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TOP STORIES

Unexpected euro zone slack could slow inflation rebound: ECB's Praet

FRANKFURT - Europe may be regaining some of its long-lost growth potential, European Central Bank chief economist Peter Praet said, a boon for the bloc's five-year expansion but a potential drag on already weak inflation. (ECB-POLICY/ (INTERVIEW, PIX), moved, by Balazs Koranyi and Frank Siebelt, 867 words)

Deutsche Bank (IOB: 0H7D.IL - news) boosts bonuses despite bigger 2017 loss

FRANKFURT - Deutsche Bank pays bonuses worth 2.3 billion euros ($2.83 billion) for 2017, four times higher than the previous year even as the German lender warned on costs for 2018 and reported a bigger 2017 loss than previously disclosed. (DEUTSCHE BANK-RESULTS/ (UPDATE 2, PIX), moved, by Tom Sims, 542 words)

CK Hutchison Chairman Li Ka-shing retires

HONG KONG - Hong Kong's richest man Li Ka-shing will retire as chairman of CK Hutchison Holdings Ltd after an annual general meeting on May 10, the ports-to-telecoms conglomerate says in a filing to the Hong Kong bourse. (HONGKONG-LIKASHING/ (UPDATE 1, PIX, TV), moved, by Donny Kwok and Venus Wu, 345 words)

Where is the fear? Markets wave off global risks

SYDNEY - Markets have brushed aside risks and recurring bad news on geopolitics to stay focussed on positive macro-economic cues. (MARKETS-ASIA/RISKS (ANALYSIS), moved, by Swati Pandey, 508 words)

In Paris, Merkel and Macron seek common ground on euro zone reform

PARIS - President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel meet in Paris to discuss euro zone reform, their first encounter since her new coalition took office, but they may struggle to find common ground on further change in Europe. (FRANCE-GERMANY/ (PIX, TV), moved by Luke Baker, 517 words)

MARKETS

Dollar retreats vs yen as U.S. political worries test investors

LONDON - The dollar falls further against the Japanese yen on reports of more turmoil in the Trump administration, while other markets are quiet as investors remained cautious. (GLOBAL-FOREX/ (UPDATE 4), moved, by Tommy Wilkes, 528 words)

Oil prices set for weekly drop as concerns about rising supply weigh

LONDON - Oil prices are set for a weekly drop despite a slight gain in both benchmarks, on concerns that rising global supply could undermine efforts by OPEC and other producers to tighten the market. (GLOBAL-OIL/ (UPDATE 3), moved, by Julia Payne, 391 words)

Gold firms on political concerns, softer dollar

Gold prices edge higher, supported by a weaker dollar and safe-haven demand amid U.S. political concerns and tensions between the United Kingdom and Russia. (GLOBAL-PRECIOUS/ (UPDATE 2), moved, by Sethuraman N R, 440 words)

ECONOMY

U.S. housing starts fall on weak multi-family segment

WASHINGTON - U.S. homebuilding falls more than expected in February as a plunge in the construction of multi-family housing units offset a second straight monthly increase in single-family projects. (USA-ECONOMY/ (WRAPUP 1), moved, by Lucia Mutikani, 463 words)

Japan government reiterates economy is gradually recovering

TOKYO - The Japanese government leaves unchanged its assessment that the economy is gradually recovering, suggesting a recent growth streak is likely to continue as consumers spend more, exports rise and companies increase investment. (JAPAN-ECONOMY/REPORT, moved, 443 words)

Russia c.bank signals rate cut on March 23

MOSCOW - The Russian central bank signals that it may cut its key interest rate as soon as next week and says the pace of rate cuts could be quicker than previously thought. (RUSSIA-CENBANK/OUTLOOK (UPDATE 1), moved, by Andrey Ostroukh, 389 words)

Angola growth outlook boosted by oil price, policies - IMF

LUANDA - Angola's economic growth prospects are on the rise as higher oil prices and sounder policies under President Joao Lourenco bring greater stability to Africa's second biggest crude exporter, the International Monetary Fund says. (ANGOLA-ECONOMY/IMF (UPDATE 2), by Stephen Eisenhammer, 328 words)

COMPANIES

Elliott steps up challenge to Vivendi (LSE: 0IIF.L - news) at Telecom Italia (Amsterdam: TI6.AS - news)

MILAN - Activist fund Elliott Advisors has written to other Telecom Italia shareholders to call for a "truly independent" board to improve governance, performance and shake-up the way top Vivendi has run the Italian phone group. (TELECOMITALIA-ELLIOTT/ (UPDATE 1, PIX), moved, by Agnieszka Flak , 491 words)

UK's Wetherspoon cautious as wage hikes beckon, sales outlook dims

No-frills pubs group J D Wetherspoon (LSE: JDW.L - news) says it expects staffing costs to rise in coming months, when a higher British minimum wage kicks in and, in a nod to fragile consumer demand, said growth in sales was likely to slow. (J D WETHERSPOON-RESULTS/ (UPDATE 2), moved, by Rahul B, 414 words)

Niki Lauda plans to make money from repurchased airline next year

VIENNA - Niki Lauda expects to be profitable with the former Niki airline he repurchased from insolvent Air Berlin (LSE: 0GPE.L - news) from the second year of operation, he says. (AUSTRIA-NIKI/ (UPDATE 1, PIX), moving shortly, 378 words)

JD.com's finance unit aims to raise $1.9 bln, valuation set to double -sources

HONG KONG - JD.com Inc's finance arm is looking to raise about 12 billion yuan ($1.9 billion) in fresh equity that could see its value double from last year to more than $20 billion, three people with knowledge of the matter say. (JD.COM-FUNDRAISING/ (UPDATE 1, PIX), moved, by Julie Zhu, 487 words)

Packager SIG Combibloc seeks Zurich listing in autumn -sources

FRANKFURT - Swiss packaging maker SIG Combibloc is preparing an autumn stock market listing in Zurich that could value it at about 4.5 billion euros ($5.5 billion), three people close to the matter say. (SIG COMBIBLOC-IPO/ (UPDATE 1, EXCLUSIVE), moved, by Arno Schuetze, Dasha Afanasieva and Oliver Hirt, 327 words)

Abu Dhabi state investor weighs sale of Spain's Cepsa

ABU DHABI/MADRID - Abu Dhabi state investor Mubadala Investment Company is considering a partial or total sale of Spanish oil and gas company Cepsa and would use proceeds for expansion, a Mubadala spokesman says. (CEPSA-M&A/MUBADALA (UPDATE 1), moved by Stanley Carvalho and Jose Elías Rodríguez, 297 words)

Lanxess (IOB: 0H7I.IL - news) drops out of bidding for Akzo Nobel (Amsterdam: AKZA.AS - news) unit - sources

FRANKFURT/LONDON/NEW YORK - Germany's Lanxess has drops out of a consortium bidding for Akzo Nobel's speciality chemicals business, two people close to the matter say. (AKZO NOBEL-DIVESTITURE/LANXESS (Amsterdam: LX6.AS - news) (UPDATE 2), moved, by Arno Schuetze, Pamela Barbaglia and Joshua Franklin, 253 words)

Australia's Wesfarmers to spin off Coles as competition bites

SYDNEY - Australia's Wesfarmers Ltd plans to spin off its supermarket chain Coles and list it on the country's stock exchange, as fierce competition forces the retail giant to shed low-margin operations and focus on faster-growing businesses. (WESFARMERS-DIVESTITURE/COLES (UPDATE 4, PIX), moved, by Tom Westbrook, 700 words)