Sept 25 (Reuters) - Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland President Beth ​Hammack said on Friday ‌that surging bond yields are not being pushed up ​by inflation fears.

An agreement reached this week between the government of Niger and uranium developer Atomic Eagle (ASX: AEU) is expected to help improve access to financing for uranium projects in the West African nation, the company’s chief executive told Reuters.Niger doubled its stake in the Madaouela uranium project to 40%, bringing an end to a dispute with Australia’s Atomic Eagle, the mining ministry said on Wednesday.

TORONTO, Sept 25 (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar was on track for its third straight weekly decline against the US dollar on Friday and its ​steepest since March, as Canadian bond yields fell further below ‌US rates.The loonie was trading 0.1% lower at 1.4152 per US dollar, or 70.66 US cents, after touching its weakest intraday level since July 14 at 1.4154. For the ​week, the currency was down 1.2%.The move tracked broad-based strength in ​the US dollar "and is in our view exclusively USD driven," ⁠said Amo Sahota, director at Klarity FX in San Francisco.

Japan’s No.2 steelmaker JFE Steel said on Friday crude steel output at its plant in Chiba near Tokyo is expected to fall by about 600,000 metric tons due to damage from heavy rain in August and a recent typhoon, with the impact expected to be prolonged.Some equipment at the Chiba plant was flooded by the typhoon after being damaged by heavy rain in August, JFE Steel, a unit of JFE Holdings (TYO: 5411), saidNo injuries were reported. The blast furnace remains in the process of returning to normal operations following the August flooding

Belgian gem trader HB Antwerp is scaling back its Botswana operations after failing to secure rough diamond supplies from state-owned Okavango Diamond Company (ODC), a senior company official told Reuters.Former Botswana President Mokgweetsi Masisi announced a deal in 2023 to acquire a 24% stake in HB Antwerp and supply the trader with 10% of ODC’s rough diamond output for five years.HB Antwerp’s managing partner Boaz Lev told Reuters the commitment announced in 2023 had yet to materialise despite repeated engagement with the government that took office in October 2024.

NEW YORK, Sept 25 (Reuters) - US Treasury yields set ​fresh multi-decade highs on Friday even as easing oil prices offered some relief, with traders still pricing in further ‌Federal Reserve interest rate hikes.Stocks, meanwhile, were buoyed by continued enthusiasm for the AI trade.Oil prices fell about 1% as markets weighed the possibility of a truce between the US and Iran against concerns that increasing attacks against Saudi Arabia by Houthi fighters could disrupt supply from the Middle Eastern producer.

Sept 25 (Reuters) - Gold prices edged lower on Friday and were headed for ‌a weekly loss, as concerns about sticky inflation, hawkish signals from Federal Reserve policymakers, and higher US Treasury yields dented bullion's appeal.

WASHINGTON, Sept 25 (Reuters) - Kansas City Fed President Jeff Schmid ​said that as the artificial intelligence ‌boom unfolds it will be important for the Fed to understand ​if the network of ​firms and contracts developing in ⁠the industry is becoming so ​large it is too big ​to fail.

NEW YORK/WASHINGTON, Sept 25 (Reuters) - The US Federal Reserve is working on a plan to raise the asset thresholds that trigger stricter oversight of big banks, four ​people with knowledge of the matter said, which would allow some lenders to avoid costly additional regulation and potentially spur consolidation.

LONDON, Sept 25 (Reuters) - Global stocks headed for their best weekly performance since early August on Friday, as AI euphoria and the ​prospect of an improvement in Middle East energy supplies won out over surging bond yields for now.

Sept 25 (Reuters) - Futures tracking Canada's blue-chip stocks rose on Friday as investors took comfort from easing oil prices and small gains ​in precious metals, while elevated bond yields kept gains ‌in check.December futures on the S&P/TSX index were up 0.2% at 6:00 a.m. ET (1000 GMT).Brent crude prices eased over 1% on expectations that negotiations ​between Iran and US mediators could result in a ​meaningful conclusion to the six-month-old conflict.

HONG KONG/LONDON, Sept 25 (Reuters) - The dollar fell on ​Friday but was on track for its second consecutive weekly gain on rising rate hike bets, while the yen ‌rallied after Japan said Tokyo and Washington remain committed to the stance behind July's joint intervention.

Sept 25 (Reuters) - Gold prices rose on Friday but ‌was on track for a weekly loss, as rising US Treasury yields and growing expectations of Federal Reserve rate hikes weighed on the metal.

NEW YORK/WASHINGTON, Sept 25 (Reuters) - The US Federal Reserve is working on a plan to raise the asset thresholds that trigger stricter oversight of big banks, four people with knowledge of the ​matter said, which would allow some lenders to avoid costly additional regulation and potentially spur consolidation.

NEW YORK, Sept 25 (Reuters) - Investors will sift through reports on employment and inflation in the coming week to assess chances of a sharper trajectory of interest rate hikes, which could undermine the US ​stock market's rally.

Sept 24 (Reuters) - The U.S. central bank will likely need to raise interest rates again to curb unacceptably high inflation, ​two Federal Reserve policymakers said on Thursday.

Sept 24 (Reuters) - The US Federal Reserve on Thursday proposed new rules ​for issuers of dollar-backed cryptocurrency tokens ‌known as stablecoins, as required by last year's GENIUS Act, which established a federal ​regulatory framework for the tokens.Under ​the proposal, the Fed would require ⁠that payment stablecoin issuers under its ​supervision fully back their tokens with ​certain reserve assets, such as short-term Treasury billsThe proposal would also impose capital requirements on ​stablecoin issuers to address certain credit ​and operational risks

TORONTO, Sept 24 (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar weakened against its US counterpart on Thursday as the greenback notched broad-based gains and after domestic retail sales ​data failed to lift investor concern about Canada's economic outlook.The loonie ‌was trading 0.2% lower at 1.4125 per US dollar, or 70.80 US cents, after touching its weakest intraday level since July 14 at 1.4149."The loonie’s slide looks more like a ​rates-and-USD story than a sudden Canada-specific shock," said Tony Valente, a senior ​FX dealer at AscendantFX.

Vietnamese tungsten producer Masan High-Tech Materials said on Thursday it would sell a 4.99% stake to US-based tungsten products supplier Elmet Group (NASDAQ: ELMT) in a deal valuing the company at about $2.5 billion.Masan High-Tech also agreed to supply and process about 1,250 metric tons of tungsten trioxide equivalent annually for Elmet under a contract of at least eight years. The agreement is expected to generate about $1.5 billion in gross revenue at current prices.Shares in Masan High-Tech rose 7% on Thursday morning after the announcement.

NEW YORK, Sept 24 (Reuters) - Longer-dated US Treasury yields retreated from earlier highs after 30-year yields touched a ​more-than-20-year peak, though they stayed elevated as nerves over renewed inflation and further central bank rate hikes kept investors on edge.Oil ‌prices rose about 2% on Thursday as US-Iran diplomatic talks showed little sign of progress, while investors also weighed uncertainty over a potential US ban on diesel exports.