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BNP Paribas, for the second time in nine days, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to conspiring to violate U.S. sanctions, as part of a nearly $9 billion settlement in which the French bank admitted to breaking embargoes against Sudan, Cuba and Iran. Prosecutors had accused the bank of processing billions of dollars through the U.S. financial system on behalf of the Sudanese and others barred because of human rights abuses, support for terrorists and other national security concerns. U.S. District Judge Lorna Schofield accepted the plea at a hearing in Manhattan federal court. The plea was entered by the bank's general counsel, Georges Dirani. BNP Paribas admitted to having conspired from 2004 to 2012 to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and the Trading with the Enemy Act. The U.S. Justice Department unveiled the record settlement on July 1, when the bank pleaded guilty in New York state court to charges of falsifying business records and conspiracy brought by M

The dollar started at one-week lows against a basket of major currencies on Thursday, coming under some pressure after minutes of the Federal Reserve's June meeting gave no clear indication on when interest rates will rise. The minutes confirmed that the Fed's monthly bond purchases would end in October and that policymakers debated about the complexities of unwinding a stimulus program that had flooded the financial system with over $2 trillion. Wall Street bounced back from a two-day selloff in the absence of any guidance on whether rates will be raised by mid-2015 as speculated, Treasury yields rose while the dollar was sold down. The dollar index shed about 0.2 percent to a one-week low of 79.983, where it hovered early in Asia. Benefiting from renewed softness in the greenback, the euro rose to a one-week high of $1.3649. "The market had likely positioned for a hawkish tone to the minutes given the upward revisions to Fed rate forecasts, as well as the fact that

China's central bank governor Zhou Xiaochuan said on Thursday that the government would increase the flexibility of the yuan currency and reduce market intervention. _0"> He was speaking on the sidelines of annual high-level talks between China and the United States. (Reporting by Kevin Yao; Writing by Ben Blanchard ; Editing by Kim Coghill)

The dollar traded around one-week lows against a basket of major currencies on Thursday, coming under pressure after minutes of the Federal Reserve's June meeting gave no clear indication about the timing of any interest rate rise. The Australian dollar, meanwhile, slipped after a rise in the country's jobless rate raised concern about its stalled economy and stoked expectations that interest rates may remain on hold for months to come. The Fed minutes confirmed that the U.S. central bank's monthly bond purchases would probably end in October and showed that policymakers debated the complexities of unwinding a stimulus program that has flooded the financial system with over $2 trillion. The uncertain outlook for the timing of the Fed's move has kept major currencies in relatively tight ranges in recent weeks. "The Fed is driving the station wagon right now, with everybody in the back. We're expecting rates to go higher, and there are side bets on when that

Most Asian stock markets rose and the dollar dipped on Thursday after the Federal Reserve indicated it was in no rush to begin raising interest rates, even as it began to plan an exit strategy from an era of loose monetary policy. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan gained 0.3 percent. European shares looked set to follow suit, with Germany's DAX seen rising up to 0.1 percent, though U.S. stock futures were marginally weaker. Tokyo's Nikkei bucked the trend and fell 0.3 percent, weighed down by a record drop in machinery orders in May that cast doubt over the outlook for capital spending and the strength of its economic recovery. China's exports in June also missed market forecasts, but caused limited reaction in regional markets as it reinforced expectations that Beijing will have to unveil more stimulus measures to stabilise the economy and meet its 2014 growth target. "The trade figures were not so exciting. It's still unrealis

Greek yields dipped on Thursday as the aid recipient readied an issue of three-year bonds in its second debt sale since its default, taking advantage of a European Central Bank promise to make long-term loans to banks. The sale is expected to raise 3 billion euros and follows a five-year bond sale in April, which marked one of the fastest market comebacks by a sovereign following a debt restructuring. It is also signalling Greece's gradual emergence from a debt crisis that started in 2010 and spread to other countries in the euro zone at its peak in 2011 and 2012, when Athens imposed heavy losses on private bondholders. Although Greece is expected to come out of a six-year recession in 2014 and is running a budget surplus excluding interest rate payments, the renewed interest for its bonds has a more powerful force behind it. The ECB's ultra-easy monetary policy has pinned yields on top-rated bonds at record lows and pushed investors towards riskier assets to maximise retu

China is committed to reducing its intervention in the foreign exchange market and is preparing to increase the transparency of its currency policy, U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said on Thursday. _0"> U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said separately that China and the United States had a frank exchange about cyber security issues and agreed to continue those discussions. Lew and Kerry were speaking at the end of annual high-level talks between China and the United States. (Reporting by Lesley Wroughton ; Writing by Ben Blanchard ; Editing by Dean Yates)