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Counting cost of stockpiling, UK bike maker gears up for Brexit

Bikes are seen inside the depot of Islabikes in Ludlow
Bikes are seen inside the depot of Islabikes in Ludlow, central England, Britain February 15, 2019. REUTERS/Eddie Keogh

February 18, 2019

By Andy Bruce

LONDON (Reuters) – Isla Rowntree, the founder of British children’s bike maker Islabikes, has resorted to stacking spare parts in meeting spaces and office rooms as she gets ready for a potentially chaotic no-deal Brexit next month.

But the inconvenience of finding the space for six months’ worth of stock is small compared with the financial consequences, she says.

Islabikes decided in September that it needed to prepare for the risk of delays at Britain’s ports after Brexit by stockpiling the parts it buys from a supplier in Vietnam at its premises in Ludlow, a pretty market town in western England.

Its preparations are typical of many companies — including world famous firms such as Rolls-Royce, Airbus, luxury group Burberry — who have depended on the ability to move goods easily between Britain and the rest of the world.

They are facing the possibility of border delays from new EU customs checks on goods after March 29, unless Prime Minister Theresa May can win new concessions from the EU that heal the split within her Conservative Party.

British factories last month stockpiled goods at the fastest rate seen in any Group of Seven nation since records started in the early 1990s, according to the closely watched IHS Markit/CIPS surveys.

Far from a simple act of preparation that can be reversed easily, stockpiling will have big consequences for manufacturers’ finances, no matter how Brexit turns out.

“It has a massive, massive cashflow implication,” said Rowntree, a former professional cyclist who started Islabikes after realizing that most children’s bikes were heavy and poorly designed.

She founded the company in 2006 and it now employs 40 people. It designs and assembles its bikes in Ludlow, mostly for the domestic market but 25 percent of its sales go to continental Europe.

“Even if (Brexit) goes smoothly, we will end up with a drastically reduced operating profit at the end of the year because we had to spend all this extra money on warehouse space. And that’s money that we can’t invest in the future of the business,” Rowntree said.

Repeated across the economy, that scenario might limit any rebound in business investment, even if London and Brussels strike a deal in the coming months.

Investment by companies in Britain has fallen for four consecutive quarters, the longest such run since 2009 when the economy was in the grip of the global financial crisis.

Rowntree said Islabikes was able to finance its stockpiling operation itself. “But for a lot of businesses that obviously wouldn’t be an option,” she said.

GRAPHIC – Stockpiling for Brexit: https://tmsnrt.rs/2Ebmj12

GEARING TROUBLE?

There are growing signs of financial stress for Britain’s factory sector.

Bank of England figures show manufacturers’ overdrafts as a percentage of business overdrafts, outside the financial sector, rose in December to the highest level since April 2016, at just under 20 percent.

It was the biggest jump by this measure in three-and-a-half years.

And on the ground, those who keep a close eye on the health of British companies are now worried that manufacturers are over-stretching themselves financially by stockpiling goods.

Stocks of goods are not easy to use as collateral for loans because security can be complicated, with responsibility often split between lenders and suppliers.

“If they can’t raise the finance to do that by going to a funder — borrowing by way of debt — typically it comes out of the cashflow,” said Colin Haig, insolvency partner at accountants BDO.

Haig estimates there is a three- to six-month lag between early reports of companies becoming financially over-stretched and insolvency problems, such as breaches of financial covenants, that draw the attention of insolvency practitioners.

“I do think we’re in that sort of space now,” Haig, deputy vice president of insolvency trade body R3, said.

Euler Hermes, an insurer that provides protection against non-payment between companies, is also seeing “substantial evidence” of stockpiling, mainly among large manufacturers.

This is adding pressure to manufacturers’ cashflow, with the average time between making a sale and receiving payment increased across the sector, Euler Hermes said.

“We’re seeing contract terms lengthen by up to 120 days in some instances,” said Shannon Murphy, assistant head of risk underwriting and manufacturing expert at Euler Hermes.

Murphy said stockpiling could work well for firms with fast-moving just-in-time supply chains, but those with slower-moving supply chains faced a risk of being lumbered with stock if orders dry up.

PAINFUL CYCLE

Islabikes has a relatively quick production timetable, with a steady flow of parts arriving at its assembly line more or less weekly, and more often at peak times like Christmas.

The decision to stockpile means the company has had to forecast sales patterns much further into the future than normal — another financial risk.

“That’s an internal headache and it means that potentially we can’t get the right product for the customers when they want it,” Rowntree says.

Rowntree hopes that a deal between London and Brussels can be signed soon, even if the outlook for Brexit is no clearer now than it was a year ago.

“It’s really disappointing having to waste so much effort and sinking time and money on stuff that doesn’t add value for the customer,” she said. “I don’t like that, I like to put our energies into doing a better job.”

(Additional reporting by Eddie Keogh in Ludlow; editing by William Schomberg, William Maclean)

Source: OANN

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Women singers test limits, signal Afghanistan’s changing times

Zahra Elham, 18, an Afghan singer practices in Kabul
Zahra Elham, 18, an Afghan singer practices in Kabul, Afghanistan April 3, 2019. Picture taken April 3, 2019. REUTERS/Mohammad Ismail

April 4, 2019

By Orooj Hakimi

KABUL (Reuters) – Soria Hussaini was not sure what would happen when she decided to perform the first Kabul street concert by a woman in recent memory.

The 20-year-old, whose family fled civil war in Afghanistan for Iran during the 1990s, worried about her safety. But nearly 50 people watched the unadvertised concert by Hussaini’s rock group, Azadi, in the city’s Kart-e-Char neighborhood in March, singing and clapping along with the music.

“Some were against this concert, but we did not give up,” she said. “We are all scared of suicide bombings, explosions, abductions and other issues in this country.”

Hussaini’s concert was unusual both for its public setting and the positive response it received in a country where views on women and entertainment are often ultra-conservative.

In sharp contrast, a video surfaced this week and was widely shared on social media showing men whipping a woman, purportedly a Taliban punishment for singing in public. It was not clear when the video was filmed, but it generated fierce online criticism of the Taliban.

Reuters was not able to verify the authenticity of the video. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said he could not confirm the video depicted members of the group, and that it was investigating the incident.

Intensifying peace talks between the United States and the Taliban have brought a focus on the place of women in Afghan society. Many say they fear greater freedoms won in recent years will be eroded under a settlement with the Islamists.

The Taliban banned women from playing music or appearing in public with their faces visible when in power from 1996 to 2001.

One symbol of the changes since the Taliban were overthrown is 18-year-old Zahra Elham, who last month became the first woman to win the vote-in singing competition Afghan Star in the 14 years since local TV station Tolo began screening the popular show modeled on American Idol.

“They finally supported a girl. That day, I witnessed that there is justice, they let a girl move forward,” she said.

Not everyone celebrated her success, however, said Elham, who recalled a frightening 2-km (1.2-mile) walk home from the TV studio one night in January, as her celebrity grew.

“Everyone was taunting me on the way,” said Elham, who hails from the Hazara ethnic minority that has long suffered discrimination in Afghanistan. “There were comments about ethnicity since, in our tribe, it is not desired for a girl to become a singer. Now my fear has increased.”

#MYREDLINE

TV journalist Farahnaz Forotan, 26, received a more supportive reaction when she launched last month a social media movement with the hashtag “MyRedLine”, encouraging women – and men – to publicly declare what rights they would not surrender.

Forotan launched the movement by declaring that her pen, symbolic of her profession, was her red line. Since the Taliban government fell in 2001, a robust media industry has emerged in Afghanistan, including many female journalists.

Forotan’s personal RedLine video has been viewed nearly 12,000 times on Facebook. She is planning visits to all 34 Afghan provinces to expand her campaign.

“I thought that we were at a more sensitive and historic situation than any other time in the past and this sensitive and historic situation needs historic deeds,” she said.

Supporters recorded short smartphone videos of themselves declaring their own “red lines”, including a female lawyer citing her work defending women’s rights.

“We emphasize that we won’t go back,” Forotan said, referring to the Taliban era.

Meanwhile Hussaini, who still lives in Iran, is already planning two more Afghan street concerts, one in Bamiyan province and another in Kabul.

“I see a good future in Afghanistan and am hopeful that street concerts will become more common here,” she said.

(Reporting by Orooj Hakimi in Kabul; additional reporting by Abdul Qadir Sediqi; Writing by Rod Nickel; Editing by Alex Richardson)

Source: OANN

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Hanoi Postcard: Kim-Trump summit inspires entrepreneurs

For North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and President Donald Trump, this week's summit in Hanoi is a chance to advance the cause of world peace. For canny entrepreneurs, it's an opportunity to make a buck, or a dong, in Vietnamese currency.

A U.S presidential visit is a big deal anywhere, and when it's significant enough to draw wall to wall media coverage — as last year's first summit in Singapore did — an enterprising businessman or businesswoman takes note. Drinks will be poured, burgers will be broiled and T-shirts will be silkscreened.

___

When Robert Gibb, an American who has been living in Hanoi for 10 years and is co-owner of a bar near Hanoi's old quarter, heard the summit would take place in Hanoi, he sprang into action.

Of course he was keen to mark a historic occasion, but beyond that, his Unicorn Pub is noted for the elaborate libations it concocts, such as its 'Pho' cocktail, mimicking the taste of the famous Vietnamese noodle soup.

The summit celebratory drink, boasts the pub's website, "is a diplomatic blend of So Ju (Korean) and Bourbon (USA) with a flare of Fireball whiskey to match the personalities of Kim & Trump. Orange in color, it is a bit sharp & bitter, but finishes sweet, peaceful and gives you the desire to continue in a positive direction."

The drink was dubbed the 'Rock It, Man,' after Trump's less-than-complimentary "Little Rocket Man" nickname for Kim when tensions were still high over Pyongyang's long-range missile tests.

Gibb, whose two partners in the bar include his wife Trinh Xuan Dieu, said the new cocktail's name sounded fun and celebrates "maybe for the first time in generations, opening up a country, opening the whole part of the world that was so tense for so long."

___

Teetotalers need not despair they will be left out. A restaurant also in the city's old quarter has added to its summit menu burgers called the 'Durty Donald' and the 'Kim Jong Yum.'

Irishman Colin Kelly acknowledged the summit is an unusual opportunity to drum up publicity for his Durty Bird fried chicken and burger restaurant.

Conceiving the special dishes was something of a must-do because his establishment already has a lot of dishes with funny names and puns, said Kelly, who founded the place with two old friends.

"For the Trump it was quite easy, because American burgers are an American staple and Mr. Trump himself is very extravagant, so that's why we went with double beef, double bacon, double cheese, fried pickles, and then we added the chicken floss, which represents his hair, which is one of Mr. Trump's most noticeable features," he said.

The sauce on it is Russian dressing, Kelly added mischievously.

"And then for the Kim burger, rather than using beef, we decided to go down the pork road, so we use smoked pork belly, smoked, pulled and barbecued wild boar — which is a wild Vietnamese mountain pig — and for the Korean element, we added kimchi mayonnaise and some crispy fried kimchi as well."

"Both burgers are topped with flags."

"Obviously, we'd like to make a little profit, but the first idea was just to get involved to what's happening here in Hanoi ... and to create a bit of fun for ourselves and for our customers."

___

Those who have drunk and eaten their fill of Trump and Kim also have the opportunity to wear the two statesmen.

T-shirt designer Truong Thanh Duc's creation features a portrait of a smiling Trump along with Kim, over the words "Peace Hanoi, Vietnam 2019."

"This is the best-selling item I have ever had," said Duc, wearing a T-shirt with Kim's likeness at his shop in the old quarter. "We have been running full capacity, but could not meet the demand," which he expects to increase even more with the media frenzy of the summit.

The 57-year-old Duc, who inherited the shop from his father, also produces and sells T-shirts with images of Russian President Vladimir Putin and President Barack Obama, and made an earlier Trump model after his 2016 election.

He said last week he had sold some 500 summit T-shirts, with half being bought by foreigners and the other by Vietnamese, mostly young people. The price is 100,000 dong ($4.20), and Duc said part of his profit would go to buy bread for poor people.

The summit is important, he suggested, because dialogue is better than confrontation and could bring "peace, food, clothing and other good things to the Korean Peninsula."

Vietnam would also benefit from the event, Duc said.

His viewpoint was shared by a customer.

"This is a huge political event, attracting much attention from the whole world," said 42-year-old Hanoi resident Nguyen Thuy Hang. "We do not want to be left out of such a big event taking place in our city."

"Apart from the political factor, this T-shirt is very fashionable, so why not?" said Hang, who bought one for herself and another for her brother who lives in Canada.

Source: Fox News World

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European stocks pause after strong rally, Brexit impasse weighs

The German share price index DAX graph at the stock exchange in Frankfurt
The German share price index DAX graph is pictured at the stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, March 22, 2019. REUTERS/Staff

April 2, 2019

(Reuters) – European shares treaded water on Tuesday following their strongest two-day rally since January, as Brexit uncertainty clouded sentiment with parliament deadlocked again over its exit from the European Union.

The pan-European index was up 0.03 percent at 0720 GMT, nudging toward highs from September and March.

Most European bourses posted slight gains and Britain’s exporter-heavy FTSE 100 rose 0.5 percent, helped by a weaker sterling.

Global equities advanced on Monday, with STOXX posting its best gain in six weeks, after investors were encouraged by upbeat manufacturing surveys out of China and the United States.

The strong data from two of the world’s largest economies came on the heels of fresh concerns over the health of the world economy after the U.S. Federal Reserve abandoned plans for interest rates hikes this year in a surprise move last month.

Meanwhile, Britain was no nearer to resolving the chaos surrounding its exit from the EU bloc after parliament failed on Monday to find a majority of its own for any alternative to Prime Minister Theresa May’s divorce deal.

May is due to hold five hours of cabinet meetings with senior ministers on Tuesday to plan the government’s next moves.

Capping gains on the pan-region index were losses in auto stocks and basic resources, which declined for the first time in five sessions.

Mining stocks slid with BHP Group dipping after the company said their initial estimates indicated iron ore production would take a hit of about 6 million to 8 million tonnes from damage caused by cyclone Veronica last week.

Novartis AG shares fell 0.7 percent after a U.S. ruling that the Swiss drugmaker must face a government lawsuit accusing it of paying millions of dollars in kickbacks to doctors so they would prescribe its drugs.

Prosiebensat rose 2.5 percent, leading gains after HSBC upgraded the Germany-based advertising company’s stocks.

Grenke AG rose 1.5 percent after the company reported an increase of 22 percent in the new businesses in the first quarter.

Volvo rose 1.2 percent after Goldman Sachs initiated its rating on the company with “buy.”

Tire-maker Pirelli rose 0.3 percent after the company said it saw a positive impact of 107 million euros in first half from recognition of tax credits in Brazil.

(Reporting by Medha Singh and Agamoni Ghosh in Bengaluru; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)

Source: OANN

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Oil prices hover near 2019 highs after U.S. ends all Iran sanction waivers

FILE PHOTO: Gas flares from an oil production platform are seen at the Soroush oil fields.
FILE PHOTO: Gas flares from an oil production platform at the Soroush oil fields in the Persian Gulf, south of the capital Tehran, July 25, 2005. REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi

April 23, 2019

By Henning Gloystein

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Oil prices hovered near 2019 peaks in early trading on Tuesday after Washington abruptly moved to end all Iran sanctions waivers by May, pressuring importers to stop buying from Tehran.

Brent crude futures were at $74.33 per barrel at 0051 GMT, up 0.4 percent from their last close and not far off 2019 highs of $74.52 reached on Monday.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $65.79 per barrel, up 0.4 percent from their previous settlement, and also just a notch below their $65.92 2019 peak from Monday.

The United States on Monday demanded that buyers of Iranian oil stop purchases by May 1 or face sanctions, ending six months of waivers which allowed Iran’s eight biggest buyers, most of them in Asia, to continue buying limited volumes.

Before the reimposition of sanctions last year, Iran was the fourth-largest producer among the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) at almost 3 million barrels per day (bpd), but April exports have shrunk well below 1 million bpd, according to ship tracking and analyst data in Refinitiv.

(GRAPHIC: Iran crude oil & condensate shipping departures link: https://tmsnrt.rs/2IBQF06)

Barclay’s bank said in a note following the announcement that the decision took many market participants by surprise and that the move would “lead to a significant tightening of oil markets”.

The British bank added that Washington’s target to cut Iran oil exports to zero posed a “material upside risk to our current $70 per barrel average price forecast for Brent this year, compared with the year-to-date average of $65 per barrel”.

ANZ bank said in a note on Tuesday that “the decision is likely to worsen the ongoing supply woes being felt with Venezuelan sanctions, the OPEC supply cut, and intensifying conflict in Libya”.

The move to tighten Iran sanctions comes amid other sanctions Washington has placed on Venezuela’s oil exports and also as producer club OPEC has led supply cuts since the start of the year aimed at tightening global oil markets and propping up crude prices.

Ellen Wald, non-resident senior fellow at the Global Energy Center of the Atlantic Council, said the United States “seem to expect” Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to replace the Iranian oil, but she added “that this is not necessarily the way Saudi Arabia sees it”.

Saudi Arabia is the world’s biggest exporter of crude oil and OPEC’s de-facto leader. The group is set to meet in June to discuss its output policy.

Meanwhile, the Atlantic Council said the U.S. move would hurt Iranian citizens.

“We’re going to see their currency collapse more, more unemployment, more inflation,” said Barbara Slavin, director for the Future of Iran Initiative at the Atlantic Council, adding that the U.S. sanctions were “not going to bring Iran back to the (nuclear) negotiating table”.

(Graphic: Iran’s oil exports are plunging: https://tmsnrt.rs/2IyFzZT)

(Reporting by Henning Gloystein in SINGAPORE; Additional reporting by Humeyra Paumuk in WASHINGTON; Editing by Joseph Radford)

Source: OANN

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Fire guts shanties in Bangladesh Rohingya refugee camp

An official says a fire in a sprawling Rohingya refugee camp in southern Bangladesh has destroyed more than two dozen huts and a mosque.

The official in Cox's Bazar district, Mikaruzzman Chowdhury, says no injuries occurred in the fire, which broke out Wednesday in a camp in Kutupalong. He says 28 huts and a mosque were destroyed.

Chowdhury says firefighters were able to douse the blaze before it spread further.

More than 700,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled to Bangladesh from western Myanmar's Rakhine state to escape an army-led crackdown on the minority group that started in August 2017. Critics have described the campaign as ethnic cleansing, or even genocide, on the part of Myanmar security forces.

Source: Fox News World

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Queen celebrates 93rd birthday at Easter service

Britain's Queen Elizabeth arrives at the Easter Mattins Service at St. George's Chapel in Windsor
Britain's Queen Elizabeth arrives at the Easter Mattins Service at St. George's Chapel in Windsor, Britain April 21, 2019. Ian Vogler/Pool via REUTERS

April 21, 2019

LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s Queen Elizabeth, the world’s oldest and longest reigning living monarch, celebrated her 93rd birthday on Sunday by attending the traditional Easter service at Windsor Castle.

Elizabeth was accompanied by members of her family, including grandsons Prince William and Prince Harry, and William’s wife Catherine, at the Easter Mattins service in St George’s Chapel.

Prince Harry’s wife Meghan Markle, who is due to give birth to the couple’s first child imminently, did not attend.

The couple, who were married at the chapel in May 2018, posted a birthday greeting to Elizabeth on their official Instagram account.

“Happy Birthday Your Majesty, Ma’am, Granny. Wishing you the most wonderful day! Harry & Meghan,” they wrote.

Elizabeth was born on April 21, 1926, in Bruton Street, central London and became queen in 1952 at the age of 25, meaning she has now reigned for more than 67 years.

She has an official birthday in June which is publicly marked with a large parade of soldiers through central London, known as Trooping the Colour.

(Reporting by Paul Sandle; Editing by Mark Potter)

Source: OANN

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FILE PHOTO: Supporters of the Spain's far-right party VOX wave Spanish flags as they attend an electoral rally ahead of general elections in the Andalusian capital of Seville
FILE PHOTO: Supporters of the Spain’s far-right party VOX wave Spanish flags as they attend an electoral rally ahead of general elections in the Andalusian capital of Seville, Spain April 24, 2019. REUTERS/Marcelo del Pozo/File Photo

April 26, 2019

By John Stonestreet and Belén Carreño

MADRID (Reuters) – Spain’s Vox party, aligned to a broader far-right movement emerging across Europe, has become the focus of speculation about last minute shifts in voting intentions since official polling for Sunday’s national election ended four days ago.

No single party is anywhere near securing a majority, and chances of a deadlocked parliament and a second election are high.

Leaders of the five parties vying for a role in government get final chances to pitch for power at rallies on Friday evening, before a campaign characterized by appeals to voters’ hearts rather than wallets ends at midnight.

By tradition, the final day before a Spanish election is politics-free.

Two main prizes are still up for grabs in the home straight. One concerns which of the two rival left and right multi-party blocs gets more votes.

The other is whether Vox could challenge the mainstream conservative PP for leadership of the latter bloc, which media outlets with access to unofficial soundings taken since Monday suggest could be starting to happen.

The right’s loose three-party alliance is led by the PP, the traditional conservative party that has alternated in office with outgoing Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s Socialists since Spain’s return to democracy in the 1970s.

The PP stands at around 20 percent, with center-right Ciudadanos near 14 percent and Vox around 11 percent, according to a final poll of polls in daily El Pais published on Monday.

Since then, however, interest in Vox – which will become the first far-right party to sit in parliament since 1982 – has snowballed.

It was founded in 2013, part of a broader anti-establishment, far-right movement that has also spread across – among others – Italy, France and Germany.

While it is careful to distance itself from the ideology of late dictator Francisco Franco, Vox’s signature policies include repealing laws banning Franco-era symbols and on gender-based violence, and shifting power away from Spain’s regional governments.

TRENDING

According to a Google trends graphic, Vox has generated more than three times more search inquiries than any other Spanish political party in the past week.

Reasons could include a groundswell of vocal activist support at Vox rallies in Madrid and Valencia, and its exclusion from two televised debates between the main party leaders, on the grounds of it having no deputies yet in parliament.

Conservative daily La Vanguardia called its enforced absence from Monday’s and Tuesday’s debates “a gift from heaven”, while left-wing Eldiario.es suggested the PP was haemorrhaging votes to Vox in rural areas.

Ignacio Jurado, politics lecturer at the University of York, agreed the main source of additional Vox votes would be disaffected PP supporters, and called the debate ban – whose impact he said was unclear – wrong.

“This is a party polling over 10 percent and there are people interested in what it says. So we lose more than we win in not having them (in the debates),” he said

For Jose Fernandez-Albertos, political scientist at Spanish National Research Council CSIC, Vox is enjoying the novelty effect that propelled then new, left-wing arrival Podemos to 20 percent of the vote in 2015.

“While it’s unclear how to interpret the (Google) data, what we do know is that it’s better to be popular and to be a newcomer, and that Vox will benefit in some form,” he said.

For now, the chances of Vox taking a major role in government remain slim, however.

The El Pais survey put the Socialists on around 30 percent, making them the frontrunners and likely to form a leftist bloc with Podemos, back down at around 14 percent.

The unofficial soundings suggest little change in the two parties’ combined vote, or the total vote of the rightist bloc.

That makes it unlikely that either bloc will win a majority on Sunday, triggering horse-trading with smaller parties favoring Catalan independence – the single most polarizing issues during campaigning – that could easily collapse into fresh elections.

(Election graphic: https://tmsnrt.rs/2ENugtw)

(Reporting by John Stonestreet and Belen Carreno, Editing by William Maclean)

Source: OANN

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FILE PHOTO: The logo of the OPEC is seen at OPEC's headquarters in Vienna
FILE PHOTO: The logo of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries at OPEC’s headquarters in Vienna, Austria December 5, 2018. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger/File Photo

April 26, 2019

JOINT BASE ANDREWS, Md. (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday he called the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and told the cartel to lower oil prices.

“Gasoline prices are coming down. I called up OPEC, I said you’ve got to bring them down. You’ve got to bring them down,” Trump told reporters.

(Reporting by Roberta Rampton; Writing by Makini Brice; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

Source: OANN

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Sonia Bompastor, director of the Olympique Lyonnais womenÕs Youth Academy, leads a training at the OL Academy near Lyon
Sonia Bompastor, director of the Olympique Lyonnais womenÕs Youth Academy, leads a training at the OL Academy in Meyzieu near Lyon, France, April 16, 2019. REUTERS/Emmanuel Foudrot

April 26, 2019

By Julien Pretot

MEYZIEU, France (Reuters) – Olympique Lyonnais president Jean-Michel Aulas was wringing out his women’s team shirts in the locker room on a rainy London day eight years ago when he decided it was time to take gender equality more seriously.

It was halftime in their Champions League semi-final second leg against Arsenal at Meadow Park with 507 fans watching and Aulas realized that his players did not have a another kit for the second half.

“Next time, there will be a second set just like for the men, that’s how it’s going to work from now on,” he said.

Lyon have since won five Champions League titles to become the most successful women’s team in Europe and recently claimed a 13th consecutive domestic crown.

They visit Chelsea on Sunday in the second leg of their Champions League semi-final, with a fourth straight title in their sights.

At the heart of their achievements is a pervasive ethos that promotes gender equality throughout the club, starting in the youth academy.

In 2013, Aulas appointed former Lyon and France player Sonia Bompastor as head of the Women’s Academy — the female equivalent of one of France’s top youth set-ups that has produced players such as Karim Benzema, Alexandre Lacazette and Hatem Ben Arfa.

At the Youth Academy, girls and boys share the same facilities.

“Pitches, physiotherapy rooms are the same for all,” the 38-year-old Bompastor told Reuters.

As the girls train under the watch of former Lyon and France international Camille Abily, the screams of the boys practicing can be heard nearby.

The boys and girls also benefit from the same psychological support that includes hypnosis sessions and yoga.

“We have a ‘mental ability’ cell and the hypnotist acts on the girls’ subconscious, on their deeply held beliefs after observing them on and off the pitch,” Bompastor added.

SAME TREATMENT

One message the Academy staff are trying to convey is that girls are as good as boys.

“Women’s nature is such that we have low self-esteem. So self-esteem is a big topic for our girls,” said Bompastor.

This is not the case with the boys, she added.

“Some 14, 15-year-old boys still think they would beat our professional players, we tell them this would not be happening. We still need to work on those beliefs,” she said.

Female players also have to face questions that their male counterparts do not, Bompastor explained.

“In France there is a problem with the way women are considered, there are high aesthetic expectations. So we get heavy questions on femininity, intimate questions that men don’t get,” she said.

OL’s Academy has been held up as a shining example for others to follow, even in the U.S., where women’s soccer has a wider audience than in Europe.

“About one third of the (senior women’s) squad comes from the Academy, we have a good balance,” said Bompastor.

“I’m getting tons of requests from American universities and foreign clubs, who want to come and visit our facilities.”

‘ONE CLUB’

The salaries of the senior players is one area where there remains a large discrepancy between Lyon’s men’s and women’s teams.

While the three best-paid women players in the world are at Lyon with Ballon d’Or winner Ada Hegerberg earning 400,000 euros ($445,520) a year, this figure is dwarfed by the around 4 million euros earned annually by men’s player Memphis Depay.

There is, however, a level of interaction between the men’s and women’s players that is not present at many other clubs.

“When you talk about OL you talk about women and men, you talk about one club and you feel it when you are here or outside in the city,” Germany defender Carolin Simon told Reuters.

“We see it when we play in the big stadium. It’s not ‘normal’ for women’s football,” the 26-year-old, who joined the club last year, added.

Lyon’s female players also enjoy respect from their male counterparts, Simon said.

“It’s very cool, it’s a big honor to feel that it doesn’t matter if you are a professional man or woman. We talk with the men, there are handshakes, it’s a good atmosphere and it’s also why we are successful,” said Simon.

“The men respect us and it’s not just for the cameras.”

Her team mate, England’s Lucy Bronze, sees the men’s respect as key to improving women’s football.

“We might not be paid the same but they are just normal with us, they see us as footballers the same as they are,” Bronze told Reuters.

“Being at Lyon has really opened my eyes. To improve women’s football, it starts with having the respect of your male counterparts. It’s the biggest thing because they can influence so many people.”

(Reporting by Julien Pretot; Editing by Toby Davis)

Source: OANN

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FILE PHOTO: Ethiopian migrants, stranded in war-torn Yemen, sit on the ground of a detention site pending repatriation to their home country, in Aden, Yemen
FILE PHOTO: Ethiopian migrants, stranded in war-torn Yemen, sit on the ground of a detention site pending repatriation to their home country, in Aden, Yemen April 24, 2019. REUTERS/Fawaz Salman/File Photo

April 26, 2019

GENEVA (Reuters) – Yemeni authorities have rounded up about 3,000 irregular migrants, predominantly Ethiopians, in the south of the country, “creating an acute humanitarian situation,” the U.N. migration agency said on Friday.

“IOM is deeply concerned about the conditions in which the migrants are being held and is engaging with the authorities to ensure access to the detained migrants,” the International Organization for Migration said.

The migrants are held in open-air football stadiums and in a military camp, it said in a statement.

The detentions began on Sunday in the city of Aden and the neighboring province of Lahj, which are under the control of the internationally recognized government backed by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Iran-aligned Houthi rebels control Sanaa, the capital, and other major urban centers.

Both sides are under international diplomatic pressure to implement a United Nations-sponsored ceasefire deal agreed last year in Sweden and to prepare for a wider political dialogue that would end the four-year-old war.

Thousands of migrants arrive in Yemen every year, mostly from the Horn of Africa, driven by drought and unemployment at home and lured by the wages available in the Gulf.

(Writing by Maher Chmaytelli, Editing by William Maclean)

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U.S. dollar notes are seen in this picture illustration
U.S. dollar notes are seen in this November 7, 2016 picture illustration. Picture taken November 7. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

April 26, 2019

(Reuters) – Following are five big themes likely to dominate thinking of investors and traders in the coming week and the Reuters stories related to them.

1/DOLLAR JUGGERNAUT

The dollar has zipped to near two-year highs, leaving many scratching their heads. To many, it’s down to signs the U.S. economy is chugging ahead while the rest of the world loses steam. After all, Wall Street is busily scaling new peaks day after day.

Never mind the cause, the effect is stark. The euro has tumbled to 22-month lows against the dollar and investors are preparing for more, buying options to shield against further downside. Emerging-market currencies are also in pain, with Turkish lira and Argentine peso both sharply weaker.

Now U.S. data need to keep surprising on the upside or even just meet expectations. The International Monetary Fund sees U.S. growth at 2.3 percent this year. For Germany, the forecast is 0.8 percent. The U.S. economy’s rude health has given rise to speculation the Fed might resume raising interest rates. Unlikely. But as other countries — Canada, Sweden and Australia are the latest — hint at more policy easing, there seems to be one way the dollar can go. Up.

(GRAPHIC: Dollar outperforms G10 FX – https://tmsnrt.rs/2Dz17S5)

2/FED: UP OR DOWN?

Wall Street is near record highs and recession worries are receding, so as we mentioned above, investors might wonder if the Federal Reserve will start raising rates again.

Such a pivot is unlikely after the Fed killed off rate-rise expectations at its March meeting. And the latest Reuters poll all but puts to bed any risk of rates will go up this economic cycle, given inflation remains below the Fed’s alarm threshold and unemployment is the lowest in generations.

Before the March rate-pause announcement, a preponderance of economists penciled in one or more increases this year. But that has flipped. A majority of those surveyed April 22-24 see no further tightening through December and more are leaning toward a cut by the end of next year.

Indeed, interest rate futures imply Fed Funds will be below the current 2.25-2.50 percent target range by this December.

Recent positive consumer spending and exports data have eased market concerns of a sharp economic slowdown. But inflation probably needs to run hot for a long period to panic policymakers off their wait-and-see course.     

(GRAPHIC: Federal funds and the economy – https://tmsnrt.rs/2DzjTZz)

3/HEISEI TO REIWA

Next week ends three decades of Japan’s Heisei era. Heisei, or Achieving Peace, began in 1989 near the peak of a massive stock market bubble and closes with the country trapped in low growth, no inflation, and negative interest rates.

The new era that dawns on May 1 is called Reiwa, meaning Beautiful Harmony. It begins when Crown Prince Naruhito ascends the Chrysanthemum Throne. But do investors really want harmony? What they want to see is a bit of economic growth and inflation to shake up the status quo.

The Bank of Japan’s stimulus toolkit to revive a long-suffering economy is anything but harmonious and yet it’s set to stay. The central bank confirmed recently rates will stay near zero for a long time. But the coming days may not be harmonious or peaceful for currency markets. A 10-day Golden Week holiday kicks off on April 29 and investors are fretting over the risk of a “flash crash” – a violent currency spasm that can occur in times of thin trading turnover.

The year has already seen two yen spikes and many, including Japan’s housewife-trader brigade – so-called Mrs Watanabes – appear to have bought yen as the holiday approaches. Their short dollar/long yen positions recently reached record highs, stock exchange data showed.

(GRAPHIC: Japan stocks: from Hensei to Reiwa – https://tmsnrt.rs/2W6a7Fe)

4/EARNING TURNING

Quarterly earnings were supposed to be the worst in Europe in almost three years, but with a third of results in, things are looking a little rosier.

Two-thirds of companies’ results have beat expectations, and they point to earnings growth of 4.5 percent year-on-year. Financials have delivered the biggest surprises, according to analysis by Barclays.

That might just show how low expectations were. In fact, analysts are still taking a red pen to their estimates.

The latest I/B/E/S data from Refinitiv shows analysts on average expect first-quarter earnings-per-share for STOXX 600-listed companies to fall 4.2 percent. That would be their worst quarter since 2016 and down sharply from an estimated 3.4 percent just a week earlier.

Those estimates may end up being a little too bearish as earnings season goes on, quelling worries that Europe is heading toward a corporate recession.

GSK and Reckitt Benckiser will give the market a glimpse of the health of the consumer products market and spending on everything from toothpaste, washing powder and paracetamol.

(GRAPHIC: Earnings forecasts – https://tmsnrt.rs/2DuO2ZF)

5/WAITING FOR THE OLD LADY

Sterling has gone into the doldrums amid the Brexit delay and unproductive talks between the UK government and the opposition Labour party on a EU withdrawal deal. The resurgent dollar, meanwhile, has taken 2 percent off the pound in April. It is unlikely the Bank of England will be able to rouse it at its May 2 meeting.

Despite robust retail and jobs data of late, the economic picture is gloomy – 2019 growth is likely to be around 1.2 percent, the weakest since 2009, investment is down and Governor Mark Carney says business uncertainty is “through the roof”.

Indeed, expectations for an interest rate increase have been whittled down; Reuters polls forecast rates will not move until early 2020, a calendar quarter later than was forecast a month ago. The hunt for a new governor to replace Carney in October adds more uncertainty to the mix.

The recent run of UK data has fueled hopes of economic rebound. That’s put net hedge fund positions in the pound into positive territory for the first time in nearly a year. The Old Lady of Threadneedle Street might temper some of that optimism.

(GRAPHIC: Sterling positions – https://tmsnrt.rs/2XJwUXX)

(Reporting by Alden Bentley in New York, Vidya Ranganathan in Singapore; Karin Strohecker, Josephine Mason and Saikat Chatterjee in London; compiled by Sujata Rao; edited by Larry King)

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