ECONOMY & MARKETS

Oil prices closed down $2 on Tuesday, as talks progressed between Russia and Ukraine to end their weeks-long conflict, though Moscow negotiators said a promise to scale down some military operations did not represent a ceasefire.

More than 7,000 finance jobs have moved from London to the European Union as a result of Brexit, down 400 from the total anticipated in December, consultants EY said on Tuesday.

Two new funds that let investors place bets on stock market gyrations are expected to launch this week, potentially filling the void left by the implosion of similar products four years ago.

U.S. trade officials on Monday said they will launch an investigation that could result in tariffs on solar panels imported from four Southeast Asian nations, a blow to clean energy project developers that rely on cheap imports to keep costs down.

U.S. trade officials on Monday said they will launch an investigation that could result in tariffs on solar panels imported from four Southeast Asian nations, a blow to clean energy project developers that rely on cheap imports to keep costs down.

The White House on Monday proposed imposing a minimum tax on the nation's richest people to challenge the "indefensibly low tax rates" the wealthy can engineer as Democrats take another swing at a so-called billionaire's tax.

The U.S. Treasury on Monday proposed a new mechanism to comply with and enforce a 15% global corporate minimum tax agreed to last year by 136 countries, partly by denying deductions for taxes paid in jurisdictions with lower rates.

OPEC+ will likely stick to plans for a modest increase in oil output in May, several sources close to the group said, despite a surge in prices due to the Ukraine crisis and calls from the United States and other consumers for more supply.

Companies affected by sanctions imposed on Russia and soaring energy costs are unlikely to get trillions of euros in state aid that businesses hit by the COVID-19 pandemic received because the impact is smaller, EU competition chief Margrethe Vestager said on Monday.

The U.S. trade deficit in goods narrowed in February, but the fall reversed only a fraction of the surge to a record high in January, suggesting that trade would again weigh on economic growth in the first quarter.

The U.S. trade deficit in goods narrowed in February after setting a record high in the prior month as exports rebounded, but any lift to economic growth this quarter could be offset by businesses slowing their pace of inventory accumulation.

Spain announced 16 billion euros ($17.5 billion) in direct aid and soft loans on Monday to help companies and households weather sky-high energy prices that are pushing up inflation and stoking social discontent.

The S&P 500 rose for a third day on Monday, as a sharp climb in shares of Tesla overshadowed weakness in energy and bank stocks, while Russia and Ukraine were poised to hold their first face-to-face peace talks in more than two weeks.

Thailand's economy could grow 3.0%-3.5% this year, less than an earlier forecast due to soaring oil prices driven by the Russia-Ukraine war, and the key interest rate should remain low to underpin recovery, the finance minister said on Monday.

The Japanese yen crashed to a six-year low versus the dollar on Monday, and headed for its biggest daily loss since March 2020 after the Bank of Japan moved to contain rising bond yields, even as U.S.

U.S. Treasury yields paused their ascent on Monday as oil prices skidded by more than $8 over fears of weaker Chinese demand, while the yen suffered its biggest daily fall since 2020 as Japan's central bank stood in the way of higher yields.

U.S. Treasury yields paused their ascent on Monday as oil prices fell on fears of weaker Chinese demand, while the yen at one point suffered its biggest daily fall since 2020 after Japan's central bank vowed to defend its low-rate policy.

World stock markets cast aside fears of rising interest rates on Monday with the tech-heavy U.S.

Side-by-side declines in U.S. equity and fixed income markets are pushing investors into cash, commodities and dividend-paying stocks as geopolitical uncertainty and worries over a hawkish Federal Reserve rock asset prices.

The United States is done "sitting on its hands" and will more actively pressure China, the world's second largest economy, to change trade practices that Washington believes distort the market, top U.S.

A group of U.S. Senate Democrats is pressing large U.S. banks to scrap or significantly reduce overdraft and other fees they charge customers with insufficient funds.

The Bundestag lower house on Friday approved legislation requiring Germany's privately-operated gas storage facilities to be full at the start of the next winter, to try to avert shortages in the event of a halt in Russian gas imports.

Contracts to buy U.S. previously owned homes dropped to the lowest level in nearly two years in February, weighed down by a persistent shortage of properties, and activity could remain sluggish amid increasing mortgage rates and high house prices.

Mutual funds that invest in emerging market (EM) equities and bonds have faced huge outflows over the past month, as the intensifying Russia-Ukraine crisis spawns fears over higher inflation and slower economic growth in these markets.

In the early stages of sanctions drafting against Moscow, one idea gained traction in Brussels - a ban on the import of Russian coal - until the European Union's biggest economy Germany struck it down, two sources told Reuters.

China's state-run Sinopec Group has suspended talks for a major petrochemical investment and a gas marketing venture in Russia, sources told Reuters, heeding a government call for caution as sanctions mount over the invasion of Ukraine.

China's state-run Sinopec Group has suspended talks for a major petrochemical investment and a gas marketing venture in Russia, sources told Reuters, heeding a government call for caution as sanctions mount over the invasion of Ukraine.

European shares ended a choppy session slightly higher on Friday but were down on the week as investors worried about the fallout from the Russia-Ukraine conflict, while a rally in the commodities sector kept a lid on declines.

Gold was on course to gain for the week as concerns over the war in Ukraine and rising prices boosted its appeal as a safe-haven and an inflation hedge, but prices eased on Friday as U.S.