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Here's a look at major economies/central banks and their holdings of gold and Treasuries in recent months: GOLD Sustained demand from central banks has created a reliable floor under gold prices, supporting bullion's historic rally this year. GOL/] Spot gold prices surged as high as $3,500.05 per ounce on Tuesday, surpassing the $3,500/oz milestone for the first time. GOL/] "With all the geopolitical tensions, central banks do want to diversify away from the dollar and have something that won't be sanctioned ...

(Reuters) -Canada's main stock index rose on Tuesday, as investors took a breather after the previous session's decline that was triggered by U.S. President Donald Trump's recent attacks on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX Composite Index rose 1.2% to 24,285.17 points, its highest level since April 3. However, investors remained concerned about a market turmoil if Trump followed through on his threats to fire Powell, analysts said.

OSLO (Reuters) -The board of Norway's Equinor must explain how the company's plan to raise oil and gas production aligns with its stated commitment to the Paris agreement on curbing climate change, a group of minority shareholders said on Tuesday. Equinor, which is 67% government owned, this year joined the likes of Shell and BP in promising higher petroleum output while scaling back investment in renewables. In a resolution to be voted on at Equinor's May 14 annual general meeting, the minority owners said there were "material inconsistencies" between the company's climate strategy and the policy expectations expressed by its majority shareholder.

Analysts expressed a high degree of nervousness at the prospect that Powell might be replaced by someone who would give Trump more direct political control over the Fed.

President Donald Trump is running out of patience: He wants lower interest rates, a key part of his economic agenda. The only problem: America’s rate-setters don’t report to him.

The price of gold jumped to a fresh record high on Tuesday, as concerns about US President Donald Trump’s intention to oust Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell weighed on investors.

CAN TRUMP FIRE POWELL? Whether Trump has the authority to do so is unclear. The Federal Reserve Act of 1913 establishing the Fed stipulates that members of its Board of Governors, appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate to staggered 14-year terms, can be only be removed for "cause" - long thought to mean misconduct, not policy disagreement.