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HSBC directors take pension cut after investor pressure

FILE PHOTO: FILE PHOTO - The HSBC bank logo is seen at their offices in the Canary Wharf financial district in London
FILE PHOTO: The HSBC bank logo is seen in the Canary Wharf financial district in London, Britain, March 3, 2016. REUTERS/Reinhard Krause/File Photo

April 12, 2019

BIRMINGHAM, England (Reuters) – HSBC’s three executive director board members have agreed a reduction in their pension allowance from 30 to 10 percent of base salary, following increasing scrutiny from investors and other stakeholders on overall executive pay.

New directors on the bank’s board will also see a reduction of cash in lieu of pension to 10 percent of salary, the bank announced at its annual shareholder meeting in Birmingham.

The bank’s move follows similar reductions in pension allowances at other major UK banks.

(Reporting By Lawrence White; editing by David Evans)

Source: OANN

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Q-Poll: Most Are Optimistic About Financial Future

Seventy-five percent of Americans are optimistic about their financial future, compared to 19 percent who are pessimistic, reveals a new Quinnipiac University poll.

Here are the survey's highlights:

  • 50 percent believe they will have enough savings when they retire to live comfortably, while 33 percent think they will not.
  • 69 percent say they can afford to pay an unexpected $500 bill, compared to 29 percent who cannot.
  • 60 percent say they have retirement savings, while 37 percent do not.
  • 45 percent believe the Social Security system will be able to pay a benefit once they are eligible to collect it, compared to 32 percent who do not.
  • 17 percent regret taking student loans to get through college, while 28 percent do not regret it.

"This high level of optimism reflects the constant economic growth and decreasing levels of unemployment over the last decade," said Osman Kilic, chair of the Department of Finance at the School of Business at Quinnipiac University. "It also shows, however, the lack of savings, especially for retirement."

The poll, conducted Mary 21-25, surveyed, 1,590 people. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

Source: NewsMax America

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U.S. House condemns Trump’s courtroom efforts to end Obamacare

FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Trump speaks at the National Republican Congressional Committee Annual Spring Dinner in Washington.
FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump arrives to speak at the National Republican Congressional Committee Annual Spring Dinner in Washington, U.S., April 2, 2019. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts

April 3, 2019

By Susan Cornwell

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Calling it an effort to take away Americans’ healthcare, the U.S. House of Representatives voted Wednesday to condemn the Trump administration’s courtroom bid to eliminate Obamacare.

The 240-186 House vote was a largely symbolic move aimed at keeping the spotlight on the issue. Just eight Republicans joined majority Democrats in voting to urge the administration to reverse its assault against Obamacare, as the 2010 Affordable Care Act that overhauled the U.S. healthcare system is popularly known.

House Democrats brought the resolution to force lawmakers to take a stand on the Justice Department’s recent move asking an appeals court to overturn Obamacare on constitutional grounds.

President Donald Trump, a Republican, has pledged to deliver a better healthcare system than Obamacare if the Supreme Court tosses out his predecessor’s signature domestic achievement.

“The American people deserve to know exactly where their representatives stand on the Trump administration’s vicious campaign to take away their healthcare,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat, said.

But Republicans called the resolution a “political stunt”. Representative Kevin Brady said that if the Supreme Court did strike down Obamacare, Republicans would act to protect some provisions, including coverage guarantees for people with pre-existing medical conditions.

Trump says his administration is drawing up a new healthcare plan ahead of the 2020 election that could be implemented soon afterwards, assuming he wins re-election and Republicans win back the House and keep the Senate.

But Democrats say some 20 million people could lose insurance if the courts toss out Obamacare. They have happily seized on the issue again after having won control of the House last November while campaigning heavily on strengthening Obamacare.

“The president’s view will make 2020 all about healthcare,” House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said. “I would suggest that’s good for us (Democrats). The American people are for having access to care.”

Some Republicans who voted with Democrats Wednesday were from “swing” districts, and may worry that opposing Obamacare could be a liability when they face the voters again next year.

Trump accuses Democrats of seeking “a socialist takeover of American healthcare,” and is certain to take that argument onto the 2020 campaign trail. “This (healthcare) will be a great campaign issue,” he tweeted Wednesday ahead of the House vote.

Trump vowed in the 2016 presidential election to end Obamacare but failed to do so during his first two years in power, despite Republicans controlling both House and Senate.

(Reporting by Susan Cornwell in Washington; Editing by James Dalgleish)

Source: OANN

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Former acting ICE director challenges Democrats: What have they done to solve the ‘crisis’ at the border?

Congress needs to do its job and close loopholes that encourage illegal immigration, former acting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement director and Fox News contributor, Tom Homan said Friday.

“The Congress has failed the American people. The Democratic leadership, show me one thing they’ve done to solve this crisis down at the border,” Homan said on America’s Newsroom.

“What have they done to address the surge at the border? The only one who is doing anything is this administration. The president has done executive actions, declared national emergencies. He’s getting sued every time he does executive action to try to stem the flow of the tide. The 9th circuit has got him tied up every time he turns around.”

On Friday, President Trump, whose 2016 campaign promise was to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, threatened to close the Southern Border next week if Mexico does not “immediately stop” the record-breaking surge of illegal immigrants flooding into the United States.

Trump's warning comes as Customs and Border Protection officials say March is on pace to exceed 100,000 border apprehensions -- the highest monthly total in a decade. According to CBP, this week alone, agents have more than 12,000 migrants in custody.

“The DEMOCRATS have given us the weakest immigration laws anywhere in the World. Mexico has the strongest, & they make more than $100 Billion a year on the U.S.,” Trump tweeted Friday. “Therefore, CONGRESS MUST CHANGE OUR WEAK IMMIGRATION LAWS NOW, & Mexico must stop illegals from entering the U.S. through their country and our Southern Border.”

“Mexico has for many years made a fortune off of the U.S., far greater than Border Costs. If Mexico doesn’t immediately stop ALL illegal immigration coming into the United States throug[sic] our Southern Border, I will be CLOSING the Border, or large sections of the Border, next week,” he continued.

“This would be so easy for Mexico to do, but they just take our money and ‘talk.’ Besides, we lose so much money with them, especially when you add in drug trafficking etc.), that the Border closing would be a good thing!”

Trump also threatened to close the border at a campaign rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan Thursday.

“What needs to be done is Congress needs to close the loopholes. Congress needs to do their job instead of Democratic leadership asking to abolish a federal law enforcement agency for enacting laws that they don’t think work. Why don’t they do their job and fix the laws so they do work and close the loopholes that entice these people to come?” Homan asked.

The president’s tweets and comments threatening to shut down the southern border come after similar warnings earlier in the week, with Trump accusing Mexico and Central American nations of doing “nothing” as illegal immigration surges.

Trump’s initial warning came following comments made by U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Kevin McAlleenan, who said this week that the border was at its “breaking point,” noting that there are not enough agents to respond to the flow of illegal immigrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border.

SENATE VOTES TO BLOCK TRUMP'S BORDER EMERGENCY DECLARATION, IN BIPARTISAN REBUKE TEEING UP VETO

Meanwhile, the president, declared a national emergency in a bid to free up funding for the barrier along the border. This month, the president issued his first veto on a Democrat-backed measure to cancel the emergency.

On Tuesday, House Democrats failed to override Trump’s veto, allowing Trump to move forward with the issue.

Trump had declared the border emergency under a law that lets him shift budget funds to address dire situations. His plan is to shift an additional $3.6 billion from military construction projects to work on border barriers. Congress voted this year to limit spending on such barriers to less than $1.4 billion, and Democrats accused Trump of ignoring lawmakers' constitutional control over spending.

New Jersey Democrat Rep. Jeff Van Drew takes a stand on the issue that most Democrats don’t, saying he believes the border needs some kind of barrier to solve the crisis.

“We are not an open border country. Period. I do not believe in that. I do not believe it’s good for our security. I do not believe it’s good for the economic health of the country and I don’t think it’s something we should do,” he said Friday.

“At the same time take I also believe that we should take care of the Dreamers. These were folks that were here since they were little children and they should go through a process where they learn about America, swear the oath, take the test and become Americans.”

TRUMP THREATENS TO CLOSE BORDER 'NEXT WEEK' IF MEXICO DOESN'T 'IMMEDIATELY STOP' FLOOD OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS 

“This congressman put politics aside for a moment and talked to Fox News about what he thinks needs to be done to fix the border,” Homan said in response.

“I agree with most of everything he said and that’s what needs to happen. I don’t care if you are Republican or Democrat, there is no downside on securing our border.”

“I don’t care if you are Republican or Democrat your number one responsibility is protect this nation, protect our sovereignty and secure our border. So I agree with the congressman,” Homan continued.

Homan offered a “controversial” solution to the problem, saying he has “done it and it worked.”

“ICE needs to get out there right now and look for these family groups and these single adults who enter this country illegally. They had their due process, they demand to claim asylum, they demand to see a judge. Ok, we’ve done that at great taxpayer expense. They’ve been ordered removed by a federal judge,” said Homan.

“ICE needs to find these family groups and these single adults, find them, detain them and remove them. Because if those orders from a judge don’t mean anything, then there’s no integrity into our system.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Homan said he did this about three-and-a-half-years ago and “once we removed a large portion of family units, showing there is deterrence, there is some sort of consequence abiding our laws the numbers on the border went down.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

Source: Fox News Politics

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Lawyer: US Navy veteran held in Iran sentenced to 10 years

A U.S. Navy veteran held in Iran, the first American known to be detained since President Donald Trump took office, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison, his lawyer said Saturday.

Mark Zaid told The Associated Press that Michael White was convicted on charges of insulting Iran's supreme leader and posting private information.

Zaid says he learned of the sentence from the State Department, which in turn learned of it from the Swiss government, which looks over American interests in Iran.

Iranian state media have not reported the sentence, which was first reported by The New York Times.

White, of Imperial Beach, California, went to Iran to see a girlfriend he met online and had booked a July 27 flight back home. He never returned.

Trump has pursued a maximalist campaign against Tehran that includes America's withdrawal from Iran's nuclear deal with world powers. Iran has in the past detained Westerners and dual nationals to use them as leverage in negotiations.

Source: Fox News National

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Japan March core CPI rises 0.8 percent year-on-year

A woman looks at items outside an outlet store at a shopping district in Tokyo
FILE PHOTO - A woman looks at items outside an outlet store at a shopping district in Tokyo, Japan, February 25, 2016. REUTERS/Yuya Shino

April 18, 2019

TOKYO, (Reuters) – Japan’s core consumer prices rose 0.8 percent in March from a year earlier, government data showed on Friday.

The core consumer price index, which includes oil products but excludes fresh food prices, compared with economists’ median estimate for a 0.7 percent annual gain.

Stripping away the effect of fresh food and energy, consumer prices rose 0.4 percent in March from a year ago.

Source: OANN

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Officer accused of making hit list pleads not guilty

A Coast Guard officer accused of stockpiling guns and compiling a hit list of prominent Democrats and network TV journalists has pleaded not guilty to drug and firearms charges.

A lawyer for 49-year-old Christopher Paul Hasson entered the plea on his behalf Monday at an arraignment on charges of illegal possession of firearm silencers, possession of firearms by a drug addict and unlawful user, and possession of a controlled substance. Defense attorney Liz Oyer didn't ask for bond.

Federal prosecutors say Hasson is a self-described white nationalist and "domestic terrorist" who "intends to murder innocent civilians on a scale rarely seen in this country."

Hasson has been detained since his Feb. 15 arrest. Prosecutors say investigators found 15 firearms and over 1,000 rounds of ammunition at Hasson's Silver Spring apartment.

Source: Fox News National

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Joe Biden’s brain surgeon said his former patient is “totally in the clear” as speculation over the candidate’s health — with Biden possibly becoming the oldest president in U.S. history — is likely to become a campaign issue.

The former vice president, who had been perceived by many as the strongest potential contender for the Democratic Party’s 2020 presidential nomination, formally announced his candidacy Thursday.

But Biden’s age – 76 – is expected to become a source of attacks from a younger generation of Democrats not because of obvious generational differences, but possibly for actual health concerns if Biden gets into office.

WHY THE MEDIA ARE CONVINCED JOE BIDEN WILL IMPLODE

Biden himself agreed last year that “it’s totally legitimate” for people to ask questions about his health if he decides to run for president, given his medical history — which has included brain surgery in 1988.

“I think they’re gonna judge me on my vitality,” Biden told “CBS This Morning.” “Can I still run up the steps of Air Force Two? Am I still in good shape? Am I – do I have all my faculties? Am I energetic? I think it’s totally legitimate people ask those questions.”

“I think they’re gonna judge me on my vitality. …  I think it’s totally legitimate [that] people ask those questions.”

— Joe Biden

But Dr. Neal Kassell, the neurosurgeon who operated on Biden for an aneurysm three decades ago, told the Washington Examiner that Biden appears to be “totally in the clear” — and even joked that the operation made Biden “better than how he was.”

“Joe Biden of all of the politicians in Washington is the only one that I’m certain has a brain, because I have seen it,” Kassell said. “That’s more than I can say about all the other candidates or the incumbents.”

“Joe Biden of all of the politicians in Washington is the only one that I’m certain has a brain, because I have seen it.”

— Dr. Neal Kassell

BIDEN’S CLAIM HE DIDN’T WANT OBAMA TO ENDORSE TRIGGERS MOCKERY

At the same time, however, Biden hasn’t been forthcoming about his health at least since 2008 when he released his medical records as a vice presidential candidate. The disclosure that time revealed some fairly minor issues such as an irregular heartbeat in addition to detailing previous operations, including removing a benign polyp during a colonoscopy in 1996, the outlet reported.

It remains unclear if Biden had more aneurysms. Some medical experts say that people who have had an aneurysm can have another one.

An aneurysm, or a weakening of an artery wall, can lead to a rupture and internal bleeding, potentially placing a patient’s life in jeopardy.

Biden won’t be the only Democrat grappling with old age. Sen. Bernie Sanders, another 2020 frontrunner, is currently 77 years old and agreed with Biden last year that their ages will be an issue in the race.

“It’s part of a discussion, but it has to be part of an overall view of what somebody is and what somebody has accomplished,” Sanders told Politico.

“Look, you’ve got people who are 50 years of age who are not well, right? You’ve got people who are 90 years of age who are going to work every day, doing excellent work. And obviously, age is a factor. But it depends on the overall health and wellbeing of the individual.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Sanders released his medical records in 2016, with a Senate physician saying in a letter that the senator was “in overall very good health.”

Source: Fox News Politics

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Cambodian authorities have ordered a one-hour reduction in the length of school days because of concerns that students and teachers may fall ill from a prolonged heat wave.

Education Minister Hang Chuon Naron said in an announcement seen Friday that the shortened hours will remain in effect until the rainy season starts, which usually occurs in May. The current heat wave, in which temperatures are regularly reaching as high as 41 Celsius (106 Fahrenheit), is one of the longest in memory.

Most schools in Cambodia lack air conditioning, prompting concern that temperatures inside classrooms could rise to unhealthy levels.

School authorities were instructed to watch for symptoms of heat stroke and urge pupils to drink more water.

The new hours cut 30 minutes off the beginning of the school day and 30 minutes off the end.

School authorities instituted a similar measure in 2016.

Source: Fox News World

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Explosions have rocked Britain’s largest steel plant, injuring two people and shaking nearby homes.

South Wales Police say the incident at the Tata Steel plant in Port Talbot was reported at about 3:35 a.m. Friday (22:35 EDT Thursday). The explosions touched off small fires, which are under control. Two workers suffered minor injuries and all staff members have been accounted for.

Police say early indications are that the explosions were caused by a train used to carry molten metal into the plant. Tata Steel says its personnel are working with emergency services at the scene.

Local lawmaker Stephen Kinnock says the incident raises concerns about safety.

He tweeted: “It could have been a lot worse … @TataSteelEurope must conduct a full review, to improve safety.”

Source: Fox News World

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The Wider Image: China's start-ups go small in age of 'shoebox' satellites
LinkSpace’s reusable rocket RLV-T5, also known as NewLine Baby, is carried to a vacant plot of land for a test launch in Longkou, Shandong province, China, April 19, 2019. REUTERS/Jason Lee

April 26, 2019

By Ryan Woo

LONGKOU, China (Reuters) – During initial tests of their 8.1-metre (27-foot) tall reusable rocket, Chinese engineers from LinkSpace, a start-up led by China’s youngest space entrepreneur, used a Kevlar tether to ensure its safe return. Just in case.

But when the Beijing-based company’s prototype, called NewLine Baby, successfully took off and landed last week for the second time in two months, no tether was needed.

The 1.5-tonne rocket hovered 40 meters above the ground before descending back to its concrete launch pad after 30 seconds, to the relief of 26-year-old chief executive Hu Zhenyu and his engineers – one of whom cartwheeled his way to the launch pad in delight.

LinkSpace, one of China’s 15-plus private rocket manufacturers, sees these short hops as the first steps towards a new business model: sending tiny, inexpensive satellites into orbit at affordable prices.

Demand for these so-called nanosatellites – which weigh less than 10 kilograms (22 pounds) and are in some cases as small as a shoebox – is expected to explode in the next few years. And China’s rocket entrepreneurs reckon there is no better place to develop inexpensive launch vehicles than their home country.

“For suborbital clients, their focus will be on scientific research and some commercial uses. After entering orbit, the near-term focus (of clients) will certainly be on satellites,” Hu said.

In the near term, China envisions massive constellations of commercial satellites that can offer services ranging from high-speed internet for aircraft to tracking coal shipments. Universities conducting experiments and companies looking to offer remote-sensing and communication services are among the potential domestic customers for nanosatellites.

A handful of U.S. small-rocket companies are also developing launchers ahead of the expected boom. One of the biggest, Rocket Lab, has already put 25 satellites in orbit.

No private company in China has done that yet. Since October, two – LandSpace and OneSpace – have tried but failed, illustrating the difficulties facing space start-ups everywhere.

The Chinese companies are approaching inexpensive launches in different ways. Some, like OneSpace, are designing cheap, disposable boosters. LinkSpace’s Hu aspires to build reusable rockets that return to Earth after delivering their payload, much like the Falcon 9 rockets of Elon Musk’s SpaceX.

“If you’re a small company and you can only build a very, very small rocket because that’s all you have money for, then your profit margins are going to be narrower,” said Macro Caceres, analyst at U.S. aerospace consultancy Teal Group.

“But if you can take that small rocket and make it reusable, and you can launch it once a week, four times a month, 50 times a year, then with more volume, your profit increases,” Caceres added.

Eventually LinkSpace hopes to charge no more than 30 million yuan ($4.48 million) per launch, Hu told Reuters.

That is a fraction of the $25 million to $30 million needed for a launch on a Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems Pegasus, a commonly used small rocket. The Pegasus is launched from a high-flying aircraft and is not reusable.

(Click https://reut.rs/2UVBjKs to see a picture package of China’s rocket start-ups. Click https://tmsnrt.rs/2GIy9Bc for an interactive look at the nascent industry.)

NEED FOR CASH

LinkSpace plans to conduct suborbital launch tests using a bigger recoverable rocket in the first half of 2020, reaching altitudes of at least 100 kilometers, then an orbital launch in 2021, Hu told Reuters.

The company is in its third round of fundraising and wants to raise up to 100 million yuan, Hu said. It had secured tens of millions of yuan in previous rounds.

After a surge in fresh funding in 2018, firms like LinkSpace are pushing out prototypes, planning more tests and even proposing operational launches this year.

Last year, equity investment in China’s space start-ups reached 3.57 billion yuan ($533 million), a report by Beijing-based investor FutureAerospace shows, with a burst of financing in late 2018.

That accounted for about 18 percent of global space start-up investments in 2018, a historic high, according to Reuters calculations based on a global estimate by Space Angels. The New York-based venture capital firm said global space start-up investments totaled $2.97 billion last year.

“Costs for rocket companies are relatively high, but as to how much funding they need, be it in the hundreds of millions, or tens of millions, or even just a few million yuan, depends on the company’s stage of development,” said Niu Min, founder of FutureAerospace.

FutureAerospace has invested tens of millions of yuan in LandSpace, based in Beijing.

Like space-launch startups elsewhere in the world, the immediate challenge for Chinese entrepreneurs is developing a safe and reliable rocket.

Proven talent to develop such hardware can be found in China’s state research institutes or the military; the government directly supports private firms by allowing them to launch from military-controlled facilities.

But it’s still a high-risk business, and one unsuccessful launch might kill a company.

“The biggest problem facing all commercial space companies, especially early-stage entrepreneurs, is failure” of an attempted flight, Liang Jianjun, chief executive of rocket company Space Trek, told Reuters. That can affect financing, research, manufacturing and the team’s morale, he added.

Space Trek is planning its first suborbital launch by the end of June and an orbital launch next year, said Liang, who founded the company in late 2017 with three other former military technical officers.

Despite LandSpace’s failed Zhuque-1 orbital launch in October, the Beijing-based firm secured 300 million yuan in additional funding for the development of its Zhuque-2 rocket a month later.

In December, the company started operating China’s first private rocket production facility in Zhejiang province, in anticipation of large-scale manufacturing of its Zhuque-2, which it expects to unveil next year.

STATE COMPETITION

China’s state defense contractors are also trying to get into the low-cost market.

In December, the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corp (CASIC) successfully launched a low-orbit communication satellite, the first of 156 that CASIC aims to deploy by 2022 to provide more stable broadband connectivity to rural China and eventually developing countries.

The satellite, Hongyun-1, was launched on a rocket supplied by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp (CASC), the nation’s main space contractor.

In early April, the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALVT), a subsidiary of CASC, completed engine tests for its Dragon, China’s first rocket meant solely for commercial use, clearing the path for a maiden flight before July.

The Dragon, much bigger than the rockets being developed by private firms, is designed to carry multiple commercial satellites.

At least 35 private Chinese companies are working to produce more satellites.

Spacety, a satellite maker based in southern Hunan province, plans to put 20 satellites in orbit this year, including its first for a foreign client, chief executive Yang Feng told Reuters.

The company has only launched 12 on state-produced rockets since the company started operating in early 2016.

“When it comes to rocket launches, what we care about would be cost, reliability and time,” Yang said.

(Reporting by Ryan Woo; Additional reporting by Beijing newsroom; Editing by Gerry Doyle)

Source: OANN

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At least one person is reported dead and homes have been destroyed by a powerful cyclone that struck northern Mozambique and continues to dump rain on the region, with the United Nations warning of “massive flooding.”

Cyclone Kenneth arrived just six weeks after Cyclone Idai tore into central Mozambique, killing more than 600 people and displacing scores of thousands. The U.N. says this is the first time in known history that the southern African nation has been hit by two cyclones in one season.

Forecasters say the new cyclone made landfall Thursday night in a part of Mozambique that has not seen such a storm in at least 60 years.

Mozambique’s local emergency operations center says a woman in the city of Pemba was killed by a falling tree.

Source: Fox News World

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