Upcoming shows
Real News

NOW ON AIR
Now On Air

Alex Jones – Info Wars

12:00 pm 4:00 pm



Maga First News

Upcoming Shows

Join The MAGA Network on Discord

0 0

No-frills no longer: GM’s China brand Baojun attempts a major makeover

FILE PHOTO: Shen Yang, general manager of SAIC-GM-Wuling Automobile, attends a Baojun launching event in Shanghai
FILE PHOTO: Shen Yang (3rd R), general manager of SAIC-GM-Wuling Automobile, a joint venture of General Motors and its Chinese partners, attends a Baojun launching event in Shanghai, China April 11, 2019. REUTERS/Yilei Sun/File Photo

April 16, 2019

By Yilei Sun and Norihiko Shirouzu

LIUZHOU, China/BEIJING (Reuters) – By many measures, General Motors’ China brand Baojun has been an exceptional success story, growing at breakneck speed by selling low-cost no-frills vehicles in smaller cities and rural areas.

But as Chinese consumer tastes shift away from basic and affordable, Baojun is engineering a different image for itself – launching mid-market models that will sport a redesigned logo and be sold through new or revamped showrooms.

The move is aimed at ensuring Baojun has offerings in the 100,000 yuan to 150,000 yuan ($15,000-$22,300) range that holds the most potential for the brand, said Mike Devereux, executive vice president at SGMW, GM’s venture with Chinese partners SAIC Motor Corp and Guangxi Automobile Group.

“When you look at what might happen in terms of some of the shrinking segments, you are going to make sure you don’t put all your eggs in one basket,” he told Reuters in an interview.

The first model off the block is the RS-5 SUV, which went on sale last week.

More sleekly designed than other Baojun vehicles, it is the first to feature semi-autonomous driving technology and will be priced from 96,800 yuan to 132,800 yuan. By comparison the most expensive model under Baojun’s old badge is priced from 85,800 yuan to 117,800 yuan.

Another three models will be rolled out this year, Devereux said, declining to provide further details on the cars.

GM executives and analysts see Baojun’s move upmarket as a natural progression as the brand seeks to stay relevant to younger consumers.

It is also supported by a large existing customer base. Most of Baojun’s sales are in smaller and less economically developed cities, but those were areas few Western automakers sought to target and the brand, which only got its start in 2011, rocketed to sales of almost 1 million in 2017.

Amid a slowing economy, sales slipped last year to around 840,000, accounting for 23 percent of GM vehicles sold in China.

For a graphic, click: https://tmsnrt.rs/2X5Th9E

Han Dehong, senior sales manager at SGMW, said the venture had been exploring a makeover of the Baojun brand since 2014 in tandem with a wide-ranging overhaul of its R&D, supply chain and distribution system.

“Younger groups have become the main force of consumer spending in our society and we need to respond to this new younger wave with brand upgrades and revamped models,” he said.

NEW SHOWROOMS, BIGGER CITIES

Compared to 10 years ago when there few models in the mid-market price range, competition has become fierce. Popular models include Toyota Motor Corp’s Corolla and Volkswagen’s Lavida. VW’s newly launched Jetta brand, which like Baojun is a China-only brand, is expected to also be sold in the same range.

“Baojun will need a competitive edge,” said Yale Zhang, head of Shanghai-based consultancy Automotive Foresight, noting that Volkswagen is known for quality, Geely Automobile Holdings is known for design while Great Wall Motor vehicles offer roomy interiors.

To set itself apart, the revamped Baojun brand will emphasize self-driving technology and internet connectivity, GM officials said.

The new models will be sold in 365 new or refurbished showrooms, equivalent to 60 percent of Baojun stores across China. The brand will also strengthen its presence in bigger cities like Chengdu, Tianjin and Nanjin.

A new mobile phone app was also recently launched, allowing customers to arrange a test drive and buy the new models online.

GM officials declined to say how much the automaker had invested in the new models, the logo redesign and new stores.

The move upmarket for Baojun is partial as some cheaper models will still carry the old Baojun badge although others will be folded into the Wuling brand, – the other marque sold by SGMW, said Matt Tsien, GM’s chief in China.

Tsien said GM had little concern that a more upmarket Baojun might eat into sales of GM’s Chevrolet as Chinese customers interested in buying a Chevy tend not to be attracted to domestic brands.

Roughly equivalent vehicles would also be priced differently. Whereas the most expensive version of the RS-5 will cost 132,800 yuan, the Chevy Equinox SUV will start from 174,900 yuan.

“No matter how far you take Baojun, Baojun is still going to be domestic, it’s going to focus on the local market here and it’s going to still represent very good value for customers,” said Tsien.

(Reporting by Yilei Sun and Norihiko Shirozhou; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)

Source: OANN

0 0

Multi-millionaire CrossFit co-founder to marry man jailed on murder charges in Florida

The multi-millionaire co-founder of CrossFit is set to wed her childhood crush -- who is currently jailed for allegedly stabbing someone to death at a treehouse shanty in 2017.

Lauren Jenai, who founded the popular exercise regimen CrossFit with her then-husband Greg Glassman, reconnected with childhood pal Franklin Tyrone Tucker on Facebook after her messy split from the fitness guru. The friendship soon turned romantic, and the two decided to wed at the Monroe County jail where Tucker is currently awaiting trial for murder. Jenai said that, when the two reconnected, they hadn't seen each other in 30 years, since they were children growing up in Philadelphia.

The two, who are both 47, have yet to see each other in person since the relationship began, however, because the jail reportedly does not allow in-person visitation. The couple is also barred from video chatting "for the next 100 years" because they violated jail rules, Page Six reported.

“I got a little risqué...,” Jenai, a mother of four, told the publication, before specifying the act that got her banned.

Jenai, who reportedly sold up to $20 million in CrossFit shares as a result of her 2013 divorce, doesn't plan to implement a prenup in her marriage to Tucker.

CALIFORNIA MAN SENTENCED FOR BEATING EX-REALITY STAR TO DEATH WITH HAMMER, BURYING BODY IN YARD

“Our relationship is very open and we are a team," she said. "I trust him. I love him. My house is his house. A prenup feels a little inappropriate."

Tucker was arrested in 2017 for his alleged involvement in a bizarre case known locally as the "Tree House Murder." Tucker and another man are accused of robbing a woman who lived in a tree house on Stock Island in the Florida Keys. The other man, Rory Hank Wilson, allegedly slit the woman's throat while looking for crack cocaine and cash in her possession.

Authorities say that, as the duo were leaving the tree house, they were confronted by the woman's neighbor, 59-year-old Matthew Bonnett. An argument ensued and Tucker allegedly stabbed Wilson several times, causing injuries from which Wilson died later that day. Authorities say Tucker then told detectives he "had to" kill the man, according to the Miami Herald.

But Jenai, who lives in Portland, Oregon, has been advocating for Tucker's freedom since the two reconnected on Facebook. She argues there's no physical evidence tying him to the case, and was prepared to put up $1 million for his bail before bail was denied in a January hearing.

FLORIDA MAN WITH TATOO-COVERED FACE ARRESTED IN 2001 COLD CASE MURDER

The two planned to get married if he was granted bail, but, since it was denied, they're set to tie the knot at the jail this summer.

She also hopes to advocate for Tucker medically, because he suffers from two hernias.

“Whether he’s guilty or not, I feel like we have a Constitution and there’s rules on what should happen,” Jenai said.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

CrossFit has responded to the news with a statement to the Miami Herald, saying Jenai does not currently and has never been associated with the fitness regime.

“She is in no way associated with CrossFit at this time and was never a part of its founding,” Ben Allen, CrossFit’s military liaison, said earlier this year.

Source: Fox News National

0 0

Vienna-based advocacy group honors Pakistani journalist

A Vienna-based advocacy group has honored a Pakistani journalist known for his critical reporting on the country's powerful military establishment.

The International Press Institute said on Wednesday it named Cyril Almeida the World Press Freedom Hero for 2018. The award honors reporters for contributions to the promotion of press freedoms in the face of great personal risk.

Almeida, who works at Pakistan's Dawn newspaper, was charged with treason after an interview last year with former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in which Sharif accused the military of aiding the militants who had carried out the 2008 Mumbai attacks. Sharif was disqualified from office in 2017 and is now imprisoned.

Almedia's case still lingers before a Pakistani court but if and when he goes on trial, he could face the death penalty.

Source: Fox News World

0 0

Goldman seeks ‘curious’ engineers for digital innovation program: website

The ticker symbol and logo for Goldman Sachs is displayed on a screen on the floor at the NYSE in New York
The ticker symbol and logo for Goldman Sachs is displayed on a screen on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., December 18, 2018. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

April 3, 2019

By Suzanne Barlyn

(Reuters) – Goldman Sachs Group Inc on Wednesday launched an initiative to attract tech-savvy engineers to the bank to take part in a year-long program aimed at developing new finance apps and other innovations, according to the company’s website.

The company is soliciting research proposals from “curious” engineers for a new digital innovation program. Those selected will receive $100,000 in wages and access to its code that allows software programs to communicate with each other, known as application program interface (API).

Goldman’s move is part of a broader trend among companies, including Alphabet Inc’s GoogleO>, Twitter Inc and Spotify Technology SA, to make similar code available to individuals outside of its company, hoping that their involvement will spur new apps and other ideas.

The bank is interested in research about mobile apps, trading strategies, and data visualization, among other things.

Goldman will select proposals based on “novelty, commercial opportunity, feasibility, and the extent to which they utilize the Goldman Sachs platform, among other considerations,” the company said.

(Reporting by Suzanne Barlyn in New York; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)

Source: OANN

0 0

Obama worries that progressives risk creating ‘circular firing squad’

Former President Barack Obama said on Saturday that he is worried that progressives are creating a “circular firing squad” as prospective Democratic presidential candidates race to the left on a number of hot topic issues ahead of the 2020 election.

“The way we structure democracy requires you to take into account people who don’t agree with you,” he said at an Obama Foundation town hall event in Berlin, according to The New York Post. “And that by definition means you’re not going to get 100 percent of what you want.”

BARACK OBAMA STILL BELIEVES BIDEN WOULD BE 'AN EXCELLENT PRESIDENT' AMID INAPPROPRIATE TOUCHING ALLEGATIONS: REPORT

“One of the things I do worry about sometimes among progressives … we start sometimes creating what’s called a ‘circular firing squad’ where you start shooting at your allies because one of them has strayed from purity on the issues,” he said.

Obama’s remarks come as freshman House Democrats such as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., have pushed once-fringe positions on Medicare-for-all, the Green New Deal and reparations for slavery. In turn, 2020 presidential hopefuls have also taken some of those positions.

In that climate, candidates have come under criticism for their past stances from activists. South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg was forced this week to address remarks he made in 2015 when he said that “all lives matter” -- which some activists say is a counterslogan to the “black lives matter” slogan

Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., meanwhile has been hit by controversy over her past as a prosecutor. A scathing op-ed published in January in The New York Times, written by law professor Lara Bazelon, has kickstarted renewed scrutiny.

Bazelon says Harris previously "fought tooth and nail to uphold wrongful convictions that had been secured through official misconduct that included evidence tampering, false testimony and the suppression of crucial information by prosecutors."

Bazelon further suggested that Harris should "apologize to the wrongfully convicted people she has fought to keep in prison and to do what she can to make sure they get justice" or otherwise make clear she has "radically broken from her past."

Former vice president under Obama, Joe Biden, meanwhile has faced criticism for inappropriate past physical contact with women, as well a a 1993 speech on crime in which he warned of “predators on our streets”

"They are beyond the pale many of those people, beyond the pale," Biden continued. "And it's a sad commentary on society. We have no choice but to take them out of society."

The latter was reminiscent of heat 2016 presidential nominee Hillary Clinton took from activists for her description of some gang members as “superpredators” in 1996.

Obama himself may not escape criticism in the election cycle. His signature health care legislation, the Affordable Care Act, is quickly being eclipsed by calls from Democrats for single-payer and Medicare-for-all plans. Meanwhile, a number of Democrats have said they are open to reparations for black Americans for slavery -- something that Obama opposed when he was in office.

Fox News’ Gregg Re contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News Politics

0 0

W.Va. man accused in baby's death can't recall events

A West Virginia man accused of sexually assaulting and killing his girlfriend's 10-month-old baby says he consumed several beers and could not recall what happened to the girl the night of her death.

WCHS-TV reports Benjamin Taylor testified Monday in his trial in Jackson County Circuit Court.

Asked by a prosecutor whether he denied committing the crimes, Taylor said, "I don't know how I could deny it if I don't remember. I wouldn't feel comfortable denying it."

Taylor says he recalled doing laundry and listening to music.

A sheriff's deputy testified last week Taylor had blood on his torso and a wet spot on his pants when officers went to the home in Fairplain in October 2016.

The defense rested after Taylor's testimony and the trial is scheduled to resume Tuesday.

___

Information from: WCHS-TV, http://www.wchstv.com

Source: Fox News National

0 0

Pelosi Mocks AOC Over Twitter – Report

Super Male Vitality

Limited Advanced Release

69.95

31.47

The all new and advanced Super Male Vitality formula uses the newest extraction technology with even more powerful concentrations of various herbs and extracts designed to be even stronger.

https://www.infowars.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/smv-200.jpg

https://www.infowarsstore.com/super-male-vitality.html?ims=jftqm&utm_campaign=IW+-+SuperMale+-STFA+-+55%25+Off+-+Widget&utm_source=Infowars+Widget&utm_medium=Widget&utm_content=IW-STFA-SuperMale-55%25off-Widget

https://www.infowarsstore.com/super-male-vitality.html?ims=jftqm&utm_campaign=IW+-+SuperMale+-STFA+-+55%25+Off+-+Widget&utm_source=Infowars+Widget&utm_medium=Widget&utm_content=IW-STFA-SuperMale-55%25off-Widget

Super Male Vitality

69.95

31.47

The all new and advanced Super Male Vitality formula uses the newest extraction technology with even more powerful concentrations of various herbs and extracts designed to be even stronger.

https://www.infowars.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/smv-200.jpg

https://www.infowarsstore.com/super-male-vitality.html?ims=jftqm&utm_campaign=IW+-+SuperMale+-STFA+-+55%25+Off+-+Widget&utm_source=Infowars+Widget&utm_medium=Widget&utm_content=IW-STFA-SuperMale-55%25off-Widget

https://www.infowarsstore.com/super-male-vitality.html?ims=jftqm&utm_campaign=IW+-+SuperMale+-STFA+-+55%25+Off+-+Widget&utm_source=Infowars+Widget&utm_medium=Widget&utm_content=IW-STFA-SuperMale-55%25off-Widget

Brain Force Plus

39.95

15.98

Flip the switch and supercharge your state of mind with the all-new Brain Force PLUS: 20% more capsules and a critically enhanced formula featuring a brand new ingredient and increased potency* – all for the same low price.

https://www.infowars.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/bf-300-1.jpg

https://www.infowarsstore.com/brain-force.html?ims=bnlem&utm_campaign=IW+-+Brain+Force+-STFA+-+60%25+Off+-+Widget&utm_source=Infowars+Widget&utm_medium=Widget&utm_content=IW-STFA-BrainForce-60%25off-Widget

https://www.infowarsstore.com/brain-force.html?ims=bnlem&utm_campaign=IW+-+Brain+Force+-STFA+-+60%25+Off+-+Widget&utm_source=Infowars+Widget&utm_medium=Widget&utm_content=IW-STFA-BrainForce-60%25off-Widget

DNA Force Plus

149.95

59.80

With one of our most advanced formulas yet, DNA Force Plus is finally here. Focusing on overhauling your body's cellular engines and protecting them from reactive oxygen species, DNA Force Plus has one of the best combinations of antioxidants on the market.

https://www.infowars.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/dna-210.jpg

https://www.infowarsstore.com/dna-force-plus.html?ims=xxqxg&utm_campaign=DNA+Force+Plus+-+STFA+Ending+Soon+-+60%25+Off+&utm_source=Infowars+Widget&utm_medium=Widget&utm_content=IW-DNAFP-Widget-60%25off-STFA

https://www.infowarsstore.com/dna-force-plus.html?ims=xxqxg&utm_campaign=DNA+Force+Plus+-+STFA+Ending+Soon+-+60%25+Off+&utm_source=Infowars+Widget&utm_medium=Widget&utm_content=IW-DNAFP-Widget-60%25off-STFA

DNA Force Plus

149.95

59.80

With one of our most advanced formulas yet, DNA Force Plus is finally here. Focusing on overhauling your body's cellular engines and protecting them from reactive oxygen species, DNA Force Plus has one of the best combinations of antioxidants on the market.

https://www.infowars.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/dna-210.jpg

https://www.infowarsstore.com/dna-force-plus.html?ims=xxqxg&utm_campaign=DNA+Force+Plus+-+STFA+Ending+Soon+-+60%25+Off+&utm_source=Infowars+Widget&utm_medium=Widget&utm_content=IW-DNAFP-Widget-60%25off-STFA

https://www.infowarsstore.com/dna-force-plus.html?ims=xxqxg&utm_campaign=DNA+Force+Plus+-+STFA+Ending+Soon+-+60%25+Off+&utm_source=Infowars+Widget&utm_medium=Widget&utm_content=IW-DNAFP-Widget-60%25off-STFA

DNA Force Plus

149.95

59.80

With one of our most advanced formulas yet, DNA Force Plus is finally here. Focusing on overhauling your body's cellular engines and protecting them from reactive oxygen species, DNA Force Plus has one of the best combinations of antioxidants on the market.

https://www.infowars.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/dna-210.jpg

https://www.infowarsstore.com/dna-force-plus.html?ims=xxqxg&utm_campaign=DNA+Force+Plus+-+STFA+Ending+Soon+-+60%25+Off+&utm_source=Infowars+Widget&utm_medium=Widget&utm_content=IW-DNAFP-Widget-60%25off-STFA

https://www.infowarsstore.com/dna-force-plus.html?ims=xxqxg&utm_campaign=DNA+Force+Plus+-+STFA+Ending+Soon+-+60%25+Off+&utm_source=Infowars+Widget&utm_medium=Widget&utm_content=IW-DNAFP-Widget-60%25off-STFA

Source: InfoWars

NOW ON AIR
Now On Air

Alex Jones – Info Wars

12:00 pm 4:00 pm



A worker walks on the roof of a new home under construction in Carlsbad
FILE PHOTO: A worker walks on the roof of a new home under construction in Carlsbad, California September 22, 2014. REUTERS/Mike Blake

April 26, 2019

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The U.S. economy is growing at a 2.08% annualized pace in the second quarter based on upbeat data on durable goods orders and new home sales in March, the New York Federal Reserve’s Nowcast model showed on Friday.

This was faster than the 1.92% growth rate calculated by the N.Y. Fed model the week before.

(Reporting by Richard Leong; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

Source: OANN

Listen to https://magaoneradio.net and Listen Daily! Don't Forget to Share Click a Link Below!
Extraordinary European Union leaders summit in Brussels
FILE PHOTO: Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte arrives at an extraordinary European Union leaders summit to discuss Brexit, in Brussels, Belgium April 10, 2019. REUTERS/Yves Herman

April 26, 2019

(Reuters) – Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said on Friday he had assured China’s Huawei Technologies that it would not face discrimination in the rollout of Italy’s 5G telecoms network.

Conte was speaking on a visit to China where he said he met Huawei’s chief executive, Ren Zhengfei. The prime minister’s comments were carried in Italy by TV broadcaster Sky Italia.

“I told him that we have adopted some precautions, some measures to protect our interests that demand very high levels of security … not only from Huawei but any company entering into the 5G arena,” he said.

Huawei, the world’s biggest producer of telecoms equipment, is under intense scrutiny after the United States told allies not to use its technology because of fears it could be a vehicle for Chinese spying. Huawei has categorically denied this.

(Writing by by Mark Bendeich; Editing by Angelo Amante)

Source: OANN

Listen to https://magaoneradio.net and Listen Daily! Don't Forget to Share Click a Link Below!
U.S. President Trump departs for travel to Indianapolis from the White House in Washington
U.S. President Donald Trump talks to reporters as he departs for travel to Indianapolis, Indiana from the White House in Washington, U.S., April 26, 2019. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

April 26, 2019

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Donald Trump on Friday was expected to announce his intention to revoke the United States’ status as a signatory of the Arms Trade Treaty, which was signed in 2013 by then-President Barack Obama but never ratified by Congress, two U.S. officials said.

Trump was expected to announce the decision in a speech in Indianapolis, to the National Rifle Association, the officials said. The NRA, a powerful gun lobby group, has long been opposed to the treaty, which was negotiated at the United Nations.

(Reporting By Steve Holland; Editing by Bill Trott)

Source: OANN

Listen to https://magaoneradio.net and Listen Daily! Don't Forget to Share Click a Link Below!
A remote controlled robot for the 'Isotopium: Chernobyl' game is seen at the game's location in Brovary
A remote controlled robot for the ‘Isotopium: Chernobyl’ game is seen at the game’s location in Brovary, Ukraine April 25, 2019. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko

April 26, 2019

By Margaryta Chornokondratenko

KIEV (Reuters) – A Ukrainian computer game that brings to life a town abandoned after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster may not sound like everyone’s idea of fun but has attracted 60,000 people globally since its launch in October.

Players of “Isotopium: Chernobyl” drive tanks around the ghost town of Prypyat near Chernobyl, knocking out competitors as they search for an energy source called isotopium and collecting points every time they find some.

While the game takes its theme from the nuclear disaster at Chernobyl in northern Ukraine, which marked its 33rd anniversary on Friday, it was also inspired by the 2009 science fiction film “Avatar”.

Newcomers to the game think they have entered a virtual world when in fact they are controlling a real robot, equipped with a camera and computer, which makes its way around a model of the town rendered down to the tiniest detail.

“When playing our game, for the first 5-10 minutes many players don’t understand that it is not fictional,” said the game’s co-founder Sergey Beskrestnov. “They message us saying: ‘You have cool texture, you have good graphics, your designer is good, well done. You have a cool operating system.’

“People then reply: ‘It is not an operating system, it is real,’ and the player can’t believe it is real,” said Beskrestnov, speaking mid-game from Prypyat city square as he towers over surrounding five-storey buildings.

Kiev-born Beskrestnov was just 12 years old when on April 26, 1986 a botched test at the nuclear plant in the then Soviet Union sent clouds of smoldering nuclear material across large swathes of Europe, forced over 50,000 people, including Beskrestnov’s family, to evacuate and poisoned unknown numbers of workers involved in its clean-up.

Beskrestnov and his partner Alexey Fateyev used Google maps and hundreds of pictures from the Chernobyl area to recreate Prypyat landmarks, including residential buildings, a hotel, concert hall, amusement park and a stadium.

The game’s real-scale model occupies a 180 square meter (1,938 sq. ft) basement of a residential building in the Ukraine city of Brovary, just 150 km (93 miles) from the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone and 30 km east of Kiev.

Miniature radioactivity warning signs, graffiti on the walls of abandoned buildings and tables and chairs left scattered inside a small cafe all add to the creepy atmosphere of a once lively town.

“It’s a really neat concept …,” Shaun Prescott wrote in a review of the game published by PC Gamer magazine in January. “Controlling the tanks is kinda cumbersome, but they are tanks, after all.”

An attentive player will notice at least one inaccuracy – the real Chernobyl nuclear power plant is not located in town as it is in the game.

It costs $9 to immerse in the atmosphere of a post-apocalyptic town for an hour but only 20 people at a time can play simultaneously. Beskrestnov’s company, Remote Games, said 62,615 people around the world have registered to play the game, including around 15,000 in France and 10,000 in the United States.

A camera fixed on top of a moving tank broadcasts high quality signal in real time, allowing players from as far apart as Australia and Canada enjoy the game without facing any time delay in delivering video signals.

Its creators next ambition is to devise a game featuring the colonization of Mars in which 1,000 people will be able to simultaneously control robots on different missions involved in the operation.

“Many people advise us to contact Elon Musk directly because it resonates his dreams and ideas,” Beskrestnov jokes.    

(Editing by Susan Fenton)

Source: OANN

Listen to https://magaoneradio.net and Listen Daily! Don't Forget to Share Click a Link Below!
FILE PHOTO: A Starbucks sign is show on one of the companies stores in Los Angeles, California
FILE PHOTO: A Starbucks sign is show on one of the companies stores in Los Angeles, California, U.S. October 19,2018. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo

April 26, 2019

(Reuters) – Initial optimism over first-quarter results from Starbucks Corp was waning fast on Wall Street on Friday, as analysts questioned the longer-term prospects of its new sales push given subdued overall customer traffic numbers especially in China.

The company on Thursday beat brokerage estimates for quarterly same-store sales on the back of demand for its new Cloud Macchiato, Matcha tea and cold brews in the United States.

However, BTIG’s Peter Saleh was one of a number of sector analysts who said while customers forking out for higher-priced new drinks had helped drive growth in same-store sales, “anemic” traffic at cafes remained a concern.

He and others pointed to a 1 percent decline in footfall at cafes in the Chinese market, viewed as crucial to the chain’s growth for the foreseeable future.

More broadly, transaction numbers, the substitute analysts use for customer traffic, were unchanged in all three of the company’s global regions.

Shares in the company, which hit a record high after the results on Thursday, fell 1 percent in morning trade.

“We remain cautious given near-term headwinds surrounding China, including cannibalization, increasing competition (and) a slowing economy,” Wedbush analyst Nick Setyan said.

Starbucks has also poured money into beefing up its delivery network in China as it battles with local startup Luckin Coffee, whose speedy growth led it to file for an IPO in the United States earlier this week.

New menu items and partnerships with delivery services, the heart of the company’s strategy to win back customers lost to artisanal coffee shops and cheaper fast-food rivals, did help Starbucks’ sales in its home market.

However, analysts said growth in China may continue to be subdued.

Wells Fargo analyst Bonnie Herzog said she expects store expansion in China to take priority over comparable sales growth.

She downgraded her rating on Starbucks’ to “market perform” from “outperform”, arguing that the company facing tough sales comparisons later on in 2019 from last year and the current rich valuation of shares meant the stock had limited room to rise.

“Investors will be hesitant to invest new money in a stock with a topline that, while still strong, is unlikely to meaningfully accelerate,” Herzog said.

Still, the company’s solid same-store growth in the United States, improving profit margins and a lower tax rate for the rest of the year led at least 6 Wall Street brokerages to raise their price targets on the stock to as high as $81.

11 of 29 brokerages rate Starbucks “buy” or higher, 17 “hold” and 1 “sell” or lower. Their median price target is $75.

(Reporting by Uday Sampath in Bengaluru)

Source: OANN

Listen to https://magaoneradio.net and Listen Daily! Don't Forget to Share Click a Link Below!

Listen to https://magaoneradio.net and Listen Daily! Don't Forget to Share Click a Link Below!
Current track

Title

Artist