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DowDuPont completes spin-off of materials science unit

FILE PHOTO: A screen displays the trading information for chemical producer DowDuPont Inc. on the floor at the NYSE in New York
FILE PHOTO: A screen displays the trading information for chemical producer DowDuPont Inc. on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., March 20, 2019. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo

April 1, 2019

(Reuters) – DowDuPont Inc said on Monday it had completed the spin-off of its materials science division as part of a plan to split the chemical producer into three separate units.

Shares of the new division, Dow, will begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday.

Dow and Dupont completed a $130 billion merger in 2017 to form DowDuPont and had outlined a plan to create three separately traded companies focusing on agriculture, plastics and specialty products.

Corteva, the agriculture unit, is set to separate from the new specialty chemical maker DuPont on June 1.

(Reporting by John Benny in Bengaluru; Editing by James Emmanuel)

Source: OANN

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China’s Xi says West has long-term economic, military superiority

Chinese President Xi Jinping in Paris
FILE PHOTO - Chinese President Xi Jinping holds a news conference after a meeting with French President at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France March 25, 2019. Yoan Valat/Pool via REUTERS

April 1, 2019

BEIJING (Reuters) – Developed Western nations have long-term economic, technological and military advantages over China and the Communist Party has to realize that some people will use the West’s strong points to criticize socialism’s failings, President Xi Jinping said.

Since assuming power in China more than six years ago, Xi has ramped up efforts to ensure total party loyalty and discipline, including a sweeping crackdown on corruption, warning the party’s very survival is at stake.

This year, which is marked by a series of sensitive anniversaries including three decades since the bloody crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators in and around Tiananmen Square, has seen a further increase in calls for party loyalty.

On Monday, leading party theoretical journal Qiushi, which means “Seeking Truth”, published lengthy excerpts for the first time from a speech Xi gave in early 2013 shortly after becoming party boss, warning of the dangers the party faces.

Citing Marx and Engels, Xi said socialism would inevitably vanquish capitalism, but that it would be a long historical process. China practises what it calls socialism with Chinese characteristics.

China must “fully appraise the objective reality of the long-term advantage Western developed countries have in the economic, scientific, and military fields, and conscientiously prepare for all aspects of long-term cooperation and struggle between the two social systems”, Xi said.

The party also needed to “face the reality that some people compare the good qualities of Western developed nations with the insufficiencies of our country’s socialist development and offer criticism of it”, he added.

While the party has committed “big mistakes” like the Cultural Revolution, when children turned on parents and students on teachers after Mao Zedong declared class war, the party’s history is “generally speaking glorious”, Xi said.

Those who criticize the revolution – which brought the Communist Party to power in 1949 – are simply trying to incite the overthrow of the party, he added.

But China needs to stick to its landmark economic reforms begun in 1978, without which the party could have fallen, Xi said.

The party “may even have faced a serious crisis, like the death of the party and the death of the country encountered by the Soviet Union and Eastern European countries”.

But China had proved the naysayers wrong, Xi added.

“Both history and reality tell us that only socialism can save China. Only socialism with Chinese characteristics can develop China. This is the conclusion of history and the choice of the people.”

(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Additional reporting by Gao Liangping; Editing by Nick Macfie)

Source: OANN

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U.S. slaps new sanctions on Cuba and Venezuela to pressure Maduro

Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro speaks next to Cuba's President Miguel Diaz-Canel during their meeting at the Miraflores Palace in Caracas
FILE PHOTO: Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro speaks next to Cuba's President Miguel Diaz-Canel, wearing a Venezuelan flag sash, during their meeting at the Miraflores Palace in Caracas, Venezuela May 30, 2018. REUTERS/Marco Bello

April 17, 2019

By Zachary Fagenson, Matt Spetalnick and Lesley Wroughton

MIAMI/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Trump administration on Wednesday imposed new sanctions and other punitive measures on Cuba and Venezuela, seeking to ratchet up U.S. pressure on Havana to end its support for Venezuela’s socialist president, Nicolas Maduro.

Speaking to a Cuban exile group in Miami, U.S. national security adviser John Bolton said the United States was targeting Cuba’s military and intelligence services, including a military-owned airline, for additional sanctions and was tightening travel and trade restrictions against the island.

Bolton’s speech followed the State Department’s announcement on Wednesday that it was lifting a long-standing ban against U.S. citizens filing lawsuits against foreign companies that use properties seized by Cuba’s Communist government since Fidel Castro’s 1959 revolution.

President Donald Trump’s decision, which the State Department said could unleash hundreds of thousands of legal claims worth tens of billions of dollars, drew swift criticism from European and Canadian allies, whose companies have significant interests in Cuba.

The Cuban government, which could be hindered in its efforts to attract new foreign investment, denounced it as “an attack on international law.”

Taking aim at Venezuela, Bolton said the United States was also imposing sanctions on the country’s central bank, restricting U.S. transactions and prohibiting access to dollars by an institution he described as crucial to keeping Maduro in power. Bolton also announced new sanctions on Nicaragua.

While accusing Cuba of propping up Maduro with its security forces in the country, Bolton also used the opportunity to issue a warning to “all external actors, including Russia,” against deploying military assets to support the Venezuelan leader.

“The United States will consider such provocative actions a threat to international peace and security in the region,” Bolton said, noting that Moscow recently sent in military flights carrying 35 tons of unknown cargo and a hundred military personnel.

However, Cuba appears unlikely to be budged by the Trump administration’s demands to dump Maduro, a longtime ally of Havana, and Maduro has also shown little sign of losing the loyalty of the Venezuela military despite tough oil-related U.S. sanctions on the OPEC member-nation.

“No one will rip the (fatherland) away from us, neither by seduction nor by force,” Cuba’s President Miguel Diaz-Canel wrote on Twitter. “We Cubans do not surrender.”

ROLLING BACK OBAMA-ERA DETENTE

Amid Venezuela’s political and economic crisis, opposition leader Juan Guaido invoked the constitution in January to assume the interim presidency. The United States and most Western countries have backed Guaido as head of state. Maduro, backed by Cuba, Russia and China, has denounced Guaido as a U.S. puppet.

Bolton, a longtime Cuba hardliner, was frequently interrupted by applause in his address to an organization of veterans of the U.S.-backed Bay of Pigs invasion on the 58th anniversary of the failed operation to overthrow Cuba’s Communist government. His speech was a sequel to one he made late last year branding Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua a “troika of tyranny.”

Bolton’s announcements included further measures aimed at rolling back parts of the historic opening to Cuba, an old Cold War foe, under his predecessor, Barack Obama.

The Obama administration’s approach, he said, “provided the Cuban regime with the necessary political cover to expand its malign influence and ideological imperialism across the region.”

Among the Cuba measures announced by Bolton was the reinstatement of limits on U.S. citizens sending remittances to Cuba at $1,000 per person per quarter, and other changes aimed at ending the use of transactions that he said allows Havana to circumvent sanctions and obtain access to hard currency.

Remittances from the United States have surged since Obama started easing restrictions on them in 2009, becoming an important part of the Cuban economy and fueling the growth of the private sector by providing start-up capital.

He said the United States would also further restrict “non-family” travel by Americans to Cuba – though he offered no details – and cited military-owned Cuban airline Aerogaviota among the five names being added to the U.S. sanctions blacklist.

The Trump administration has previously sought to curtail Venezuela’s subsidized oil shipments to Cuba.

Also on Wednesday, Bolton announced that Washington was imposing sanctions on Nicaragua’s Bancorp and on Laureano Ortega, a son of President Daniel Ortega.

(Reporting by Zachary Fagenson in Miami and Matt Spetalnick and Lesley Wroughton in Washington; Additional reporting by Makini Brice, David Alexander and Doina Chiacu in Washington; Sarah Marsh and Marc Frank in Havana;Philip Blenkinsop and Jan Strupczewski in Brussels; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)

Source: OANN

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American Airlines flight attendant ‘mortified’ after spilling tray of drinks on CEO

An American Airlines flight attendant said she was “mortified” after a passenger bumped into her and she accidentally sprayed her company’s CEO with a tray full of drinks on a flight recently.

“Luckily he was super cool, and a good sport about it. He later came back and we chatted for a little, and joked about it the rest of the flight,” Maddie Peters said on Instagram about her interaction with CEO Doug Parker on the flight from Phoenix to Dallas.

SLOW-WALKING FLAMINGO HOLDS UP EASYJET PLANE

The two of them even took a photo together.

“When he was getting off the plane he told me he’d never forget me.... guess that’s a good thing right?” she added in the post.

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Peters says she’s never spilled a drink on a passenger in her four years on the job. "Accidents happen," she wrote.

Source: Fox News National

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No majority in British parliament for second Brexit referendum: Reuters analysis

FILE PHOTO: British and EU flags flutter outside the Houses of Parliament in London
FILE PHOTO: British and EU flags flutter outside the Houses of Parliament in London, Britain January 30, 2019. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo

March 11, 2019

By Kylie MacLellan

LONDON (Reuters) – There is no majority in Britain’s parliament in favor of holding a second Brexit referendum, according to a Reuters analysis of public comments made by lawmakers.

Britain is due to leave the European Union at the end of this month, and with parliament yet to approve Prime Minister Theresa May’s exit deal, calls for a second referendum to break the deadlock, often dubbed a ‘people’s vote’, have intensified.

Last month, the opposition Labour Party broke new ground for one of the major parties by saying it would support a new referendum on May’s deal after parliament defeated its alternative Brexit plan.

Labour’s position could face its first test on Tuesday when May’s deal is brought back to parliament. Labour indicated on Sunday it would not put forward its own proposal for a second referendum at that time, but other lawmakers could force a vote on the issue.

While a majority of lawmakers voted to remain in the bloc in the 2016 referendum, a Reuters analysis of public comments found that only 219 have expressed a willingness to support another vote, and a further 65 have not made their views known.

This is well short of the 318 votes needed to guarantee approval of the amendment if there are no absences or abstentions.

A referendum would need to be approved by parliament and May has ruled out proposing one, saying it would deepen already ugly divisions over Britain’s biggest decision since World War Two and betray the 52 percent – 17.4 million people – who voted to leave the EU.

POLITICAL STATEMENT

While Tuesday’s votes on amendments are not binding on the government, they would be politically hard to ignore.

Those in favor of a new referendum include many Labour lawmakers, seven of May’s Conservatives, the newly formed Independent Group and the pro-EU Liberal Democrats. The Westminster leader of the Scottish National Party has also backed the idea of another vote, although at least one of his lawmakers has voiced concern.

In contrast, 245 lawmakers openly oppose the idea, 15 are deeply skeptical and a further 94 government ministers and whips, or parliamentary enforcers, would be required to vote in line with the government’s position against another referendum.

So far, 24 of Labour’s 245 lawmakers have said publicly they do not support another referendum, while a further 13, many of whom represent areas that voted strongly in favor of leaving the EU, have expressed reservations.

“I will not, shall not and cannot vote for a second referendum, regardless of how much lipstick is put on it and what it is called,” Labour lawmaker Gareth Snell told parliament after his party announced its backing for another vote.

“That is a distraction from the main purpose of our job, which is to find a deal.”

Labour lawmaker Caroline Flint has said as many as 60 or 70 of her colleagues oppose a referendum.

It is unclear what conditions Labour might attach to supporting a second referendum, and there is disagreement within the party over whether any referendum should include an option to remain in the EU.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who voted against joining the EU in 1975, has said his party would support a referendum to “prevent a damaging Tory (Conservative) Brexit or disastrous ‘no deal'” – leaving open the possibility that it would back a different deal without a popular vote.

BRITAIN STILL DIVIDED

Some lawmakers may yet change their minds, particularly if any referendum was a confirmatory vote on whether to back May’s deal, much as Corbyn suggests, rather than a re-run of the 2016 vote. But the numbers suggest it is likely to have difficulty getting through parliament.

Opinion polls indicate Britons are still deeply divided over Brexit. While most voters would stick to their 2016 choice, some surveys have shown a swing towards remaining in the EU.

A YouGov poll last month found that, when asked to choose between accepting May’s deal and having another referendum, 51 percent favored a fresh vote and 49 percent – the deal.

Lawmakers across parties cite worries about prolonging uncertainty and increasing division as reasons for opposing a vote, while the most common argument is that it would be undemocratic to seek to overturn the result of a vote in which more than 30 million people took part.

But pro-referendum campaigners say voters did not know what kind of Brexit was available when they were offered a binary choice between “Remain” and “Leave” in the 2016 referendum.

“Now we know what Brexit looks like, now we know the cost, and now we know how badly Brexit compares to our current deal in the EU, the only way forward is to put it to the people,” said Labour lawmaker and People’s Vote campaigner David Lammy.

(Additional reporting by Elizabeth Piper and William James; Editing by Kevin Liffey)

Source: OANN

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Pentagon Hasn't Discussed 'Cost Plus 50' Plan With Euro Allies

The Defense Department has not brought up with European allies President Donald Trump's controversial idea for countries to pay the full cost of stationing American forces on their land, plus 50 percent, a top Pentagon official told a House Armed Services Committee hearing Wednesday, The Hill reported.

Acting assistant secretary of Defense for international security affairs Kathryn Wheelbarger said the president's demand might have been raised with Pacific allies, but "it's not a conversation we've had in my portfolio at all."

In Trump's so-called "cost plus 50" formula, first reported by Bloomberg, he is demanding countries where American troops are based pay the full price of keeping those forces in their nation, plus another 50 percent, meaning they would have to pay at least five times more than they do now.

Former senior American military commanders have slammed the idea as a "colossal mistake" and "pure idiocy," according to Defense One.

Retired three-star general Ben Hodges, who was the most recent commanding general of U.S. Army Europe, said the idea "shows either a complete lack of understanding or a complete disregard for the value of the access we get from having bases in Europe . . . You can't defend America from Virginia, North Carolina, and California."

Politicians, including top Republican lawmakers, have also blasted the plan as harmful to American interests and its ties with needed allies.

House Republican Conference Chairwoman Liz Cheney added the proposal would be "absolutely devastating" to American diplomacy, according to The Hill.

Source: NewsMax America

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Trump says he will not release his tax returns

U.S. President Trump departs on travel to the Texas from the White House in Washington
U.S. President Donald Trump talks to reporters as he departs for travel to Texas from the White House in Washington, U.S., April 10, 2019. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

April 10, 2019

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday held steady in his refusal to publicly release his tax returns despite mounting pressure in Congress for their disclosure that is likely to spur a legal battle.

Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump said Americans did not care about the issue and maintained that his returns were being audited by the Internal Revenue Service, which tax and legal experts have said does not prevent their release.

(Reporting by Steve Holland and Tim Ahmann; Writing by Susan Heavey; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

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)

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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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Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren suggested that doctors and nurses don’t treat African American women the same way they do white women.

Warren appeared on Wednesday together with a number of other 2020 Democratic candidates at the She The People Forum in Houston, discussing issues concerning women of color.

WARREN’S $1.25T EDUCATION PLAN ‘SWEEPING’ GIVEAWAY TO THE WEALTHY AT EXPENSE OF THE POOR, WAPO EDITORIAL BOARD SAYS

The Massachusetts senator announced on stage a plan to decrease the childbirth mortality rate among black women while identifying a systematic problem with how they are treated.

“And there is a specific problem, as you rightly identified, for women of color who are three, four times more likely to die in childbirth,” Warren said.

“And here’s the thing, even after we do the adjustments for income, for education, this is true across the board. This is true for well-educated African American women, for wealthy African American women, and the best studies that I’m seeing put it down to just one thing, prejudice,” she added.

“That doctors and nurses don’t hear African American women’s medical issues the same way that they hear the same things from white women.”

“That doctors and nurses don’t hear African American women’s medical issues the same way that they hear the same things from white women.”

— Elizabeth Warren

CHARLIE KIRK: WARREN AND OTHER DEMS OFFER FREE MONEY – BUT DON’T TELL YOU PRICE WILL BE YOUR FREEDOM

Warren went on to get into details of her plan, noting that hospitals will be given bonuses if they manage to reduce the childbirth mortality rate among black women in an effort to give financial incentives for those doctors and nurses to provide better care.

“And if they don’t, then they’re going to have money taken away from them,” Warren added.

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“I want to see the hospitals see it as their responsibility to address this problem head-on and make it a first priority. The best way to do that is to use the money to make it happen because we gotta have change, and we gotta have change now.”

Source: Fox News Politics

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