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Mexico to receive UN help in missing students case

Mexico has signed an agreement with the United Nations' top human rights official for technical assistance in its latest attempt to determine what happened to 43 missing students.

U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet called the case of the students from the teacher's college in Ayotzinapa "emblematic."

The former Chilean president said Monday that Mexico's government is obligated to find the truth and that the process would be an opportunity to make deep changes to its justice system.

Police seized the students in Iguala, Guerrero, in 2014 and allegedly handed them to a drug gang.

Mexican Foreign Secretary Marcelo Ebrard says the case is a priority for the government of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who created a truth commission to re-investigate the case in January.

Source: Fox News World

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Trump Offers Rare Praise for News Media

The news media won rare praise Monday from its critic-in-chief for covering the story of Alice Marie Johnson, whose life sentence for drug trafficking was commuted by President Donald Trump.

According to The Hill, Johnson, during a White House event celebrating a criminal-justice overhaul that Trump signed, said she wanted to thank the media for having "magnified my story."

Trump then jokingly asked her, "Are you sure?" — as attendees laughed and applauded, The Hill reported. 

"Alice said 'I want to thank the media.' I sort of bent over and said, 'are you sure?' And I do too. I think it's fantastic. That's great," the president told the attendees.

He also thanked Van Jones, a former Obama administration official who co-founded the group #cut50 that advocated for the sentencing-reform law.

Johnson, 63, was released from prison last June after reality TV star Kim Kardashian personally asked Trump to grant her clemency. She was also one of Trump's guests at this year's State of the Union address, The Hill noted.

Source: NewsMax America

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Ohio finds numerous problems at troubled county jail

An Ohio county jail where prisoners are locked down for days because of staff shortages, dietary restrictions are ignored and toilets and showers go unrepaired has received mostly failing grades during its latest state inspection, according to a report released this week.

The Cuyahoga County Corrections Center in downtown Cleveland has been under increasing scrutiny since the deaths of seven prisoners over a four-month period last year and the release of a scathing report by the U.S. Marshals Service in late November that called conditions at the jail "inhumane" and unsafe for prisoners and staff.

The inspection by the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction found nearly two-thirds of 135 state standards out of compliance. Only six standards were judged non-compliant by the same state inspector in 2017.

The 2018 state inspection report was released after the U.S. Marshals Service concluded that "life and safety concerns as well as inhumane conditions of confinement" at the jail violate prisoners' constitutional rights. Both inspections highlight a growing number of issues troubling state and county jails across the United States.

The FBI is conducting a civil rights investigation of prisoner treatment at the jail. The agency and the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation are also investigating allegations of public corruption regarding current and former Cuyahoga County officials, including issues surrounding the jail.

The Marshals Service has removed federal detainees from the downtown jail and now places them at a smaller county facility in the Cleveland suburb of Euclid.

Brandy Carney, Cuyahoga County chief of public safety and justice, noted in a statement that previous state inspections "held us in compliance."

"Since the Marshal's report, we have been aggressively working on fixing each issue raised and have made significant progress," Carney said.

JoEllen Smith, a spokeswoman for the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, which inspects local jails, said Ohio's minimum standards are "significantly different" from those of the Marshals Service. She said 29 of the 84 non-compliant standards found during the latest inspection involved failures to provide documentation.

Smith said state officials reviewed the marshals' report "in an effort to identify potential areas of overlap that could impact the findings of the state inspection."

Brian Klak, a longtime Cuyahoga County corrections officer and union official with the Ohio Patrolmen's Benevolent Association, said overcrowding has been a problem at the downtown jail, which consists of two towers, for years. He said it became more acute when the county took over the city of Cleveland's jail operations early last year.

Persistent lockdowns called "red zoning," which result in prisoners being forced to remain in their cells for periods exceeding 24 hours, began in 2015 when the county took over two suburban jails, reducing the number of correction officers at the downtown facility, Klak told The Associated Press. During red zoning, one corrections officer might be required to keep watch on as many as four housing units while the prescribed staffing plan is one officer for each unit, Klak said.

"This didn't evolve in a couple of months or a couple of years," he said.

During the latest state inspection on Nov. 6, there were 2,202 inmates in a facility meant to hold 1,765.

Both state and federal inspectors said prolonged lockdowns deprive prisoners of access to showers, recreation, educational and substance abuse programs, family visits and conferences with their attorneys.

The state inspection report found juveniles housed with adults; temperatures between 52 and 60 degrees in housing units, menus developed without regard for special dietary or religious needs, showers infested with insects and unsanitary conditions in food service areas.

David Fathi, director of the ACLU's national prison project, said he wasn't aware of problems at the Cuyahoga County jail. He said the ACLU is involved in litigation over conditions at a number of large urban jails, including Maricopa County in Arizona, Broward County in Florida and Baltimore's city jail.

The Justice Department this month asked its inspector general to investigate conditions at a federal lockup in New York City where prisoners were forced to live without heat or electricity during frigid weather over a weeklong period earlier this year.

Civil rights lawsuits filed by jail prisoners claiming mistreatment prompted Ohio's Montgomery County, which includes Dayton, to hire consultants who detailed jail overcrowding and staffing problems there last summer.

The ACLU's Fathi said there are thousands of local jails in the U.S. that largely operate with no oversight or outside supervision.

"Some are well run and protect detainees' health safety and human dignity," he said. "And there other jails with truly Third World levels of squalor and misery."

Source: Fox News National

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Shipbroker McQuilling ends tanker contracts with Venezuela’s PDVSA

FILE PHOTO: FILE PHOTO: The corporate logos of the state oil company PDVSA and Citgo Petroleum Corp are seen in Caracas
FILE PHOTO: The corporate logos of the state oil company PDVSA and Citgo Petroleum Corp are seen in Caracas, Venezuela April 30, 2018. REUTERS/Marco Bello

March 15, 2019

HOUSTON (Reuters) – A second maritime firm has told Venezuela’s state-run oil firm Petroleos de Venezuela it would end all charter contracts with the company as a result of U.S. sanctions, according to an internal document and a person familiar with the matter.

U.S.-based McQuilling Partners Inc, which provided PDVSA with four contract tankers, joined German tanker operator Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement (BSM) in withdrawing from providing oil-shipping services to Venezuela.

The United States levied sanctions in January on PDVSA and Venezuela aimed at restricting oil revenues to the government of President Nicolas Maduro, whom the United States and 50 other countries no longer recognize as Venezuela’s legitimate leader.

The withdrawal of both maritime services provider undermine the OPEC member’s ability to supply its crude to global markets. Oil provides more than 90 percent of Venezuela’s export revenue.

Oil exports from Venezuela dropped by about 40 percent in the first month after sanctions were imposed on Jan. 28. More than 6 million barrels of oil were stranded on tankers after PDVSA demanded prepayment for the cargoes.

[For a chart of top importers of Venezuelan crude by country, see: https://tmsnrt.rs/2RYGk2E ]

“McQuilling will not engage in any ship brokerage activity and services involving charters with PDVSA” until the sanctions against PDVSA are lifted by the U.S. Treasury, according to a document seen by Reuters.

“We’re steering clear,” a McQuilling shipbroker said on Friday. “We obviously are not moving any barrels over there.”

PDVSA and the Venezuelan oil ministry did not immediately respond to requests for information on the availability of tankers.

McQuilling had contracts to supply four oil tankers – the Pericles, Morning Glory, Ice Energy and Felicity – to a PDVSA subsidiary, the document showed.

BSM on Thursday said in a statement that political developments made managing assets for the South American nation “an almost impossible task,” and it would return Venezuelan vessels to PDVSA by late this month or early April.

The firm operated a fleet of 15 PDVSA vessels and had worked in the Latin American country for almost 25 years.

(Reporting by Collin Eaton and Marianna Parraga; additional reporting by Catarina Demony in Lisbon; editing by Grant McCool)

Source: OANN

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Rockies knock off Marlins

MLB: Colorado Rockies at Miami Marlins
Mar 28, 2019; Miami, FL, USA; Colorado Rockies shortstop Trevor Story (27) looks on during batting practice prior a game at Marlins Park. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports

March 28, 2019

David Dahl went 3-for-4 and Trevor Story homered as the visiting Colorado Rockies opened their season with a 6-3 win over the Miami Marlins on Thursday afternoon.

Left-hander Kyle Freeland, who went 17-7 last season and finished fourth in the National League Cy Young race, earned the win in his first Opening Day start. He allowed just two hits, one walk and one run in seven innings, striking out five.

Story’s homer was no surprise — he hit 88 long balls from 2016 to 2018. That is the major league record for homers by a shortstop in his first three seasons.

Dahl singled twice and doubled once while scoring two runs and getting an RBI. His first single came in the second inning, and it bounced off pitcher Jose Urena’s left leg.

Urena (0-1) stayed in the game but allowed nine hits and six runs (four earned) in 4 2/3 innings.

Colorado had the first big threat of the game in the third as Chris Iannetta singled and advanced on Freeland’s walk. But Charlie Blackmon flied out to right, where Garrett Cooper caught the ball and fired a one-hopper, nailing Iannetta at third.

The Rockies opened the scoring with four runs on four hits and two errors in the fourth. Nolan Arenado doubled down the third-base line, advanced on Marlins shortstop Miguel Rojas’ miscue — a high throw — and scored on Dahl’s line-drive single pulled to right.

Colorado capped the rally with Ryan McMahon’s RBI single — with another run tacked on when center fielder Lewis Brinson couldn’t cleanly field the bouncing hit — and Iannetta’s RBI double.

The Rockies extended their lead to 6-0 in the fifth as Story homered, Dahl doubled, and Ian Desmond followed with an RBI two-bagger.

Marlins pinch hitter JT Riddle, a left-handed batter, led off the bottom of the sixth with a solo home run. Lefty hitters batted just .185 with two homers off Freeland last season.

Miami also got a pinch-hit solo homer in the eighth as Neil Walker made his Marlins’ debut. Walker swung at a first-pitch fastball from reliever Scott Oberg, and the Marlins closed the scoring with Jorge Alfaro’s solo homer with two outs in the ninth.

–Field Level Media

Source: OANN

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Inspector General to probe whether acting Pentagon chief helped Boeing

FILE PHOTO: U.S. acting Secretary of Defense Shanahan pauses during remarks on the proposed U.S. Space Force at a think tank in Washington
FILE PHOTO: U.S. acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan pauses during remarks on the proposed U.S. Space Force at a think tank in Washington, U.S. March 20, 2019. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

March 20, 2019

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Pentagon Inspector General said on Wednesday that it would investigate a complaint that acting Pentagon chief Patrick Shanahan, a former Boeing executive, violated ethical rules by allegedly promoting Boeing while in office.

Last week Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a watchdog group, filed a complaint with the Inspector General saying that Shanahan had appeared to violate the ethical rules by “promoting Boeing in the scope of his official duties at the Department of Defense (DOD) and disparaging the company’s competitors to his subordinates.”

“The Department of Defense Office of Inspector General has decided to investigate complaints we recently received that Acting Secretary Patrick Shanahan allegedly took actions to promote his former employer, Boeing, and disparage its competitors,” said Dwrena Allen, a spokeswoman for the Inspector General.

Prior to taking over as acting Pentagon chief earlier this year, he was the deputy defense secretary.

Shanahan joined Boeing in 1986 and spent more than three decades there, working on the 737 and 787 Dreamliner. He was also the president and general manager of Boeing Missile Defense Systems and worked on the Apache, Chinook and Osprey military aircraft.

“Acting Secretary Shanahan has at all times remained

committed to upholding his ethics agreement filed with the DoD,” said Lieutenant Colonel Joe Buccino, a Pentagon spokesman.

“This agreement ensures any matters pertaining to Boeing are handled by appropriate officials within the Pentagon to eliminate any perceived or actual conflict of interest issue with Boeing,” Buccino said.

During a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing last week, Shanahan said he would support an investigation by the Inspector General.

(Reporting by Idrees Ali; Editing by Dan Grebler)

Source: OANN

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Pelosi tells crowd to clap for her: ‘That’s a line for applause!’

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi did her best Jeb! impression on Tuesday when she told the crowd to clap for her.

During a news conference to unveil Democrats’ “Protecting Pre-Existing Conditions & Making Health Care More Affordable Act,” Pelosi instructed the crowd to applaud her bill, which she claims will protect the health care law from “Republicans’ monstrous health care lawsuit.”

“Today, under the leadership of our three distinguished Chairmen: Mr. Pallone of Energy and Commerce, Mr. Scott of Education and Labor, and Mr. Neal of Ways and Means Committee – the three Committees of jurisdiction, we’re going forward with the Protecting Pre-existing Conditions and Making Health Care More Affordable Act,” Pelosi began.

When no one in the room clapped, she awkwardly shouted: “That’s a line for applause!” and cut the air with her hand for effect.

The audience obliged her and clapped even though they were apparently not excited about her comments.

“They and other Members, and Members of our Freshman Class will be speaking more to the particulars of the legislation, but suffice to say it lowers health care insurance premiums, stops junk plans, strengthens protections for pre-existing conditions and reverses the GOP health care sabotage,” Pelosi said.

“Protecting and strengthening health care is why Democrats are here. On day one, the first day, as we were sworn in the 116th Congress, the House voted to intervene against Republicans’ monstrous health care lawsuit,” she added.


Alex Jones presents video footage of Texas Representative Mike Conaway calling out California Representative Adam Schiff on the house floor for his open participation in pushing propaganda on the American public that suggested President Trump colluded with the Russian Government in 2016.

Pelosi’s comments were in response to the U.S. Justice Department filing a federal lawsuit on Tuesday to challenge elements of the Affordable Care Act.

But more importantly, this isn’t the first time the California Democrat has instructed the audience to clap for her.

While speaking at the U.S. Conference of Mayors in January, Pelosi found herself in trouble again when her comments weren’t exciting the crowd.

“That’s an applause line! I’ll let you know,” Pelosi said after thanking a member in the audience.

After claiming Democrats support “strong border security initiatives,” Pelosi said, “Do you want to— let’s hear it for border security!” as she held her hand up to call for a response.

Moments later, she called for applause a third time after telling the crowd that Democrats took back control of the House of Representatives.

“The American people elected a House majority that would— that’s an applause line! Not for everybody maybe,” she said.

During a Congressional ceremony in early January honoring former Sen. Bob Dole, Pelosi told President Donald Trump, Vice President Mike Pence, members of Congress, and guests when to clap during her remarks.

“I first want to pay tribute to the sponsors of the resolution,” Pelosi said, “Congresswoman Lynn Jenkins, Congressman — Whip Steny Hoyer, Sen. Roberts and Sen. Leahy. Thank you. Thank you for your leadership in getting this done so expeditiously.”

“It is fitting — that was an applause line for our sponsors,” Pelosi said, interrupting herself to scold the room for not clapping for her comments.

She turned to look at Trump and weirdly laughed.

A few moments later, Pelosi had to tell the audience again to clap.

“It gives my colleagues in the House and me great deep pride to know that Sen. Bob Dole first served in Washington as a member of the House of Representatives. That could be an applause line, but I guess not,” she said.

The crowd lightly clapped before moving on.

Source: InfoWars

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

April 26, 2019

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

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

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

(Reporting by Richard Leong)

Source: OANN

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

April 26, 2019

By Tom Sims

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“MARKET PLAY”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(Writing by Alexander Smith; Editing by Keith Weir)

Source: OANN

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

April 26, 2019

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

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

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

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

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

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

Source: OANN

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

April 26, 2019

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Source: OANN

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

April 26, 2019

By April Joyner

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Source: OANN

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