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ARGENTINA: Annual Inflation Rises To 22.8% In August, Says Central Bank





The annual inflation rate in Argentina increased to 22.8% in August, from 21.8% a month before, remaining above the 12% to 17% target range for this year, according to the country's central bank.


The annual inflation reading combine data from the new Argentinean inflation index, which has national coverage, and the previous benchmark index, which monitored prices only in Buenos Aires metropolitan area.


The new consumer price index showed that monthly inflation in Argentina was at 1.4% in August, from 1.7% in July. The former benchmark index revealed that in Buenos Aires metropolitan area monthly inflation fell from 1.7% to 1.5%.


Both readings, however, were below the 1.6% market expectation, according to a recent central bank survey.


Argentina's monthly inflation was primarily influenced by rising prices of health, housing, water, electricity, and fuels. Year-to-date, inflation in Argentina stands at 15.4%.


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Wall Street Gains as Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq End at Records





U.S. equities advanced to all-time peaks on Tuesday as financials received a lift from rising yields. Wall Street also priced in comments from Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on tax reform.


Investors paid attention to Washington after Treasury Secretary Mnuchin said he is “hopeful” that tax reform will be accomplished by year's end and that the administration is contemplating on backdating reform to Jan. 1.


The Dow Jones industrial average ended at 22,118.86, notching a record finish. Goldman Sachs contributed the most to advances, with DowDuPont being among the best-performing stocks in the index, finishing 2.5 percent higher.


The S&P 500 advanced 0.3 percent, hitting intraday and closing records. The index ended the session at 2,496.48. The Nasdaq composite rose 0.3 percent at 6,454.28, a record closing peak, after briefly declining.


Financials climbed over one percent, with six major lenders higher between 1.5 percent and 2.6 percent, after Goldman Sachs revealed a growth plan that could contribute almost $5 billion in revenue annually.


Shares of McDonald's dropped over three percent on a report that a research company had raised concerns regarding its third-quarter sales.


Apple held its annual consumer products event, where it unveiled three new iPhone models and an Apple watch. Its shares fell 0.4 percent, after fluctuating between gains and losses for most of the session. For the year, Apple soared around 40 percent.


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VENEZUELA: ANC Dismisses European Call For Sanctions





Venezuela's National Constituent Assembly (ANC) rejected the European Parliament call for sanctions against the country and its condemnation to the election held on July 30 in the South American country.


"From this empowered and sovereign National Constituent Assembly, we reject all attempts to intervene in Venezuela. We repudiate all actions against our homeland aimed at its intervention," said the ANC chairwoman Delcy Rodr?guez during the session, according to the Venezuelan News Agency.


Earlier, the European Parliament stated that "does not recognize these elections nor the actions or decisions adopted by the recently constituted Assembly due to its lack of legitimacy."


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European Stocks Flat as Miners Drop, Apple Suppliers Add Pressure





European markets finished relatively flat on Wednesday, as a mixed performance from overseas markets and a sharp drop in mining stocks added pressure on the region.


The pan-European Stoxx 600 closed 0.02 percent lower, while sectors pointed in different directions. The French CAC 40 and German DAX finished on a high, ending 0.17 and 0.23 percent respectively. A decline in London-listed miners weighed on the FTSE 100, which ended 0.28 percent lower.


Basic resources stocks led declines, as profit-taking hit metal prices. The sector dropped 1.75 percent after commodity traders claim an emergence of funds offloaded copper and had failed to carry into the market, according to a report from Reuters.


Anglo American, Antofagasta, BHP Billiton and Glencore all closed lower by two percent or more, on the back of a drop in copper and nickel prices.


Chipmakers supplying to Apple were among the worst performers, with AMS falling 3.9 percent, Dialog Semiconductor dropped 1.6 percent and STMicro rose 0.1 percent.


Traders said their shares were weighed down by Apple's new $999 iPhone X that will ship later than expected, on November 3. The price tag could also pull down demand for the device in markets like China.


Chipmakers have been the best performing among tech stocks this 2017, accounting for a large part of the sector's outperformance. Shares of AMS have gained 165 percent year-to-date.


Looking to media stocks, France's Vivendi, jumped towards the top of the benchmark after UBS upgraded its stock rating for the company to "buy" from "neutral". Vivendi shares rose 2.78 percent.


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BRAZIL: Ibovespa Ends Down As Traders Turn Cautious And Vale Weighs





Ibovespa, the main stock index in Brazil, closed slightly down (-0.17%) at 74,656.67 points Thursday, after spending most of the day near stability. The index was affected by the losses of Vale's shares, which prevented it from ending in the black.


Meanwhile, investors were waiting for the new criminal complaint by the Attorney General's Office (PGR) against the President Michel Temer. Although already expected by the market, the new complaint may bring uncertainties and delays in the pension reform vote in Congress.


Vale's (VALE3 -3.16%) and steel and iron companies such as Gerdau Metal?rgica (GOAU4 -2.71%) tracked the drop of more than 3% in iron ore prices abroad amid lower demand from China.


The locally traded U.S. dollar fell 0.73%, to R$ 3,1160, after three consecutive trading sessions at high, influenced by the 0.41% increase in the Brazilian Central Bank's Economic Activity Index in July over June, higher than expected.


For analysts at Ita? BBA, the Ibovespa would remain bullish in the short-term, but some profit-taking movement is not ruled out after several highs in a row.


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BoE Dilemma Intensifies as Squeeze on UK Wages Remains





Unemployment in Britain has reached a 42-year low, which intensifies the Bank of England's predicament. On Thursday, the BoE is set to meet where it must consider whether to hike interest rates despite stagnant wages as well as Brexit uncertainty.


In the three months to July, the jobless rate dropped to 4.3 percent, two-tenths of a percentage point below the central bank's estimate of the sustainable long-term level.


Combined with inflation rising to 2.9 percent last month, the data could indicate the need for higher interest rates to cool the economy and restrain the inflation's rise.


Average wages, both including and excluding bonuses, did not pick up from a stagnant annual pace of 2.1 percent, surprising expectations and implying that unemployment might go even lower before fueling wage pressures.


Prices in the overnight index swap market, which tracks official interest rates, implies that the BoE will hike rates back to 0.5 percent from the current low of 0.25 percent in February in 2018.


Wages in Britain remains £15 lower per week in cash terms and 3.2 percent lower after adjusting for inflation than before the crisis.


The BoE's dilemma is that low unemployment has yet to compel employers to increase wages, and prices will likely stop rising on their own once businesses have adjusted to the pound's post-Brexit tumble, which has hiked import costs.


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Australia New Motor Vehicle Sales Unchanged In August





The total number of new motor vehicle sales in Australia was flat on a seasonally adjusted basis in August, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Monday - coming in at 99,564.


That follows the 2.0 percent decline in July.


Sales for sports utility vehicles added 0.8 percent on month, while sales for other vehicles gained 0.7 percent and passenger vehicles fell 0.4 percent.


By region, sales in the Northern Territory were up 0.9 percent on month, and down 0.6 percent in Tasmania.


On a yearly basis, sales climbed 1.7 percent after rising 1.8 percent in the previous month.


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Northrop Grumman Nears Agreement to Procure Orbital - Source





Defense contractor Northrop Grumman Corp. is near a deal to purchase Orbital ATK Inc. for over $7.5 billion, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal, citing sources familiar with the transaction. An announcement could come as soon as Monday, as stated in the report.


Northrop Grumman declined to comment and Orbital did not immediately respond to a request for comment.


A merger could expand Northrop's portfolio of aerospace and defense electronics while supporting its expertise in composites and rocket propulsion as it goes up against Boeing Co. to replace the U.S. ground-based nuclear defense system.


Northrop is valued at $46.5 billion, while Orbital is valued at $6.3 billion. The acquisition price could not be immediately specified, but could surpass $7.5 billion if a typical premium was attached to it, according to Wall Street Journal.


Orbital competes to lift payloads to space with SpaceX Exploration Technologies Corp.'s Falcon 9 and United Launch Alliance's Atlas family of rockets.


The potential transaction comes as growing tensions with North Korea have put more attention on defense systems.


Northrop Chief Executive Officer Wesley Bush told investors in its second-quarter earnings call in July that he was looking for acquisition opportunities to broaden the contractor's business. It would mark a change in direction for a company that has focused on shareholder returns through stock buybacks and dividends.


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VENEZUELA: Country Quotes Oil In Chinese Yuan After U.S. Sanctions





Venezuela has decided to receive payments for its oil exports in currencies other than the U.S. dollar. The move is a reaction to the recent sanctions imposed by the United States government against the South American country.


This week, oil was quoted for the first time in Chinese yuan by the Venezuelan Ministry of Petroleum, at 306.26 yuan per barrel, equivalent to US$ 46.75.


The new system, launched in early September, "is based on the use of freely convertible currencies, such as the yuan, the euro, the Japanese yen, rupees (from India) and international. To break the dollar's chains as an oppressive currency," Venezuelan President Nicholas Maduro said, quoted by the official Venezuelan News Agency.


In mid-August, the U.S. President Donald Trump signed a decree imposing a sanctions package on Venezuela that bans negotiations on new government-issued debt and assets from state-owned oil company PDVSA.


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Wall Street Gains as Dow Hits 5th Consecutive Record Finish





U.S. stocks finished higher on Monday as investors looked ahead to a key Federal Reserve meeting. Equities extended a record-breaking run with gains being propelled by resurgent energy firms benefiting from an increase in oil prices.


The Dow Jones industrial average advanced 0.28 percent to 22,331.35 and marked its fifth consecutive record finish. Boeing and Caterpillar contributed the most to gains.


The S&P 500 also ended at an all-time peak of 2,503.87, climbing 0.1 percent, with financials leading gainers. The Nasdaq composite notched an intraday record before finishing 0.1 percent higher at 6,454.64. Nvidia's almost five percent gain pushed the S&P and the Nasdaq higher.


Seven of the 11 major S&P sectors were higher, driven by a 0.95 percent advance in the financial index.


The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), widely considered the best gauge of fear in the market, reached 9.88, its lowest level since Aug. 8. It traded 0.5 percent lower at 10.12.


Energy stocks have also been key to recent earnings growth, although the upbeat figures are coming off low comparisons after 2016's turmoil in the market, according to analysts.


Oil and gas firms ConocoPhillips and Hess, alongside refining company Valero Energy, were among the best performing energy stocks by end of trading.


Shares of major lenders, Bank of America, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan, climbed over one percent, supported by increasing bond yields.


Orbital ATK notched a record peak after Northrop Grumman announced it will purchase the missile and rocket maker for almost $7.8 billion in cash. Shares of Northrop gained two percent.


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