for the next tranche of the loan are likely to be met," IMF Mission Chief for Egypt Chris Jar
  
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• Yellen: Expect Fed to gradually hike rates over next 3 years

  18-01-2017 23:15
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen says she expects the Fed to raise its benchmark interest rate several times a year through 2019, as it moves closer toward to its economic goals of maximum employment and stable inflation.
  
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• Safran launches 10 billion euro friendly takeover of Zodiac Aerospace - Le Figaro

  18-01-2017 23:08
  
  PARIS (Reuters) - French aircraft engine maker Safranhas launched a friendly takeover worth about 10 billion euros ($10.6 billion) for Zodiac Aerospace , the French daily Le Figaro reported on...
  
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• S. Korea court rejects arrest warrant for Samsung heir

  18-01-2017 23:02
  
  A Seoul court on Thursday rejected an arrest warrant sought for Samsung heir Lee Jae-Yong, it said, part of a widening probe into a corruption scandal engulfing President Park Geun-Hye. The Seoul Central District Court turned down a request by prosecutors on Monday for Lee's arrest on charges of bribery, embezzlement and perjury. The demand had sent shock waves through Samsung, the world's biggest smartphone maker and a key part of the South Korean economy where Lee became the de facto head afte
  
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• EU leaders welcome Brexit clarity, Merkel says EU united ahead of talks

  18-01-2017 22:56
  
  EU leaders on Wednesday welcomed clarity from Britain over what it wants from Brexit talks, with Germany's Angela Merkel promising a united front in what will be "very intensive" negotiations. Responding to Prime Minister Theresa May's speech on Tuesday that made clear that Britain would quit the European Union's single market, Merkel welcomed the fact that London had accepted that free movement of EU citizens was not something it could opt out of without losing other EU rights. "There cannot be
  
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• S&P 500 ends up slightly with boost from financials

  18-01-2017 22:47 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Caroline Valetkevitch NEW YORK (Reuters) - The S&P 500 ended a choppy session slightly higher on Wednesday helped by a rise in financials after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said it "makes sense" to gradually lift interest rates. The S&P financials index rose 0.8 percent, adding to gains late in the session following Yellen's remarks to the Commonwealth Club of California in San Francisco. Financials have rallied since the November U.S. election on expectations of higher rates an
  
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• US stock indexes stay stuck; bond yields and dollar rise

  18-01-2017 22:45 via news.yahoo.com
  
  NEW YORK (AP) — The stock market hasn't been this boring in years.
  
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• Stocks, dollar steady; investors eye earnings, U.S. policy

  18-01-2017 22:07 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Sinead Carew NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. dollar edged higher and stocks gained ground on Wednesday after the top U.S. monetary policy official spoke, but investors voiced caution over how U.S. policy will develop under Donald Trump's presidency two days before his inauguration. Oil futures tumbled, dragging down the energy sector index, which was one of the biggest weights on the S&P 500. U.S. Treasury yields rose after remarks by U.S. Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen were released an
  
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• Global stocks, dollar steady; investors eye earnings, U.S. policy

  18-01-2017 21:53 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Sinead Carew NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. dollar edged higher and stocks gained ground on Wednesday after the top U.S. monetary policy official spoke, but investors voiced caution over how U.S. policy will develop under Donald Trump's presidency two days before his inauguration. Oil futures tumbled, dragging down the energy sector index, which was one of the biggest weights on the S&P 500. U.S. Treasury yields rose after remarks by U.S. Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen were released an
  
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• Alibaba's Ma says no chance of U.S. trade war with China

  18-01-2017 21:32
  
  DAVOS, Switzerland (Reuters) - China and the United States are not about to be drawn into a trade war, Alibaba Executive Chairman Jack Ma said on Wednesday at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos.
  
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• Europe's bank rescue rule in doubt, even among enforcers

  18-01-2017 21:20
  
  FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Some senior regulators are privately raising doubts over whether politically unpopular European rules seeking to shield taxpayers from bank bailouts will ever be enforced as...
  
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• Fed's Yellen says 'makes sense' to gradually raise interest rates

  18-01-2017 21:12
  
  With the U.S. economy close to full employment and inflation headed toward the Federal Reserve's 2 percent goal, it "makes sense" for the U.S. central bank to gradually lift interest rates, Fed Chair Janet Yellen said on Wednesday. "Waiting too long to begin moving toward the neutral rate could risk a nasty surprise down the road - either too much inflation, financial instability, or both," Yellen said in remarks prepared for delivery to the Commonwealth Club of California in San Francisco. "In
  
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• The Latest: Experts warn of cyberattacks on infrastructure

  18-01-2017 21:08
  
  DAVOS, Switzerland (AP) — The Latest on the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland (all times local):
  
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• The Latest: It's never too cold for hockey in Davos

  18-01-2017 20:51
  
  DAVOS, Switzerland (AP) — The Latest on the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland (all times local):
  
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• Jump in manufacturing, tight labor markets show U.S. economic health: Fed

  18-01-2017 20:37
  
  A pickup in manufacturing, "widespread" reports of labor shortages and improving business investment set the stage for the Federal Reserve's December rate hike amid signs of steady economic growth across the country, the Fed reported Wednesday in its latest Beige Book compendium of economic conditions. Manufacturers in "most" of the Federal Reserve System's 12 regions reported increased sales, the Fed reported in the document, a collection of anecdotal information from businesses assembled befor
  
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• Budget pick Mulvaney acknowledges payroll tax lapse

  18-01-2017 20:30 via news.yahoo.com
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — Rep. Mick Mulvaney, President-elect Donald Trump's choice to run the White House budget office, failed to pay more than $15,000 in payroll taxes for a household worker more than a decade ago, prompting the Senate's top Democrat to issue a statement saying the lapse should disqualify his nomination.
  
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• US economy continues to expand, optimism about 2017 growth: Fed survey

  18-01-2017 20:20
  
  The US economy continues to expand and is now seeing tight labor markets and rising price pressures, as businesses nationwide have an upbeat outlook for 2017, the Federal Reserve said Wednesday. "Firms across the country and industries were said to be optimistic about growth in 2017," the Fed's Beige Book survey of the economy said. Most of the 12 Fed districts reported tighter labor markets, including increasing wages or trouble filling open positions, while price pressures have "intensified" s
  
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• Federal Reserve sees growth pickup at end of last year

  18-01-2017 20:15
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. economy grew a bit faster at the end of last year, spurred by healthier sales for manufacturers and steady hiring that is slowly pushing up wages.
  
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• CSX railroad expects modest profit growth in 2017

  18-01-2017 20:14
  
  OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — CSX railroad officials expect profits to grow this year as the economy improves modestly, coal demand stabilizes and President-elect Donald Trump pursues reforms.
  
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• Colombia peace talks with ELN rebels to begin Feb. 8: president

  18-01-2017 19:45
  
  Colombia's government will begin much-delayed formal peace talks with the country's second-biggest rebel group the ELN on Feb. 8, after the guerrillas release a politician being held hostage, President Juan Manuel Santos said on Wednesday. The National Liberation Army (ELN) will release politician Odin Sanchez before the start date, meeting a repeated government requirement for negotiations to begin, Santos told journalists in Davos, Switzerland, where he is attending the World Economic Forum. "
  
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• Canada central bank says interest rate cuts still on the table

  18-01-2017 19:13
  
  By Andrea Hopkins and Leah Schnurr OTTAWA (Reuters) - An interest rate cut remains on the table if the risks facing the country are realized, the Bank of Canada said on Wednesday, warning there would be "material consequences" if U.S. President-elect Donald Trump enacts protectionist policies. In its first major report since the U.S. election, the bank highlighted potential positives and negatives for the Canadian economy from changes Trump may bring, saying infrastructure spending could boost g
  
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• S&P, Nasdaq little changed; health stocks weigh on Dow

  18-01-2017 19:06 via news.yahoo.com
  
  The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq were little changed in choppy trading on Wednesday as gains in tech stocks offset a weakness in retail sector, while the Dow was pulled lower by healthcare shares. The S&P 500 consumer discretionary sector was the biggest drag on the broader index, falling 0.4 percent as Target weighed. Bigger rival and Dow component Wal-Mart was off 0.8 percent.
  
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• Nigerian lawmakers urge measures to close gap to black market naira

  18-01-2017 18:47
  
  By Chijioke Ohuocha LAGOS (Reuters) - Nigerian lawmakers have adopted an official exchange rate of 305 naira per dollar for the 2017 budget but have asked the central bank to initiate measures to close the 40 percent spread with the black market, the deputy senate president said on Wednesday. Members of the upper house of parliament said during a review of the budget on Wednesday that they were worried about the differential, which they described as damaging to the economy and said had led to a
  
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• Goldman Sachs profit soars on bond-trading surge

  18-01-2017 18:42 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Like other Wall Street banks, Goldman benefited from jumps in volume across fixed-income markets late in the quarter after Donald Trump won the U.S. presidential election and the Federal Reserve raised its key interest rate target. Business has remained strong in the first few weeks of 2017, Chief Financial Officer Harvey Schwartz said, offering optimism for the rest of the year.
  
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• Exclusive: Restaurant chain Chuck E. Cheese prepares IPO - sources

  18-01-2017 18:36
  
  (Reuters) - The parent of Chuck E. Cheese has begun preparations for an initial public offering (IPO) that could value the U.S. restaurant chain at more than $1 billion, including debt, people...
  
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• Second Nigerian tomato paste plant shuts, in embarrassment for Buhari

  18-01-2017 18:31
  
  By Chijioke Ohuocha LAGOS (Reuters) - Africa's richest man Aliko Dangote has shut his new tomato paste plant in Nigeria due to a shortage of dollars needed to import raw materials, a senior executive said, the second such closure in months in a blow to official plans to diversify the economy. President Muhammadu Buhari, elected in 2015 on a platform of fixing a country mismanaged for decades, frequently speaks of ending Nigeria's dependency on oil exports by boosting food production, repeating h
  
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• UPDATE 4-Target cuts earnings forecast due to weak holiday sales

  18-01-2017 18:28
  
  (Updates shares, adds fresh company comment, background)By Nandita Bose and Aravind KJan 18 (Reuters) - Target Corp became the latest
  U.S. brick-and-mortar chain to report disappointing...
  
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• Earnings in focus as European shares pause after Trump rally; Pearson dives

  18-01-2017 18:28 via news.yahoo.com
  
  European shares ended little changed on Wednesday with investors looking at corporate earnings for market direction as more doubts emerged that a rally triggered by Donald Trump's U.S. presidential election win would continue. The STOXX 600 edged 0.2 percent higher after a choppy session, while the UK's FTSE added 0.4 percent, bouncing after posting its biggest one-day drop since June 2016 in the previous session on Brexit jitters. "The risk is that... (Trump's) early focus will be negative, foc
  
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• This is what a venture capitalist in deep, deep denial sounds like: Theranos backer Tim Draper

  18-01-2017 18:18 via news.yahoo.com
  
  There was once a moment in time when Theranos was one of the most successful startups in the country—a blood-testing dynamo that would change medical science forever, improve the lives of millions of people, and make a hefty chunk of change for its investors.  Venture capitalist Tim Draper appears to still be living in that moment. If you haven't been keeping up with the Theranos saga, the company's been in a downward spiral since October 2015, when Wall Street Journal reporter John C
  
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• American Airlines debuts 'Basic Economy'

  18-01-2017 18:16
  
  American Airlines has announced a new option for flyers: its Basic Economy fare is a low-cost, no-frills option that will go on sale next month in select markets.
  
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• Renault-Nissan's Ghosn intent on staying ahead in electric cars

  18-01-2017 18:05
  
  By Ben Hirschler DAVOS, Switzerland (Reuters) - Renault-Nissan has sold more than 400,000 electric cars globally and the leader in plug-in vehicles is planning further investment to maintain its market lead, the chief executive of the auto alliance said. Carlos Ghosn disclosed the figure during an interview with Reuters on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos. "We are going to increase investment, we are going to have lot of new cars coming, better batteries, better performance, lo
  
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• Toyota warns on competitiveness after Brexit: report

  18-01-2017 17:55
  
  Japanese car giant Toyota voiced concern on Wednesday about its operations in Britain after Prime Minister Theresa may presented her masterplan for Brexit including withdrawal from the EU's single market. "We have seen the direction of the prime minister of the UK, we are now going to consider, together with the suppliers, how our company can survive," Toyota chairman Takeshi Uchiyamada told the Financial Times at the World Economic Forum in Davos. In a highly-anticipated speech she said she wan
  
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• The Latest: Colombia expects more progress in peace talks

  18-01-2017 17:54
  
  The Latest on the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland (all times local): 5:40 p.m. Colombia's president says a breakthrough may be imminent toward peace talks between the government and the country's ...
  
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• Better liquidity through technology, says Greenwich

  18-01-2017 17:53
  
  Technology is helping banks and investors to answer the liquidity challenge in corporate bond markets
  
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• Wall St. flat as tech gains counter weakness in retailers

  18-01-2017 17:42 via news.yahoo.com
  
  (Reuters) - Wall Street was little changed on Wednesday as gains in technology and financial stocks offset losses in shares of retailers.
  
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• Wall Street flat as tech gains counter weakness in retailers

  18-01-2017 17:40 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Wall Street was little changed on Wednesday as gains in technology and financial stocks offset losses in shares of retailers. The S&P 500 consumer discretionary sector was the biggest drag on the broader index, falling 0.3 percent as Target weighed. Bigger rival and Dow component Wal-Mart was off 1.1 percent.
  
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• UBS Chairman says 1,000 London-based employees could be hit by Brexit: BBC

  18-01-2017 17:37
  
  UBS Chairman Axel Weber has said that around 1,000 of the Swiss bank's 5,000 employees based in London could be impacted by Britain's exit from the European Union. "We have roughly 5,000 people in London. Real passporting business is probably down to about 1,000 of those employees in London and for them we have to look at what the ultimate deal will be mapped out with," Weber said in a BBC television interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Wednesday.
  
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• Egypt making progress with economic reform plan, IMF says

  18-01-2017 17:36
  
  CAIRO (AP) — The International Monetary Fund said Wednesday that Egypt is making progress with its economic reform program, although it will still take time to improve living standards in a poor country beset with rocketing inflation.
  
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• Higher gasoline, rental costs boost U.S. consumer inflation

  18-01-2017 17:33
  
  U.S. consumer prices rose in December as households paid more for gasoline and rental accommodation, leading to the largest year-on-year increase in 2-1/2 years and signaling that inflation pressures could be building. Other data on Wednesday showed U.S. industrial production recording its biggest increase in two years. Rising inflation and stronger economic growth, if sustained, may push the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates at a faster pace than currently anticipated.
  
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• Renault-Nissan electric car sales hit 400,000, CEO says in Davos

  18-01-2017 17:15
  
  Renault-Nissan has sold more than 400,000 electric cars globally and the leader in plug-in vehicles is planning further investment to maintain its market lead, the chief executive of the auto alliance said on Wednesday. Carlos Ghosn disclosed the sales figure during an interview with Reuters on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos. "We are going to increase investment, we are going to have lot of new cars coming, better batteries, better performance, lower prices," Ghosn said.
  
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• Credit Suisse outsources parts of structured products unit

  18-01-2017 17:08
  
  Credit Suisse is backing the consultancy's effort to create a "utility" for manufacturers of structured products
  
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• Global stocks, dollar steady after Trump-led dip

  18-01-2017 16:56 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Sinead Carew NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. dollar recovered some ground on Wednesday while stocks posted modest losses, with investors still voicing caution over how U.S. policy will develop under Donald Trump's presidency days ahead of his inauguration. Energy stocks fell along with oil futures and U.S. Treasury yields rose on higher inflation ahead of a speech by U.S. Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen. While Wall Street has been betting on Trump's promises of lower taxes, lighter regulation an
  
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• Bank of Canada holds rates steady amid U.S. uncertainty

  18-01-2017 16:55
  
  By Andrea Hopkins and Leah Schnurr OTTAWA (Reuters) - The Bank of Canada held interest rates steady on Wednesday, as expected, even as it nudged growth forecasts higher, saying the big unknown of what policies U.S. President-elect Donald Trump will enact makes it prudent to wait and see. In its first major report since the U.S. election, the central bank highlighted potential positives and negatives for the Canadian economy from changes Trump may bring, saying infrastructure spending could boost
  
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• Lilly builds migraine arsenal with $960 million CoLucid buy

  18-01-2017 16:53
  
  (Reuters) - Eli Lilly and Cowill buy CoLucid Pharmaceuticals Incfor about $960 million, bringing back into its fold a promising therapy for migraine and positioning itself to capture a bigger...
  
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• IMF says Egypt is progressing well with economic reform plan

  18-01-2017 16:44
  
  CAIRO (AP) — The International Monetary Fund says Egypt is making progress with its economic reform program, although it will still take time to improve living standards for the whole population.
  
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