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TOP STORIES

Trump's "fire and fury" warning hits stocks, lifts Swiss franc and gold

LONDON - President Donald Trump's warning North Korea faced "fire and fury" and Pyongyang's threat of possible retaliation drove investors out of stocks on Wednesday and into the safety of the yen, Swiss franc, gold and government debt. (GLOBAL-MARKETS/ (WRAPUP 8, PICTURE, GRAPHIC), updating throughout the day, by Nigel Stephenson, 613 words)

U.S. card firm Vantiv (Frankfurt: A1JU1E - news) clinches $10 bln deal to buy Worldpay

LONDON - U.S. credit card processing company Vantiv moves closer to creating a $29 billion global payments powerhouse on Wednesday with a formal offer to buy Britain's Worldpay for 8 billion pounds ($10 billion). (WORLDPAY-M&A/VANTIV (UPDATE 2), moved, by Pamela Barbaglia, 802 words)

Steady China factory inflation a boon for industrial profits, economic growth

BEIJING - China's factory price inflation held steady in July in a positive sign for industrial output and profits for the third quarter, even though a government-led drive to reduce debt is expected to cool earnings and economic growth by year-end. (CHINA-ECONOMY/INFLATION (UPDATE 3, PIX), moved, by Sue-Lin Wong and Min Zhang, 716 words)

MARKETS

Swiss franc set for biggest single day rise in 2-1/2 years

LONDON - Switzerland's franc posts its biggest single-day rise against the euro since the central bank removed its cap on the currency in January 2015. (GLOBAL-FOREX/ (UPDATE 4), updating throughout the day, by Saikat Chatterjee, 381 words)

Oil edges higher above $52 before U.S. inventory report

LONDON - Oil rises further above $52 a barrel ahead of a U.S. inventory report expected to show crude stocks dropped for a sixth week, although gains were capped by doubts about compliance with OPEC-led supply cuts. (GLOBAL-OIL/ (UPDATE 5), updating throughout the day, by Alex Lawler, 390 words)

Gold gains on escalating North Korea tensions

LONDON - Gold rose on Wednesday after North Korea said it is considering an attack on the U.S. Pacific territory of Guam just hours after President Donald Trump warned Pyongyang that any threat to the U.S. would be met with "fire and fury". (GLOBAL-PRECIOUS/ (UPDATE 2), updating throughout the day, by Maytaal Angel, 378 words)

ECONOMY

Brexit transition period desirable for UK and EU banks - BoE (Shenzhen: 000725.SZ - news)

LONDON - The Bank of England says a transition period after Britain leaves the European Union will give banks more time to make orderly changes as Brexit poses risks to financial stability. (BRITAIN-EU/BOE (UPDATE 1), moved, by Huw Jones, 554 words)

Italy industry output jumps in June, auguring well for Q2 GDP

ROME - Italian industrial output was stronger than expected in June, rising 1.1 percent after an increase of 0.7 percent in May and posting a healthy gain in the second quarter as a whole, data shows. (ITALY-ECONOMY/OUTPUT, moved, 428 words)

South Africa no-confidence vote outcome means status quo for rating - S&P Global (Frankfurt: 851710 - news)

LONDON - South African President Jacob Zuma's survival in a parliamentary no-confidence vote will not impact the country's downgrade-threatened credit rating, the S&P Global agency said on Wednesday. (SAFRICA-VOTE/RATINGS (INTERVIEW), moved, by Marc Jones, 321 words)

Japan's econ minister pledges to stick to primary budget fiscal discipline target

TOKYO - Japanese Economy Minister Toshimitsu Motegi says he will do his utmost to help the government achieve its fiscal discipline target of returning to a primary surplus in fiscal year 2020. (JAPAN-ECONOMY/MOTEGI (UPDATE 1), moved, by Stanley (Shenzhen: 002588.SZ - news) White, 398 words)

Australian consumers fret over finances in August-survey

SYDNEY - A measure of Australian consumer sentiment slips to its lowest in more than a year in August as worries over family finances swamp increasing optimism about the economic outlook. (AUSTRALIA-ECONOMY/CONSUMERSENTIMENT, moved, 400 words)

Mexico-U.S. free movement key to closing wage gap, minister says

MEXICO CITY - Mexico will not close its wage gap with the United States without free movement of workers, Mexico's economy minister Ildefonso Guajardo says days before the start of a renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement. (LATAM-SUMMIT/MEXICO (REUTERS SUMMIT, PIX, TV), moved, by Frank Jack Daniel and Ana Isabel Martinez, 356 words)

COMPANIES

France's Lactalis seeks arbitration over BRF (Sao Paolo: R2:BRFS3S.SA - news) deal -source

SAO PAULO - Groupe Lactalis SA moves forward with arbitration against BRF SA, claiming it refuses to recognizer tax and labour liabilities at several plants it sold to the French dairy maker three years ago, a source familiar with the matter says. (LACTALIS-BRF/ARBITRATION (EXCLUSIVE), moved, by Tatiana Bautzer, 297 words)

Novo Nordisk (LSE: 0QIU.L - news) raises forecasts despite continued U.S. pressure

COPENHAGEN - Novo Nordisk, the world's leading maker of diabetes drugs, reports better than expected profit driven by new diabetes and obesity drugs though it says sale prices will remain under pressure in the United States. (NOVO NORDISK-RESULTS/ (UPDATE 2, PIX), moved, by Stine Jacobsen and Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen, 680 words)

Lower life expectancy boosts Legal & General (LSE: LGEN.L - news) profit, shares fall

LONDON - A drop in life expectancy enables Legal & General to release reserves against mortality risk, driving first-half profits up by an above-forecast 27 percent. (LEGAL & GENERAL-RESULTS/ (UPDATE 2), moved, by Carolyn Cohn, 534 words)

AB InBev (Brussels: ABIT.BR - news) , Efes to merge Russian operations as sales slide

LONDON - Brewers Anheuser-Busch InBev and Anadolu Efes agree to merge their operations in Russia and Ukraine in an attempt to strengthen their position in a declining market. (AB INBEV-M&A/ANADO EFES MALT (UPDATE 2), moved, by Martinne Geller, 420 words)

UK security group G4S (Copenhagen: G4S.CO - news) sees no Brexit clarity until deal done

EDINBURGH - Companies seeking clarity on details of Britain's exit from the European Union are likely to be disappointed until a departure deal is done, G4S, the world's largest security group, says. (G4S-RESULTS/ (UPDATE 2), moved, by Elisabeth O'Leary, 583 words)

Greater China cyber insurance demand set to soar after WannaCry attack -AIG

HONG KONG - Demand for cyber insurance from firms in Greater China and elsewhere in Asia is poised to soar, based on enquiries received after the "WannaCry ransomware" attack earlier this year, executives at American International Group (NYSE: AIG - news) Inc say. (AIG-CHINA/CYBER (moved), by Julie Zhu, 408 words)

Australia's CBA vows reputational rebuild as scandal taints record profit

SYDNEY - Commonwealth Bank of Australia (Other OTC: CBAUF - news) concedes its reputation is on the line over money-laundering and terror financing allegations, as it posts its eighth straight record cash profit under the shadow of massive potential penalties. (AUSTRALIA-CBA/ (UPDATE 2, PIX), moved, by Paulina Duran, 620 words)

COMMODITIES

Innovate, cut costs: how a Russian oil firm navigates global supply curbs

ALMYETYEVSK, Russia - A global deal cutting crude output has forced mid-sized Russian oil company Tatneft to curb flows at some fields, leaving it with lower revenues but little relief from maintenance and running costs. Its response: innovation. (RUSSIA-OPEC/TATNEFT (PIX), moved, by Olesya Astakhova, 849 words)

Good, bad or ugly? China's commodity imports conundrum: Russell

LAUNCESTON - Were China's commodity imports in July a continuation of the trend of robust growth, a pause from the recent strength, or early signs of a slowdown? (COLUMN-RUSSELL/COMMODITIES-CHINA (COLUMN), moved, by Clyde Russell, 708 words)