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Gold prices held firm on Friday as the dollar hovered near one-week lows, keeping the metal on track for a third week of gains amid political uncertainties in the United States and Europe. Spot gold was steady at $1,238.16 per ounce at 0321 GMT, while US gold futures were down 0.2 per cent at $1,239. Gold is up 0.3 per cent so far this week and has risen about 7.5 per cent in 2017. "Gold edged higher overnight on the back of a weaker dollar and lower US Treasury yields. Add in a drop in the equity market and you have the holy trinity for higher gold prices," said Stephen Innes, senior trader at OANDA. "However, dealers are extremely cautious about running the market higher as the March Fed rate hike debate will likely play out for the foreseeable future." Concern over US President Donald Trump's policies, as well as elections in the Netherlands, France and Germany this year, fueled gold's rise to a peak of $1,244.67 on Feb 8. But the prospect of a stronger dollar and US Treasury yields after US Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said US interest rates may need to be raised in March dragged gold to $1,216.41 on Wednesday, its lowest since Feb 3. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies, was at 100.490 on Friday. It hit a one-week low of 100.410 the day before. "The greenback's softness continues to provide support to the precious complex," said MKS PAMP Group trader Jason Cerisola. Spot gold may drop to $1,230 per ounce as its correction from the Feb. 8 high of $1,244.67 may extend, according to Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao. Holdings of SPDR Gold, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, have risen 5.6 percent so far this month, the most since June 2016. "We don't expect much in the way of market movements going into Friday's session, but gold should nevertheless see something of a bid heading into the weekend," said INTL FCStone analyst Edward zeir. Spot silver dipped 0.2 per cent to $18.06 an ounce. The metal hit its strongest since Nov.11 at $18.13 in the previous session. Platinum edged up 0.1 per cent to $1,013.20 Palladium fell 0.6 per cent to $787.45. The metal, used in emission-controlling catalytic converters for the automotive industry, touched its best since Jan 24 at $794.90 in the prior session. It has gained over 16 per cent so far this year.....

Published at: 2017-02-17 00:00:06

Three people have died in a water tank in Australia in a suspected case of carbon monoxide poisoning, police said on Thursday. The two men and a woman, all in their 60s, were members of the same family, reports BBC. Police said one of the men collapsed while cleaning the empty concrete tank, prompting his wife and brother to go to his aid before they also collapsed. Authorities would investigate whether dangerous petrol fumes contributed to the deaths, said New South Wales Police Supt Andrew Koutsoufis. "There were high levels of poisonous gas in the water tank by the time police got there," he said. "A petrol [water] pump being used the clean the tank... may have been the cause of the build-up of fumes at the bottom of the tank." Police were called to the property at Oolong, 235km (145 miles) from Sydney, soon after 18:00 (07:00 GMT) on Thursday. Supt Koutsoufis said a neighbour heard the woman's cries for help and alerted authorities. "It's an absolute tragic set of circumstances," he said. "The town is hurting at the moment." The deaths are not being treated as suspicious. Police said a post-mortem would be conducted. "It's a very tragic loss," local man Bruce Newman told Nine News. "It's something you don't hear about every day around this area."....

Published at: 2017-02-17 00:00:06

US President Donald Trump said on Thursday he will issue a new executive order to replace his controversial directive suspending travel to the United States by citizens of seven mostly Muslim countries. At a White House news conference on Thursday, Trump said the new order would seek to address concerns raised by federal appeals court judges, who temporarily blocked his original travel ban. "The new order is going to be very much tailored to what I consider to be a very bad decision," Trump said, adding: "We had a bad court." Trump gave no details about the replacement order. Legal experts said a new directive would have a better chance of withstanding courtroom scrutiny if it covered some non-Muslim countries and exempted non-citizen immigrants living in the US legally. The original order, issued on Jan 27, triggered chaos at some US and overseas airports, led to international protests, complaints from US businesses and drew more than a dozen legal challenges. In a court filing on Thursday, the Justice Department asked for a pause in proceedings before the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals, which sided with a federal court in Washington state to suspend the travel ban, while litigation over its legality according to the US Constitution played out. The Justice Department asked the court to vacate that ruling once the administration has rescinded its original order and issued a new one. In an order later on Thursday, the 9th Circuit put proceedings over the ban on hold but did not say whether it would eventually withdraw its previous ruling. The ban has been deeply divisive in the United States, with a Reuters/Ipsos poll indicating about half of Americans supported it shortly after the order took effect. LEGAL UNCERTAINTY Trump’s decision to issue a new directive plunges court proceedings over his earlier order into uncertainty. Litigants around the country said they will carefully examine any new policy to see if it raises similar constitutional issues and will continue to pursue legal action if necessary. Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson, who filed the case that produced the 9th Circuit ruling, claimed victory on Thursday. “Today’s court filing by the federal government recognizes the obvious - the president’s current executive order violates the Constitution,” Ferguson said, in a statement. “President Trump could have sought review of this flawed order in the Supreme Court but declined to face yet another defeat.” Trump has said travel limitations are necessary to protect the United States from attacks by Islamist militants. His original order barred people from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen from entering the country for 90 days. Refugees were banned for 120 days, except those from Syria, who were banned indefinitely. Trump said on Thursday that the widely criticized rollout had been "very smooth" and once again blamed the court for "a bad decision." The Justice Department court filing on Thursday said Trump's order would be "substantially revised" but provided no more details than the president did at his press conference. Last week an congressional aide who asked not to be identified told Reuters that Trump might rewrite the original order to explicitly exclude green card holders, who have legal permission to live and work in the United States. Stephen Griffin, a professor of constitutional law at Tulane University, said adding non-Muslim countries could also help a new order withstand accusations that it discriminates based on religion. Given that the administration already identified the seven Muslim-majority countries as a threat, he said, it would be unlikely to remove any of those. "I'd speculate they would add to the list, as opposed to walk it back," he said.     ....

Published at: 2017-02-17 00:00:06

US stocks ended mixed on Thursday as investors digested recent gains and sold banks that have been big winners in the "Trump rally" that has seen the S&P 500 rise about 5.0 per cent so far in 2017. The Dow Jones Industrial Average scored its sixth straight record high on Thursday, but just barely, while the S&P 500 edged lower due to declining energy stocks. The energy sector declined 1.37 per cent, following oil prices lower as traders weighed swelling US inventories against possible renewed efforts by major oil producers to reduce a price-sapping glut. The S&P 500 consumer discretionary index lost 0.44 per cent, with TripAdvisor sinking 10.97 per cent after posting lower-than-expected quarterly revenue and profit. Cisco Systems rose 2.38 per cent after its quarterly report late the day before, helping push the Dow into positive territory by the close of trading after spending most of the day with a loss. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended up 0.04 per cent to close at 20,619.77, its sixth straight record-high close.  The S&P 500 had lost 0.09 per cent to 2,347.22 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.08 per cent to 5,814.90. Wells Fargo slipped 0.73 per cent after Credit Suisse downgraded its stock to "neutral" from "outperform". NetEase jumped 14.08 per cent following the Chinese online game developer's revenue beat, according to Reuters.....

Published at: 2017-02-17 00:00:06

Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, and Nepal (BBIN) Motor Vehicle Agreement (MVA) could not yet be implemented although nearly one and a half years have elapsed since the signing of a framework agreement to build roads across the region for better economic cooperation. The four-nation agreement, believed to be a precursor to cooperation in the fields like connectivity, energy, trade and ICT, will come into effect once every country ratifies it. Although Bangladesh, India and Nepal have already ratified the deal, Bhutanese parliament is yet to approve the treaty, creating an obstacle to the way in implementing the deal, said Additional Secretary to Road Transport and Bridges Department Abdul Malek. Matiar Rahman, Chairman of the Land Port Subcommittee of India-Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce, said the motor vehicle agreement will play a vital role in maximising trade among the four South Asian countries. "But, we're disappointed that the deal could not yet be implemented," Matiar added. He urged the authorities concerned to work for materilasing the initiative as early as possible aiming to open up a new door for Bangladesh's friends from three other South Asian countries with frequent visits offering cheaper travel costs. The port authorities of Benapole, Burimari, Akhaura and Tamabil have taken all necessary preparations for transporting goods from India, Bhutan and Nepal under the agreement, said Foyjur Nahar, Assistant Director (Traffic) of Bangladesh Land Port Authority. Meanwhile, Roads and Highways Department have taken an initiative to upgrade Jessore-Benapole Highway to four-lane one for the smooth movement of vehicles from three others countries. Mehedi Iqbal, executive engineer of Jessore Roads and Highways Department, said "We've already sent a proposal in this regard to the government and it's likely to get ecnec clearance very soon." The BBIN MVA is the re-packaged version of the SAARC motor vehicles agreement that was proposed during the 18th SAARC summit held in 2014 in Kathmandu, Nepal. The Saarc motor vehicles agreement could not be materialised as Pakistan refused to come on board. Signed on June 15, 2015, the BBIN Motor Vehicles Agreement will allow vehicles to enter each other's territory and does away with trans-shipment of goods from one country's truck to another at the border. Later, Friendship Motor Rally was arranged under the agreement where an 80-member delegation, consisting government officials and businessmen of the four countries, took part. On November 15, 2015, the rally started from Bhubaneswar in Orissa of India and ended in Kolkata of the same country on December 2 via Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal. Besides, a cargo truck was sent to Agartala from Kolkata through Benapole port and Akhaura of Bangladesh as an experimental measure on November 1, 2015.  ....

Published at: 2017-02-17 00:00:06