Federal Reserve's Paulson: Given elevated inf, further 'gradual' rate hikes are appropriate.

The New York Times reports a confidential KPMG report shows the U.S. government received and spent more than $12 bln from Venezuelan natural-resource exports in the first nine months of this year. The report, dated days before the U.S. midterm elections, says between Jan. 3 — the date it cites as the start of U.S. military intervention — and Sept. 30 the U.S. Treasury’s Venezuela custodial account received $12.26 bln in deposits. Most funds were reallocated shortly after receipt; the account held about $170 mln at Sept. 30 and earned roughly $12 mln in interest. The bulk of funds returned to Venezuela were sold into the market via FX auctions run by Venezuelan commercial banks; the report does not identify the ultimate beneficiaries of those proceeds.

Sources: India's National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) is negotiating with Russia's state atomic energy corporation Rosatom on potential lithium investments in Russia.