Upcoming shows
Real News

NOW ON AIR
Now On Air

Real News with David Knight

9:00 am 12:00 pm



Maga First News

Upcoming Shows

Join The MAGA Network on Discord

0 0

Florida sheriff Scott Israel, blamed in Parkland shooting aftermath, is dealt blow by state’s Supreme Court

Florida’s Supreme Court dealt a blow Tuesday to Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel, ruling Gov. Ron DeSantis had the legal authority to remove the embattled lawman from office amid widespread criticism Israel failed to prevent the Parkland high school shooting.

The state’s highest court said DeSantis was within his rights when he suspended Israel from the Broward post in January. The justices noted, however, that, under the Florida Constitution, the state Senate is responsible for deciding whether the removal should be permanent.

"Today's Florida Supreme Court opinion leaves no doubt of my authority as governor to suspend a government official for neglect of duty and incompetence," DeSantis said in a statement shortly after the decision was handed down. "Scott Israel failed in his duties to protect the families and students of Broward County, and the time for delay tactics is at an end. I look forward to the Florida Senate resuming the process of formal removal."

Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel, center, leaves a news conference surrounded by supporters after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis suspended him in January.

Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel, center, leaves a news conference surrounded by supporters after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis suspended him in January. (AP)

FLORIDA GOVERNOR SAYS SHERIFF ALSO DROPPED THE BALL ON FORT LAUDERDALE AIRPORT SHOOTING

The next hearing on the matter is scheduled for May 28, according to the Associated Press.

Israel's lawyers argued during the case that DeSantis overstepped his constitutional authority and interfered with the public's right to elect the sheriff. He intends to challenge the suspension in the Florida Senate, his lawyer said.

"With today's ruling, local elected officials now need to be aware of the potential for governor overreach when discharging their duties," Israel's attorney Ben Kuehne said.

Calls for Israel's ouster began shortly after the high school shooting massacre when it was revealed the deputy assigned as the school's resource officer, Scot Peterson, had not gone into the building to confront the shooter, but instead took cover outside.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

The heat on Israel increased after it emerged the sheriff's office received -- and disregarded -- calls in 2016 and 2017 warning that Nikolas Cruz, who carried out the bloodbath, was a potential school shooter. Deputies also had about 20 contacts with Cruz as a juvenile — mostly due to arguments with his now-deceased mother.

Israel has said none of those contacts warranted an arrest. Law enforcement members of the state commission investigating the shooting have agreed with that conclusion.

Cruz remains jailed, charged with 17 counts of first-degree murder.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News National

0 0

The Latest: Police clarify suspect sketch in girls’ killings

The Latest on the investigation into the 2017 killings of two northern Indiana girls (all times local):

3:40 p.m.

Indiana State Police have released a statement clarifying information about a newly-released sketch of a man suspected of killing two teenage girls in 2017.

The statement Wednesday said that the sketch police released Monday of a youthful-appearing man "more accurately represents the person" they believe killed 14-year-old Liberty German and 13-year-old Abigail Williams in February 2017.

Their statement says a composite sketch released in July 2017 of a middle-aged man was developed early in their investigation but the man it depicts "is not presently a person of interest in this investigation."

Police add that the new sketch is "representative of the face of the person captured" in video taken from German's cellphone of a man walking on an abandoned railroad bridge.

___

10:17 a.m.

A newly released sketch of a man suspected of killing two Indiana teenagers in 2017 was created only days after the girls' slayings, but authorities aren't saying why they held onto it for more than two years.

Indiana State Police initially released a composite sketch five months after the February 2017 killings of 14-year-old Liberty German and 13-year-old Abigail Williams depicting a white man with a goatee.

The sketch released Monday shows a clean-shaven, younger-looking man with significantly different facial features.

A state police sketch artist tells The Indianapolis Star he drew it three days after the girls' bodies were found.

Police spokesman Sgt. Kim Riley declined to answer any questions Wednesday about the sketch.

Police Superintendent Doug Carter said Monday that "new information and intelligence" leads police to believe it depicts the killer.

Source: Fox News National

0 0

UN urges Israel, Hamas to avoid violence on Gaza anniversary

A U.N. official is urging Israel and Gaza's Hamas rulers to avoid a violent escalation on the eve of the first anniversary of the start of weekly border protests.

Jamie McGoldrick, the U.N. humanitarian official for the Palestinian territories, issued a statement on Friday outlining the "staggering" human costs a year of demonstrations has inflicted, especially on Gaza's children.

The statement says 195 Palestinians, including some 40 children, have been killed by Israeli forces. Nearly 29,000 Palestinians have been injured, including 7,000 by live fire. A large number of casualties among unarmed Palestinians and clearly-marked medics have "raised concerns" about Israel's use of excessive force.

It says the protests have exacerbated the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip, overwhelming a health-care system already stressed by 11 years of Israeli-Egyptian blockade.

Source: Fox News World

0 0

Honduran police arrest journalist convicted of defamation

Honduran police have broken down the door of a radio station and arrested a journalist known as a strong critic of President Juan Orlando Hernandez who had holed up inside, carrying out an arrest order against the reporter for a defamation conviction.

David Romero, director of Radio Globo, was given a 10-year prison sentence in 2016 after he was convicted on several counts of defamation for his reporting on the wife of an ex-attorney general. Honduras' Supreme Court rejected Romero's bid for a new trial earlier this year.

The journalist took refuge in the station's offices Monday when a court made public its decision to arrest him.

Local media showed footage of police violently breaking into Radio Globo on Thursday, knocking down doors and searching offices until they found Romero.

Source: Fox News World

0 0

Senegalese native hijacks Italy school bus with 51 children, sets vehicle ablaze over migrant policy: report

A Senegalese native angry about Italy's migrant policy hijacked a bus with 51 children and their chaperones aboard Wednesday and took them on an hour-long drive before setting the vehicle ablaze, officials said.

The driver, who is a citizen of Italy, allegedly said he wanted to kill himself and “stop the deaths in the Mediterranean,” ANSA reported.

"He wanted to get to the runway at [Milan's airport],” a girl told ANSA. "He handcuffed us and threatened us. He said that if we moved he would pour out the petrol and light the fire.”

“[The driver] kept saying that people in Africa are dying and the fault is [deputy prime ministers Luigi] Di Maio and [Matteo] Salvini,” she added.

FRANCE TO DEPLOY TROOPS TO MAINTAIN SECURITY DURING PROTESTS

The man, reportedly in his 40s, took the bus carrying two middle-school classes in Cremona province, about 25 miles from Milan, and drove for an hour before authorities intercepted the vehicle using three Carabinieri vehicles. Authorities were able to set up a roadblock based on information from an adult and a student who called a parent.

"While two officers kept the driver busy — he took a lighter and threatened to set fire to the vehicle with a gasoline canister on board — the others forced open the back door," Commander Luca De Marchis told Sky24TV.

The driver started the blaze as officers broke the glass in the back door of the bus, allowing the passengers to escape before flames engulfed the entire vehicle. Video of the incident’s aftermath showed a charred metal frame.

INDIAN DIAMOND TYCOON ARRESTED IN LONDON OVER ALLEGED ROLE IN $2 BILLION BANKING SCANDAL

Some passengers were taken to the hospital for cuts and scratches.

The driver, who lived in Cremona and is married with two children, was being treated for burns.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

The driver had worked for the bus company for 15 years without any employment-related issues, Sky TV24 reported. De Marchis said he had previous convictions, but he did not specify their nature other than to say they were not serious crimes.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News World

0 0

Beto O'Rourke says he's 'born' to fight ahead of expected 2020 announcement

Beto O'Rourke all but announced his 2020 presidential candidacy in a wide-ranging interview published Wednesday in Vanity Fair magazine, confidently saying he was "just born to do this" -- a move that would contradict his multiple previous assurances that he would not seek the White House, and further crowd a Democratic primary field already chock-full of progressive candidates.

The move seemed inevitable Wednesday night. KTSM reported it received a text message from O'Rourke earlier in the day saying he will seek the Democratic presidential nomination, writing: "I'm really proud of what El Paso did and what El Paso represents. It's a big part of why I'm running. This city is the best example of this country at its best."

O'Rourke's spokesman would not confirm to Fox News that the former congressman is running for president.

The Vanity Fair piece, written by Joe Hagan, seemed to echo the fawning tone of much of the media coverage that followed his failed bid to unseat Texas GOP Sen. Ted Cruz last fall. But, conservative commentators said, the interview still indirectly highlighted the 46-year-old O'Rourke's glaring vulnerabilities as he seeks to mount his first-ever national campaign despite lacking significant government experience.

At one point, Hagan detailed when O’Rourke and his wife, Amy, "both describe the moment they first witnessed the power of O’Rourke’s gift" -- in Houston, on the third stop on O’Rourke’s unsuccessful Senate campaign.

Beto O'Rourke laughing during an Oprah Winfrey in New York last February. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens, File)

Beto O'Rourke laughing during an Oprah Winfrey in New York last February. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens, File)

“Every seat was taken, every wall, every space in the room was filled with probably a thousand people,” Amy O’Rourke told Vanity Fair. “You could feel the floor moving almost. It was not totally clear that Beto was what everybody was looking for, but just like that people were so ready for something. So that was totally shocking. I mean, like, took-my-breath-away shocking.”

Hagan, who previously penned a similarly photographed and written profile of another Democrat, former presidential candidate John Edwards, wrote in the new piece: "For O’Rourke, what followed was a near-mystical experience."

“I don’t ever prepare a speech,” O'Rourke explained. “I don’t write out what I’m going to say. I remember driving to that, I was, like, ‘What do I say? Maybe I’ll just introduce myself. I’ll take questions.’ I got in there, and I don’t know if it’s a speech or not, but it felt amazing. Because every word was pulled out of me. Like, by some greater force, which was just the people there. Everything that I said, I was, like, watching myself, being like, How am I saying this stuff? Where is this coming from?"

However, this carefree, spur-of-the-moment approach has backfired in the past, the article went on to note. For example, O'Rourke acknowledged he was "kicking himself for giving a damaging, freewheeling interview to The Washington Post, which quoted his prescription for immigration as 'I don’t know.'"

In that interview, O'Rourke also suggested parts of the Constitution may be unnecessary and outdated.

Although the Post article drew widespread jeers, Hagan seemingly found it endearing.

"Unlike Trump," Hagan wrote, "O’Rourke can appear almost too innocent to be a politician—too decent, too wholesome, the very reason he became popular also the same reason he could be crucified on the national stage."

O'ROURKE SAYS HE 'ABSOLUTELY' SUPPORTS DESTROYING SOUTHERN BORDER WALLS

Reaction on social media, both to O'Rourke and Hagan's aggressively positive portrayal of his prospective candidacy, was unsparing.

"It's extremely subtle, but with a trained eye, you can detect a slight difference in the media posture toward Robert O'Rourke and the average Republican congressman running for president after losing a Senate race," Mollie Hemingway, a senior editor at The Federalist and a regular Fox News panelist, wrote on Twitter.

Washington Free Beacon reporter Alex Griswold added, "They really aren’t bothering to hide it," referring to media bias.

Elsewhere in the sprawling deep-dive, Hagan noted that O'Rourke's home has boasted a slew of presidential biographies -- a seemingly mundane observation that Hagan imbued with heavy implications.

"Arranged in historical order, the biographies suggest there’s been some reflection on the gravity of the presidency," Hagan wrote, noting that O'Rourke has the support of Oprah Winfrey. "But there’s also some political poetry to it, a sense that O’Rourke might be destined for this shelf."

But, O'Rourke himself seemingly had shut the door on any such poetry, again and again, while running against Cruz.

MSNBC reporter Garrett Haakey tweeted last November: "'I will not be a candidate for president in 2020,' @BetoORourke tells me. 'That’s as definitive as it gets.'"

And, in an interview with CBS News' "60 Minutes," O'Rourke said simply, "I don't want to do it. I will not do it."

O'Rourke went on to explain that raising his young children would keep him off the campaign trail.

'Draft Beto' group makes Beto-inspired alcoholic beverages in effort to get Beto O'Rourke to run for president in 2020.

'Draft Beto' group makes Beto-inspired alcoholic beverages in effort to get Beto O'Rourke to run for president in 2020. (Fox News)

Speaking to Hagan, O'Rourke attempted to explain the abrupt turnaround, saying that "the week before he was to appear onstage with Oprah Winfrey in New York, he had what he describes as a breakthrough conversation with his wife" and stayed up late into the night.

But, conservative commentator Stephen Miller had a less flattering interpretation, writing that O'Rourke must have "spent literally 6 months around his wife and kids and said, ... This sucks.”

Although O'Rourke has not formally entered the presidential fray, there are multiple other indications he is intending to do so. The former Texas representative is slated to make his first trip to Iowa of the 2020 campaign, visiting the state that kicks off presidential voting.

CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

A spokesman said O'Rourke will visit the University of Northern Iowa on Saturday to campaign for Eric Giddens, the Democratic candidate running in a state Senate special election there. And, O'Rourke released a video Monday night from Texas backing Giddens and wearing a Northern Iowa cap.

Meanwhile, Twitter users who reportedly tried to unsubscribe from O'Rourke's mailing list were being told in automated replies on Wednesday, apparently inadvertently, that there was an ongoing "campaign to elect Beto for president."

Source: Fox News Politics

0 0

Turkish court upholds jail sentences on Cumhuriyet staff: paper

Headquarters of Cumhuriyet newspaper is pictured in Istanbul
Headquarters of Cumhuriyet newspaper, an opposition secularist daily, is pictured in Istanbul, Turkey, October 31, 2016. REUTERS/Murad Sezer TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

February 19, 2019

ANKARA (Reuters) – A Turkish appeals court upheld a ruling to jail journalists and executives from the opposition newspaper Cumhuriyet, the paper said on Tuesday, adding that its employees will be sent back to prison to serve the remainder of their sentences.

A court last year sentenced 14 staff of Cumhuriyet – one of the few remaining voices critical of the government – to jail on charges of terrorism and supporting a U.S.-based cleric blamed for organizing an attempted coup in July, 2016.

Human rights organizations have voiced increasing concern about media freedom in Turkey, accusing President Tayyip Erdogan of using the abortive putsch as a pretext to quash dissent.

Cumhuriyet said that an appeals court had found the trial lawful and approved the convictions against its staff. The court’s decision finalizes prison sentences under five years and the rest will now go to a higher court.

Journalists Kadri Gursel and Hakan Kara, cartoonist Musa Kart, lawyer Bulent Utku, and accountant Emre Iper will be sent back to prison to complete their sentences, all of which are less than five years, Cumhuriyet said.

Editor-in-chief Murat Sabuncu, prominent journalist Ahmet Sik, Hikmet Cetinkaya, Orhan Erinc, Akin Atalay and Aydin Engin will appeal against their sentences, all longer than five years, at a higher court, the paper added.

The staff of Cumhuriyet were charged with supporting the network of Fethullah Gulen, the Muslim cleric Ankara holds responsible for the failed 2016 coup attempt. They have denied the charges.

Since the failed coup, more than 77,000 people have been jailed pending trial, while about 150,000 civil servants and military personnel have been sacked or suspended from their jobs. Widespread operations and arrests are still routine.

Turkish authorities on Tuesday carried out three separate operations against alleged followers of Gulen’s network across the country, ordering the arrests of 311 people.

Authorities ordered the arrests of 53 military personnel from the army, air force and navy, the Istanbul prosecutor’s office said in a statement. The state-run Anadolu news agency said three other operations were underway the coastal province of Izmir and Ankara.

(Reporting by Ece Toksabay; Writing by Tuvan Gumrukcu, editing by Ed Osmond)

Source: OANN

NOW ON AIR
Now On Air

Real News with David Knight

9:00 am 12:00 pm



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

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

Source: OANN

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

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) – U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday said trade talks with China are going very well, as the world’s two largest economies seek to end talks with a trade agreement to defuse tensions.

Trump said on Thursday he would soon host China’s President Xi Jinping at the White House.

Earlier this week, the White House said that Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer would travel to Beijing for more talks on a trade dispute marked by tit-for-tat tariffs between the two countries.

(Reporting by Jeff Mason; Writing by Makini Brice; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

Source: OANN

Listen to https://magaoneradio.net and Listen Daily! Don't Forget to Share Click a Link Below!
U.S. President Donald Trump hosts Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day at the White House in Washington
U.S. President Donald Trump gives a thumbs up to his audience as he hosts Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day at the White House in Washington, U.S., April 25, 2019. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

April 26, 2019

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday praised Russian President Vladimir Putin’s comments on North Korea this week following the Russian leader’s summit with Pyongyang’s Kim Jong Un.

Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump also said China was helping with efforts aimed at the denuclearization of North Korea.

(Reporting by Jeff Mason and Makini Brice; Writing by Susan Heavey; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

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