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The Latest: DA disagrees with verdict, respects process

The Latest on the homicide trial of a white Pennsylvania police officer in the shooting of an unarmed black 17-year-old (all times local):

10:30 p.m.

The district attorney in Pittsburgh says he disagrees with a jury's decision to acquit a former police officer in the fatal shooting of an unarmed black teenager as he ran from a car involved just minutes earlier in a drive-by shooting.

But Stephen Zappala Jr. says it is the people of Pennsylvania who decide guilt in criminal cases, and "they have spoken."

A jury deliberated fewer than four hours Friday before clearing ex-East Pittsburgh Officer Michael Rosfeld of homicide in the shooting of Antwon Rose II last year.

Rosfeld's lawyer called him "a good man." During the trial he said the officer feared for his life and had to make a split-second decision.

Zappala said that in the interest of justice, he'll continue to bring charges where charges are appropriate.

__

9:45 p.m.

The family of a black teenager who was shot in the back and killed by a white police officer outside Pittsburgh remained stoic after the man was acquitted.

Antwon Rose II's sister had tears streaming down her face after the jury cleared former East Pittsburgh Police Officer Michael Rosfeld of a homicide charge late Friday. Her mother urged her not to cry.

The jury deliberated fewer than four hours before reaching its verdict. There were tears and gasps from black people gathered in an overflow courtroom, and several broke out in song: "Antwon Rose was a freedom fighter, and he taught us how to fight."

Rosfeld's wife burst out sobbing as the verdict was announced. She and Rosfeld were hustled out of the courtroom by deputies.

Rosfeld's attorney, Patrick Thomassey, told reporters that Rosfeld is "a good man."

___

9:25 p.m.

A jury has acquitted a white former police officer who fatally shot an unarmed black teenager outside Pittsburgh.

Former East Pittsburgh Police Officer Michael Rosfeld was charged with homicide for killing 17-year-old Antwon Rose II last June. Rose was riding in an unlicensed taxi that was involved in a drive-by shooting. Rosfeld pulled the car over and shot Rose in the back, arm and side of the face as the teen ran away.

Rosfeld testified that he thought Rose or another passenger in the car had a gun pointed at him.

The jury saw video of the fatal confrontation. The verdict came Friday after fewer than four hours of deliberations.

The shooting triggered protests in the Pittsburgh area last year.

___

8:25 p.m.

The jury has reached a verdict in the homicide trial of a white former police officer charged with shooting an unarmed black teenager as he fled a high-stakes traffic stop outside Pittsburgh.

Former East Pittsburgh Police Officer Michael Rosfeld fired on 17-year-old Antwon Rose II last summer in a killing that sparked weeks of unrest.

Jurors informed the court Friday night they have reached a verdict. They can convict Rosfeld of murder or manslaughter, or return an acquittal.

The ex-cop shot Rose in the back, arm and side of the face after pulling over an unlicensed taxi that had been used in a drive-by shooting. Rosfeld ordered the driver to the ground, but Rose and another passenger got out and began running away. Rosfeld says he thought one of the suspects was pointing a gun at him.

___

5:10 p.m.

A jury has started deliberating in the homicide trial of a white former police officer charged with killing an unarmed black teenager outside Pittsburgh last summer.

Jurors got the case Friday afternoon.

A prosecutor says former East Pittsburgh Police Officer Michael Rosfeld acted as "judge, jury and executioner" when he killed 17-year-old Antwon Rose II. Assistant District Attorney Jonathan Fodi tells jurors that Rose didn't deserve to die.

Defense attorney Patrick Thomassey says that Rosfeld was justified in shooting the fleeing teenager because the officer believed he was in danger.

Rosfeld shot Rose in the back, arm and side of the face as he ran from a traffic stop. Rose had been riding in a car that Rosfeld pulled over because he correctly suspected it was involved in a drive-by shooting.

___

4:10 p.m.

Closing arguments have been delivered in the homicide trial of a white former police officer charged with killing an unarmed black teenager outside Pittsburgh last summer.

A prosecutor says former East Pittsburgh Police Officer Michael Rosfeld acted as "judge, jury and executioner" when he killed 17-year-old Antwon Rose II. Assistant District Attorney Jonathan Fodi said Friday that Rose didn't deserve to die.

Defense attorney Patrick Thomassey said in his closing argument that Rosfeld was justified in shooting the fleeing teenager because the officer believed he was in danger.

Rosfeld shot Rose in the back, arm and side of the face as he ran from a traffic stop. Rose had been riding in a car that Rosfeld pulled over because he correctly suspected it was involved in a drive-by shooting.

The jury is expected to begin deliberating Friday.

___

1:20 p.m.

An attorney for the family of Antwon Rose II says a jury should conclude that the unarmed black teenager was "murdered" by a white police officer last summer.

S. Lee Merritt spoke to The Associated Press on Friday as closing arguments were getting underway in the homicide trial of former East Pittsburgh Police Officer Michael Rosfeld.

Rosfeld shot Rose in the back, arm and side of the face as the 17-year-old ran away from a traffic stop. Rose had been riding in a car that Rosfeld pulled over because he correctly suspected it was involved in a drive-by shooting.

Rosfeld told jurors that he thought Rose or another fleeing suspect had pointed a gun at him. Neither teen had a weapon on him at the time.

Merritt says "it's pretty obvious" Rose was not a threat to Rosfeld.

___

11:30 a.m.

The defense has rested its case in the homicide trial of a white police officer charged with shooting and killing an unarmed black teenager near Pittsburgh.

Former East Pittsburgh Police Officer Michael Rosfeld is charged with gunning down 17-year-old Antwon Rose II last summer.

Rosfeld's lawyer rested Friday.

Rosfeld testified that he thought Rose had a gun. The defense also called a use-of-force expert who says Rosfeld did nothing wrong.

The jury will hear closing arguments Friday afternoon and then begin deliberating.

Rose was riding in a car that had been involved in a drive-by shooting. Rosfeld pulled the car over and shot Rose in the back as he fled.

One juror, a white woman, was dismissed from the panel Friday and replaced with a white man.

___

10 a.m.

A judge has lifted a gag order in the trial of a white police officer charged in the on-duty shooting of an unarmed black teenager near Pittsburgh.

Judge Alexander Bicket lifted the gag order he imposed on parties in the case Friday at the request of the defense. Defense attorney Patrick Thomassey says while he and prosecutors have abided by the judge's order, the attorney for Antwon Rose II's family has made comments to the media.

Bicket made his ruling Friday morning.

Former East Pittsburgh Police Officer Michael Rosfeld is on trial for homicide after gunning down the 17-year-old Rose last summer. Rose was riding in a car that had been involved in a drive-by shooting. Rosfeld shot him in the back as he fled.

Rosfeld says he thought Rose or another passenger had a gun.

___

1 a.m.

An expert in police use of force says a former officer did everything by the book in a fatal encounter with an unarmed black teenager outside Pittsburgh last summer.

Retired Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Clifford W. Jobe Jr. testified for the defense at the homicide trial of former East Pittsburgh Police Officer Michael Rosfeld, who's charged with gunning down 17-year-old Antwon Rose II.

Rosfeld fired three bullets into Rose after pulling over an unlicensed taxi that had been used in a drive-by shooting. Rose, a passenger in the car, was shot in the back as he fled.

Jobe told jurors Thursday that Rosfeld followed proper procedure. Prosecutors say Rosfeld gave inconsistent statements about the shooting, including whether he thought Rose had a gun.

The trial resumes Friday with Jobe back on the stand for cross-examination.

Source: Fox News National

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Wildfires rage across Britain after hottest winter day on record

A fire is seen burning on Saddleworth Moor near Diggle
A fire is seen burning on Saddleworth Moor near the town of Diggle, Britain, February 27, 2019. REUTERS/Jon Super

February 27, 2019

By Jon Super

DIGGLE, England (Reuters) – Firefighters battled a series of wildfires in Britain on Wednesday, including a large moorland blaze outside the northern English city of Manchester, as the country experienced its warmest winter weather on record.

A fire started on Tuesday evening on Saddleworth Moor, an expanse of hills that is popular with hikers. It has since spread to an area about one-and-a-half square kilometers.

Large flames could be seen rising from the hillside as witnesses described “apocalyptic” scenes.

Laura Boocock, West Yorkshire Fire Service’s incident commander, told the BBC it was “one of the biggest moorland fires we’ve ever had to deal with”.

Five crews and two specialist moorland firefighting units were trying to contain the blaze. There have been no reports of any injuries.

The fire comes after Britain recorded its warmest winter day with a temperature of 21.2 Celsius in Kew Gardens in London.

Fire officials have not yet commented on what may have caused the blaze.

Last summer a fire on Saddleworth Moor, which required army assistance to tackle, took more than three weeks to extinguish.

Separately, on Tuesday a wildfire started in woodland made famous in AA Milne’s Winnie the Pooh stories.Ashdown Forest in East Sussex, the inspiration for Milne’s Hundred Acre Wood, suffered two fires that began within an hour of each other.The local fire service said that “unusual warm weather this week” meant that the ground was drier than usual and could lead to a greater risk of outdoor fires.

In Scotland, firefighters battled through the night to extinguish a large gorse fire on Arthur’s Seat in Edinburgh.

(Writing by Andrew MacAskill; Editing by Andrew Heavens)

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Congo’s Mai Mai militia attacks Ebola treatment center

FILE PHOTO: Disinfected healthcare workers' gear dries outside a hospital in Bwana Suri
FILE PHOTO: Disinfected healthcare workers' gear dries outside a hospital in Bwana Suri, Ituri province of Democratic Republic of Congo, December 10, 2018. REUTERS/Goran Tomasevic/File Photo

March 9, 2019

GOMA, Congo (Reuters) – Armed Mai Mai militiamen attacked an Ebola treatment center at the heart of an outbreak of the disease in eastern Congo on Saturday, killing a policeman before being repelled by security forces, the local mayor said.

The center in Butembo was the same one torched by unknown assailants last week, an attack that prompted Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) to suspend activities in the area.

Aid workers have faced deep mistrust from locals in some areas as they work to contain the outbreak, which has become the worst in Democratic Republic of Congo’s history, killing close to 600 people so far.

Efforts to contain the virus have been further hampered by a plethora of armed groups operating in Congo’s lawless east.

World Health Organisation (WHO) President Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus was due to visit the Butembo center on Saturday. A WHO spokesman said it was unclear if the visit would still happen.

Butembo major Sylvain Kanyamanda Mbusa said the Mai Mai militants were successfully repelled.

“Because of previous attacks, a security system was already in place and attackers were quickly confronted by the police officers guarding the …center,” he told Reuters.

The facility had resumed operations only a week ago and had been managed by the ministry of health in collaboration with the WHO and United Nations Children’s Fund.

The Mai Mai take their name from the word for “water” in a local Swahili dialect, because some of their fighters believe magic can turn flying bullets into water.

They comprise several armed bands that originally formed to resist two invasions by Rwandan forces in the late 1990s. They have since morphed into a variety of ethnic-based militia, smuggling networks and protection rackets.

One of the militiamen was wounded in Saturday’s attack and is in custody, Kanyamanda Mbusa said.

On Thursday, MSF accused the Congolese government of failing to contain the epidemic because of an overly militarised response that was alienating patients and their families.

(Reporting by Fiston Mahamba; Writing by Giulia Paravicini; editing by Tim Cocks and John Stonestreet)

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Massachusetts teen who died in weekend snowmobile crash ID’d

Authorities on Sunday identified the teenager who died this weekend after a snowmobile crash in Maine.

Troy Marden, 17, a varsity football player in Amesbury, Mass., failed to “negotiate a corner” and struck a snowbank, the Maine Warden Service said, according to MassLive.com. He was reportedly ejected from the snowmobile.

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The warden said the crash happened at 10:50 p.m. on Thompson Lake in Poland, according to Boston 25 News.

Source: Fox News National

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The Latest: Police standoff on Atlanta-area freeway ends

The Latest on a freeway standoff outside Atlanta (all times local):

11:50 a.m.

Video from a TV news helicopter showed police pulling a man from a car — the apparent end to a lengthy standoff that played out in the middle of an Atlanta freeway.

More than a dozen police officers with guns drawn had filled four lanes of I-75 near Atlanta, bringing Friday morning traffic to a standstill.

Marietta police said an armed driver had stopped on the freeway and wasn't cooperating with officers. Police had followed the vehicle to I-75 since it matched the description from an armed robbery nearby.

Police said all southbound lanes of Interstate 75 were shut down as they tried to negotiate with the man by phone.

News photos showed that the man was alive as he was carried away by police. No injuries have been reported.

___

10:55 a.m.

More than a dozen police cars and officers standing outside with their guns drawn filled four lanes of a freeway near Atlanta, bringing traffic to a standstill as they confronted an armed motorist.

Marietta police said in a brief statement that a driver stopped on the freeway was armed and not cooperating with police Friday morning.

The southbound lanes of Interstate 75 were shut down just northwest of Atlanta. Police described the motorist as a "non-compliant driver."

Few other details were immediately available, and no injuries were immediately reported.

Traffic was backed up for miles. The standoff comes on a particularly busy day on Atlanta highways as people are traveling through the city on their way to spring break destinations.

The situation was unfolding near SunTrust Park, the home of the Atlanta Braves, but no game was planned Friday.

Source: Fox News National

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Democrats aren’t done wasting your money on the Russia investigation

According to news reports, multiple sources on the Senate Intelligence Committee have indicated that their bipartisan investigation is now winding down, having failed to uncover evidence of any collusion between President Trump’s campaign and the Russian government, despite interviewing 200 witnesses over the past two years.

"If we write a report based upon the facts that we have, then we don't have anything that would suggest there was collusion by the Trump campaign and Russia,” said Senator Richard Burr, R-N.C., the chairman of the committee, adding that "We know we're getting to the bottom of the barrel because there are not new questions that we’re searching for answers to.”

Notably, Burr isn’t alone in his convictions. Multiple Senate Democrat investigators also signaled that the probe has failed to uncover any direct evidence of collusion.

ANDREW MCCARTHY: COLLUTION AND THE CRIMINALIZATION OF POLICY DISPUTES

The Senate committee’s findings echo the conclusion that was already reached by the House Intelligence Committee, which published a report last year stressing that its own probe “found no evidence that the Trump campaign colluded, coordinated, or conspired with the Russian government.”

Of course, the whole Russia witch hunt was never really about finding evidence of collusion to begin with. For more than two years, the Democrats have milked the unfounded allegations to their political advantage, using them to justify taxpayer-funded investigations that were intended from the start to obstruct President Trump’s policy agenda and bolster the “#resist” movement that was created by Democratic Party leaders.

Unfortunately for America, nothing suggests that the Democrats are done wasting our tax money on frivolous partisan probes just yet — especially now that they control the House of Representatives.

For the current Democratic Party leadership, obstruction comes before justice.

The revelation from the Senate Intelligence Committee, for example, only made the Democrats double down on their collusion talking points and stress that there is no evidence to clear President Trump of any wrongdoing – shifting the burden of proof to the accused and his campaign, upending our presumptions of justice in America.

"We were never going to find a contract signed in blood saying, 'Hey Vlad, we're going to collude,'" one Democrat aide told NBC News in an apparent effort to downplay the conclusions of the Senate investigation. Debunked rumor and innuendo have now taken the place of evidence and demonstrable transgressions of law in the realm of the Pelosi Congress.

Meanwhile, Democrats in the House are already preparing to keep the Russia scandal alive even if the Mueller investigation likewise finds no evidence of collusion between Moscow and President Trump’s campaign.

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., has even raised questions recently about Mueller’s probe, suggesting that the special counsel's investigation didn’t sufficiently analyze President Trump’s business deals with a German bank.

“If the special counsel hasn’t subpoenaed Deutsche Bank, he can’t be doing much of a money laundering investigation,” Schiff said. And thus, the political retribution continues without the Office of Special Counsel, which was doing great for Schiff as the lead inquisitor –  until, that is, it found no collusion. Now, Schiff says, the Special Counsel couldn’t possibly have done the job right if it fails to find collusion.

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For the current Democratic Party leadership, obstruction comes before justice — that’s why they refuse to let the presumption of innocence, which has long been a cornerstone of our criminal justice system, apply to President Trump.

The reason there is no evidence of collusion, as President Trump has repeatedly stated, is that no collusion ever took place. How many investigations must reach that same conclusion; how many tens of millions of taxpayer dollars squandered; how many witnesses’ names must be dragged through the mud, only to be ultimately cleared, before the Democrats will accept reality? So long as the Democrats continue to misuse their power to drag out a fruitless investigation at the expense of the American people’s agenda, it will be endless.

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Masters underway as Augusta awaits Woods, McIlroy

Nicklaus tees off during the ceremonial start on the first day of play at the 2019 Master golf tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia, U.S.
Honorary starter Jack Nicklaus of the U.S. tees off during the ceremonial start on the first day of play at the 2019 Master golf tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia, U.S., April 11, 2019. REUTERS/Brian Snyder

April 11, 2019

By Frank Pingue

AUGUSTA Ga. (Reuters) – The opening round of the Masters began under sunny skies at Augusta National on Thursday with the top contenders, including four-times winner Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, still hours from taking the famed course.

After golfing greats Gary Player and Jack Nicklaus struck the ceremonial first tee shots, it was Masters rookie Andrew Landry who got the year’s first major underway when he sent his ball right up the fairway at the par-four first.

Thousands of eager golf fans lined up before dawn outside the gates of Augusta National with hopes of scoring a prime viewing area for the opening round of a tournament loaded with compelling storylines.

Woods, who is due to tee off at 11:04 am ET alongside China’s Li Haotong and Spaniard Jon Rahm, has not won a major since 2008 but proved last year in his comeback season from spinal fusion surgery that he still has what it takes.

“I know that I can play this golf course,” a confident Woods said this week. “I’ve had some success here. This is unlike any other golf tournament. The golf course is special.”

McIlroy, playing one group behind Woods, will begin his latest quest to complete the career grand slam of golf’s four majors when he tees off alongside American Rickie Fowler and Australia’s Cameron Smith.

This week marks McIlroy’s fifth attempt at the Masters to complete his collection of major titles and is perhaps his best chance yet as the Northern Irishman enters the week in top form.

McIlroy, looking to join Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Nicklaus and Woods as winners of the career grand slam, has a top-six finish in each of the six stroke play events he has played in 2019, including a win at The Players Championship.

Players teeing off early were greeted by an Augusta National layout that will not play as firm or fast as organizers would have liked given large amounts of rain earlier in the week.

Defending champion Patrick Reed was scheduled to tee off at 10:30 am ET while world number two Dustin Johnson is set to head out at 1:38 pm in the third-to-last group.

Phil Mickelson, world number one Justin Rose and Justin Thomas make up the penultimate threesome and will be followed by Jordan Spieth, Englishman Paul Casey and reigning U.S. Open and PGA Championship winner Brooks Koepka.

(Reporting by Frank Pingue, editing by Pritha Sarkar)

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FILE PHOTO: An aerial photo looking north shows shipping containers at the Port of Seattle and the Elliott Bay waterfront in Seattle
FILE PHOTO: An aerial photo looking north shows shipping containers at the Port of Seattle and the Elliott Bay waterfront in Seattle, Washington, U.S. March 21, 2019. REUTERS/Lindsey Wasson/File Photo

April 26, 2019

NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. economic growth is running at a 1.1% pace in the second quarter as the gains in exports and inventories recorded in the first quarter are expected to reverse, Morgan Stanley economists said on Friday.

“Our preliminary expectations for growth in the second quarter sees large drags from net exports and inventories after their contributions in 1Q,” they wrote in a research note.

Gross domestic product increased at a 3.2% annualized rate in the first three months of the year, driven by a smaller trade deficit and the largest accumulation of unsold merchandise since 2015, the Commerce Department said earlier Friday.

(Reporting by Richard Leong)

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FILE PHOTO: The Deutsche Bank headquarters are pictured in Frankfurt
FILE PHOTO: The Deutsche Bank headquarters are pictured in Frankfurt, Germany, April 25, 2019. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski/File Photo

April 26, 2019

By Tom Sims

FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Within hours of the collapse of merger talks with Commerzbank, Christian Sewing scrambled to convince investors and employees that Deutsche Bank can stand on its own two feet.

The Deutsche Bank chief executive told staff, many of whom opposed a merger because of significant job losses, that while he had not been “skeptical” about the Commerzbank talks, he was cautious about the chances of success from the start.

And another top Deutsche Bank executive said on Friday that it had been Commerzbank that initiated the talks, suggesting there was no desperation on their part for a deal.

Commerzbank denied that version of events, ending the apparent truce between the normally highly competitive cross-town Frankfurt rivals over the past six weeks.

German hopes of creating a national banking champion able to challenge global competitors were finally dashed on Thursday when Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank ended their talks due to the risks of doing a deal, restructuring costs and capital demands.

For Sewing, the failure to clinch a deal has left the 49-year-old chief executive of Germany’s largest bank, who took over just over a year ago, with his back to the wall.

Credit ratings agency Standard & Poor’s, which downgraded Deutsche Bank last year, said on Friday that Deutsche Bank “will remain under strain”, adding that it “seems to have acknowledged the need to adjust its strategy”.

Under Sewing, a new leadership has tried to revive Deutsche Bank’s fortunes, but it has faced money laundering allegations and failed stress tests, as well as ratings downgrades.

At the heart of the debate over its future is whether it should focus its business on Germany and draw a line under its costly global ambitions to take on Wall Street’s big guns.

“MARKET PLAY”

Without a deal, Deutsche Bank now finds itself back at the mercy of equity and debt markets, with UBS analysts warning that in a “stress scenario” it could again “be forced into a ‘debt-driven capital increase’ even with solid capital ratios”.

“Deutsche remains a levered market play vulnerable to external events,” the UBS analysts said in a note.

Sewing, along with many analysts, believes Deutsche Bank can go it alone in the short-term, but will be counting on a turnaround in market conditions to do so in the long-run given its dependence on volatile investment bank earnings.

“To reach our return objective, we also need to see a revenue recovery in our more market-sensitive business,” Sewing said on Friday after reporting results.

“These revenues are available to us in better market conditions given our leading positions in many of these businesses, but we need to capture them,” he added.

Revenue at Deutsche Bank’s bond trading division fell 19 percent in the first quarter, it said on Friday, underscoring weakness at its investment bank.

If those earnings do not improve, Berlin’s desire to keep its biggest bank out of foreign hands may start to wane.

“Germany’s globally active companies need competitive financial institutions that can support them around the world,” German finance minister Olaf Scholz said on Thursday.

(Writing by Alexander Smith; Editing by Keith Weir)

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Panama's former president Ricardo Martinelli yells to the media while arriving to the Electoral Court in Panama City
Panama’s former president Ricardo Martinelli reacts to the media while arriving to the Electoral Court in Panama City, Panama April 26, 2019. REUTERS/Erick Marciscano

April 26, 2019

PANAMA CITY (Reuters) – Panama’s electoral tribunal has ruled that former President Ricardo Martinelli, who is awaiting trial on wiretapping charges, cannot take part in elections on May 5 in which he was running for mayor of Panama City and a seat in Congress, a spokesman for Martinelli said on Friday.

“The ruling of the electoral tribunal has disqualified him as candidate,” said the spokesman, Eduardo Camacho, calling the court’s ruling a “political decision.”

Officials at the tribunal did not immediately confirm the ruling, which also was reported in local media in Panama.

Martinelli, a supermarket tycoon who ran the Central American country from 2009 to 2014, was extradited to Panama last June from the United States and charged with spying on 150 people, including politicians, union leaders and journalists.

A judge had previously cleared Martinelli to run for mayor of the capital. His critics vowed to appeal that decision.

(Reporting by Elida Moreno and Stefanie Eschenbacher; Editing by Bill Trott)

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FILE PHOTO: Amazon boxes are seen stacked for delivery in the Manhattan borough of New York City
FILE PHOTO: Amazon boxes are seen stacked for delivery in the Manhattan borough of New York City, January 29, 2016. REUTERS/Mike Segar/File Photo

April 26, 2019

(Reuters) – Shares of Walmart, Target and other U.S. retailers fell on Friday as Amazon.com Inc unveiled a one-day delivery plan for its Prime members in a move to further disrupt the fiercely competitive retail landscape.

The e-commerce giant’s announcement on Thursday could cause other brands, manufacturers, retailers, and logistics companies to have to invest more aggressively to compete with Amazon and its delivery, analysts said.

Retailers in recent years have poured billions into ecommerce and faster shipping options and are trying to close the gap with Amazon.

“This is about making it more expensive to catch up and affirms our world view that only the largest and smartest will survive,” Bernstein analyst Brandon Fletcher said.

The move is expected to heighten consumer expectations on e-commerce delivery just like Amazon did with its two-day shipping option for members of its loyalty club Prime, noted analysts.

“The faster you ship, the more people buy,” RBC Capital Markets analyst Mark Mahaney said.

The challenge for non-Amazon players was that very few of the existing logistics and parcel delivery players now have the ability to do nationwide one-day delivery, Morgan Stanley analyst Brian Nowak said.

“And even fewer can do it at the vast scale and reasonable cost that AMZN would need for Prime delivery,” Nowak said in a note.

Walmart Inc’s shares fell about 3 percent, while Target Corp dropped about 5 percent in morning trade.

Shares of Kohl’s Corp, Macy’s Inc and Nordstrom Inc fell about 1 percent. Grocer Kroger Co was nearly 3 percent lower, while consumer electronics retailer Best Buy Inc dropped 2.1 percent.

(Reporting by Soundarya J and Akanksha Rana in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)

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A Chinese woman adjusts a Chinese national flag next to U.S. national flags before a Strategic Dialogue expanded meeting, part of the U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S&ED) in Beijing
A Chinese woman adjusts a Chinese national flag next to U.S. national flags before a Strategic Dialogue expanded meeting, part of the U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S&ED) held at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, July 10, 2014. REUTERS/Ng Han Guan/Pool (CHINA – Tags: POLITICS BUSINESS)

April 26, 2019

By April Joyner

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Even as the lift from optimism over prospects for U.S.-China trade detente shows signs of wearing off for the wider U.S. stock market, upbeat sentiment around China’s economy could bolster shares of materials companies.

Shares of S&P 500 industrial and technology companies, which were buffeted by last year’s tit-for-tat tariffs as well as slowing global demand, have been very responsive to progress in U.S.-China trade relations and a strengthening Chinese economy. This year, those sectors have outpaced the ascent in the S&P 500, which reached a record closing high on Tuesday.

Materials stocks have not been as sensitive, however, even though they also stand to benefit as a stronger Chinese economy lifts global consumption and industrial output. As China has taken measures to stimulate its economy, its economic data have turned more upbeat. That in turn could aid global growth, which has flagged as a result of China’s cooldown.

“What we’re seeing is China spending more on stimulus: fiscal stimulus and monetary stimulus,” said Kristina Hooper, chief global market strategist at Invesco in New York. “That’s likely to be a positive for materials.”

The People’s Bank of China has cut banks’ reserve requirement ratio five times over the past year and is widely expected to ease policy further to spur lending and reduce borrowing costs. The stimulus appears to have boosted Chinese economic data, with factory activity growing in March for the first time in four months.

Yet so far in 2019, the S&P 500 materials index has underperformed the S&P 500 at large, rising just 11.9% compared with 16.7% for the benchmark index. Moreover, it is among the biggest decliners in the period since the S&P’s previous record closing level on Sept. 20. The materials index has fallen 7% over those seven months, versus a 5.2% gain for technology and a 3% loss for industrials. Only the energy index has dropped more over that period.

A trade agreement could serve as a catalyst for a bump in materials shares as a drag on China’s economy is lifted, some market strategists say. Some commodity prices, including those for copper and oil, have ascended this year as the prospects for the global economy have somewhat brightened.

“It all goes back to the global growth outlook,” said Andrea DiCenso, portfolio manager for alpha strategies at Loomis Sayles in Boston. “With the front run in hard data, we’re beginning to see a pretty significant rally.”

Additionally, a trade agreement is expected to include commitments from China to purchase higher quantities of U.S. products such as soybeans, which could benefit companies that make agricultural chemicals, including DowDuPont Inc and CF Industries Holdings Inc.

CF Industries is scheduled to report quarterly results after the bell on Wednesday, and DowDuPont is scheduled to report before the market open on Thursday.

To be sure, even with a trade agreement, some materials companies could face price pressures. Shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc fell 10.1% on Thursday after the copper mining company posted a lower-than-expected profit as its production slipped and its costs rose.

A rollback of tariffs on Chinese imports, particularly aluminum and steel, would likely prompt a fall in some commodity prices, which could hurt prospects for certain materials companies, said Gene Goldman, chief investment officer at Cetera Investment Management in El Segundo, California.

Even so, those drawbacks may be outweighed by the support for global demand fostered by a U.S.-China trade agreement.

“You could see a number of companies with lowered expectations bring them back up as they talk favorably about the impact that a trade deal would have on them,” said Tim Ghriskey, chief investment strategist at Inverness Counsel in New York.

(Reporting by April Joyner; additional reporting by Sinéad Carew; editing by Jonathan Oatis)

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