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EU watchdogs give banks no leeway on Brexit-driven hub demands

FILE PHOTO: The skyline of banking district is photographed in Frankfurt
FILE PHOTO: The skyline of banking district is photographed in Frankfurt, Germany, April 9, 2019. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach/File Photo

April 23, 2019

By Huw Jones, Sinead Cruise and Francesco Canepa

LONDON/FRANKFURT (Reuters) – European Union regulators are refusing to cut British-based banks any slack over bulking up in the bloc in preparation for Brexit, despite an extension to the process which some have taken as an opportunity to drag their feet.

Cost-conscious banks are reluctant to spend millions more and cause further disruption to already unsettled staff given uncertainty over how and when Britain will leave the EU.

“Businesses are trying to be savvy, to meet the minimum legal requirement and figure the rest out after Brexit,” Hakan Enver, managing director for financial services at recruiter Morgan McKinley told Reuters.

Banks are trying to minimize staff moves despite pressure from the European Central Bank (ECB), which set a proviso to granting licenses that firms would beef up their EU units with more employees and assets over the next one to two years.

This requirement has not changed, a source close to the matter said, even though the EU has given Britain until Oct. 31 to leave, an extension from the original “Brexit Day” of March 29.

“Banks are still expected to stick to the timeline agreed with the ECB,” the source said.

Dozens of banks have already set up new bases in the EU to avoid disrupting services to clients. Regulators issued licenses for them, even though they are thinly staffed, so that they could be operational when Britain was meant to quit the EU.

HSBC, which declined to comment, shifted some staff from London to its Paris subsidiary in case of a no-deal Brexit on April 12, only to recall them when a new delay was agreed.

And a source at a major U.S. bank said it had dozens of staff lined up to move if there was a no-deal Brexit, but stood them down and is now awaiting clarity before any further moves.

“We are inclined to say that while we remain in this holding pattern, we don’t have to move anyone or anything,” the source said, adding that Brexit could yet be scrapped completely.

The Bank of England expects about 4,000 banking and insurance jobs will have moved from London to new EU hubs by Brexit Day, but recruiters and banking sources say the number that have moved so far is much lower than that.

Some banks were behind with plans to be operationally ready and are now using the delay to complete moves of customer accounts to new hubs, a senior official at a global bank said.

Meanwhile, Britain’s Financial Conduct Authority’s has warned financial firms sending staff to new EU hubs to ensure they still have “appropriate senior oversight” of their operations left behind in Britain.

BACK-TO-BACK

Banks have so far moved around a trillion euros in stocks, bonds, derivatives contracts and other assets from London to their new EU hubs. Accounts of EU clients must also be moved to conduct business from these hubs, a process known as repapering.

But there is still a long tail of small customers for whom repapering is a burdensome task of changing IT and controls systems, limiting how much business new hubs can take on despite regulatory pressure to move in to higher gear.

“Nobody is yet really doing any substantive business, but there will be a robust dialogue between banks and regulators about when to transfer substantive amounts of business and client preferences will play a big role,” said Vishal Vedi, lead financial services Brexit partner at Deloitte.

EU regulators gave temporary concessions to banks to obtain a license, such as continuing to book some trades in London, but their tolerance is waning.

“We expect some back-to-back (trading) to continue, though new hubs in Frankfurt will have to show the ECB that they can stand on their own two feet if need be,” a senior banking regulator told Reuters.

Having to build up capital in a new unit is expensive for banks at a time of a slowdown in European investment banking.

European M&A was down 67 percent in the first quarter of the year, while first quarter results due out over the next few weeks are expected to show trading volumes at European investment banks were down 15 to 20 percent.

“The longer the extension period, the longer it will be problematic for firms,” Andrew Gray, head of UK financial services at PwC, said.

(Editing by Alexander Smith)

Source: OANN

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NBA notebook: Technicals on Durant, Green rescinded

NBA: Playoffs-Golden State Warriors at Los Angeles Clippers
Apr 18, 2019; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant (35) and Los Angeles Clippers forward JaMychal Green (4) both react after they both receive a technical foul during the second half in game three of the first round of the 2019 NBA Playoffs at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports

April 20, 2019

The NBA rescinded technical fouls assessed to Golden State Warriors star Kevin Durant and Los Angeles Clippers forward JaMychal Green on Friday after reviewing a call made during Thursday night’s game.

Durant and Green were exchanging words during the third quarter when the double-technical was called, stunning both players.

The decision to rescind was announced from the league’s @NBAOfficial account on Twitter.

The change was good for Durant, as he already received two technicals earlier in the series. An accumulation of seven technicals during the postseason carries an automatic one-game suspension. He had lobbied for the technicals to be rescinded after Thursday’s 132-105 victory.

–Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid, who missed Game 3 of his team’s first-round playoff series against the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday night because of left knee soreness, is listed as doubtful for Game 4 on Saturday. The NBA announced his status in its injury report.

Embiid’s status has digressed from the first three games when he was listed as questionable. He continues to deal with left knee tendinitis, a problem throughout the regular season, when he missed 14 of the Sixers’ 24 games after the All-Star break.

Despite Embiid’s absence in Game 3, the visiting 76ers rolled to a 131-115 victory over the host Nets to take a 2-1 lead. Greg Monroe started in Embiid’s place and collected nine points on 4-for-13 shooting and grabbed 13 rebounds. Game 4 of the best-of-seven will also be played in Brooklyn before the series shifts to Philadelphia on Tuesday.

–The status of Detroit Pistons forward Blake Griffin remains uncertain entering Saturday’s Game 3 of the team’s Eastern Conference first-round series against the Milwaukee Bucks.

Griffin missed the first two games with a left knee injury, and coach Dwane Casey didn’t shed any light on whether the six-time All-Star will return on Saturday for the eighth-seeded Pistons, who lost the first two games of the series in Milwaukee by an average of 28 points.

“Day-to-day. I’m not talking about Blake,” Casey told reporters after Friday’s practice. “Day-to-day. Same old words. Just like I am on coaching — day-to-day.”

–Former Cleveland Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue was scheduled to interview with the Los Angeles Lakers for their head coaching vacancy, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported.

The Lakers fired coach Luke Walton last week after three seasons and a 98-148 record.

Lue, who previously served as an assistant coach for the Boston Celtics, L.A. Clippers and Cavaliers, became head coach in Cleveland during the 2015-16 season after David Blatt was fired.

–Field Level Media

Source: OANN

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NBA roundup: Warriors fall in controversial finish

NBA: Golden State Warriors at Minnesota Timberwolves
Mar 29, 2019; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) drives to the basket past Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant (35) in the second half at Target Center. Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

March 30, 2019

Karl-Anthony Towns made a tiebreaking — and controversial — free throw with a half-second remaining in overtime Friday night, giving the Minnesota Timberwolves a 131-130 victory that dropped the visiting Golden State Warriors into a tie for the top spot in the Western Conference.

Kevin Durant fouled Towns as he was breaking for the basket on an inbounds play. Durant was called for a pushing foul near the hoop even though the pass appeared to be over both players’ heads.

Towns made the first of two free throws before missing the second intentionally, which allowed time to run out. The Golden State defeat allowed Denver, which won earlier in the night at Oklahoma City, to draw even with the Warriors for the top spot in the West at 51-24 with seven games remaining.

The controversial finish followed another potential game-determining call with 5.8 seconds remaining in the extra session and Golden State trailing by three, when officials waved off a 3-pointer Durant made while a foul was being called because they said the foul had occurred in the instant before the shot.

Nuggets 115, Thunder 105

Jamal Murray scored 27 points to lead visiting Denver past Oklahoma City and into a tie for first in the Western Conference with seven games remaining. The loss drops the Thunder to eighth place.

Nikola Jokic had 23 points and 16 rebounds for the Nuggets, who shot 56.5 percent from the floor. It was Denver’s third-best shooting performance of the season. Paul Millsap (14 points), Will Barton (12) and Mason Plumlee (11) also scored in double figures for the Nuggets.

Russell Westbrook led the Thunder with 27 points, nine rebounds and nine assists, narrowly missing what would’ve been his second consecutive triple-double. Paul George, who was a game-time decision due to left shoulder soreness, scored 25 points and also grabbed nine rebounds.

Celtics 114, Pacers 112

Kyrie Irving made the go-ahead layup with 0.5 seconds remaining in the game as host Boston edged Indiana and moved into a tie with the Pacers for fourth place in the Eastern Conference.

Indiana’s Thaddeus Young completed an alley-oop to forge a tie at 112 before missing a driving layup on the next possession. Young redeemed himself with a steal, but Boston made a defensive stop and Irving gained a step on Wesley Matthews and made a ball fake on Young before converting the layup.

Irving scored 20 of his 30 points in the second half and Al Horford added 19 for the Celtics, who pulled even in the standings with Indiana after winning back-to-back contests on the heels of a season-high-tying, four-game losing streak.

Trail Blazers 118, Hawks 98

Damian Lillard scored 23 of his 36 points in the first half to help Portland win its sixth straight, a blowout at Atlanta.

Lillard shot 13-for-25 from the field, sank four 3-pointers and handed out seven assists.

Atlanta was led by Trae Young, who scored 20 of his 26 points in the first half but was just 1-for-8 from 3-point range. John Collins added 20 points for the Hawks.

Jazz 128, Wizards 124

Donovan Mitchell scored 35 points to lead Utah to a victory over Washington in Salt Lake City.

Joe Ingles added 18 points and 10 assists, and Rudy Gobert finished with 13 points and 17 rebounds for the Jazz. Jae Crowder added 18 points and Ricky Rubio chipped in 17. Utah shot 55.2 percent from the field to win for the ninth time in 10 games.

Bradley Beal scored 34 points while Bobby Portis added 28 points and 13 rebounds to lead Washington.

Lakers 129, Hornets 115

LeBron James had 27 points and nine assists as Los Angeles prevented visiting Charlotte from moving closer to a playoff spot.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored 25 points, Kyle Kuzma scored 20, Rajon Rondo had a season-high 17 assists, and Lance Stephenson contributed 14 points and a season-high 13 rebounds off the bench for the Lakers, who have won three out of four games for the first time since Dec. 8-15.

Kemba Walker scored 24 points to lead the Hornets, who dropped two games behind the eighth-place Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference. Charlotte has seven games remaining, five on the road. Walker is now 0-28 in his career against James.

–Field Level Media

Source: OANN

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NYC teacher set up estranged husband with new girlfriend before duo allegedly murdered her, friends say

A New York City teacher helped set up her estranged husband with his new girlfriend about two years before the duo allegedly turned on the mother of three, murdering her and setting her body ablaze before dumping the charred remains at a storage facility, friends said.

The remains of Jeanine Cammarata were discovered at a facility in Staten Island’s Arden Heights neighborhood on Thursday -- five days after the 37-year-old was last seen alive. Cammarata’s husband, Michael Cammarata, 42, and his girlfriend, Kangi-Ayisha Egea, 41, were charged Friday with murder, concealment of a human corpse and tampering with physical evidence.

Michael Cammarata, far right, and his girlfriend Ayisha Egea, center, were charged with second-degree murder, concealment of a human corpse and tampering with physical evidence according to police.

Michael Cammarata, far right, and his girlfriend Ayisha Egea, center, were charged with second-degree murder, concealment of a human corpse and tampering with physical evidence according to police. (AP)

About two years before her death, Jeanine Cammarata introduced her husband to Egea, a mother of one of her students, in hopes of removing herself from her abusive marriage, the teacher’s longtime friend Jessica Pobega told the New York Daily News.

“Jeanine actually set up Mike and Ayisha because she wanted Mike to be occupied and leave her alone,” Pobega told the newspaper. “She [Jeanine Cammarata] actually introduced them in the hopes that Mike would stop stalking her.”

MISSING MOTHER’S ESTRANGED HUSBAND, WOMAN CHARGED WITH MURDER, NEW YORK CITY POLICE SAY

Michael Cammarata and Egea hit it off and, eventually, the new girlfriend moved into the couple’s home, Pobega said. Jose Perez, Jeanine Cammarata’s landlord, said he offered the mother of three a vacant apartment in his Staten Island building to help her out of the situation.

“She told me that Ayisha was babysitting their kids and then she found out that they were having a relationship," Perez told the New York Daily News. “She was trying to get rid of Mike. She thought if he kept busy with her [Egea], he wouldn’t be stalking her. But he continued stalking her.”

Michael Cammarata, far right, and his girlfriend Ayisha Egea, center, were arraigned together in Staten Island Criminal Court in St. George on Friday.

Michael Cammarata, far right, and his girlfriend Ayisha Egea, center, were arraigned together in Staten Island Criminal Court in St. George on Friday. (AP)

Perez said Cammarata suspected “something was up” about a week before her death, prompting her to update her will so her three children would be safe.

NY COUNTY CONSIDERS NEXT STEPS AFTER JUDGE RULES AGAINST EMERGENCY ORDER AMID MEASLES OUTBREAK

“She wanted her sister to keep the kids and she wanted to make sure her kids got everything,” Perez said. “...[Michael Cammarata] took her life, he took those kids’ mother away. [The children] deserve everything.”

Family and friends became worried about Cammarata after she failed to show up to work on Tuesday at Public School 29 and at her second job at a Dollar Store, police said. Cammarata was last seen at work on Friday and was scheduled to be off Monday for a custody hearing in court with her estranged husband.

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Cammarata’s current boyfriend eventually reported her missing after failing to hear from her for a few days.

Source: Fox News National

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UN says 122,600 Afghans in need of aid after severe floods

A U.N. humanitarian agency says recent flooding in Afghanistan has left more than 122,600 people in need of assistance.

The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in a statement late on Tuesday that the flooding has affected 14 out of the country's 34 provinces. Thousands of houses have been destroyed or damaged.

Heavy snowfall across Afghanistan this winter had cut off many areas, raising fears of severe floods in the spring. So far this year, 63 people have died as heavy rains and flooding swept away their homes.

Abdul Ahaad Walizada, police spokesman in western Herat province, says at least 13 people, including women and children, died there.

Source: Fox News World

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The United States is on The Verge of Total Economic and Cultural Collapse and Trump is Trying to Stop it

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Source: InfoWars

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Japan Times president apologizes for ‘turmoil,’ warns leakers face punishment

FILE PHOTO: Descendants of Koreans who were conscripted to the Japanese imperial army or recruited for forced labor under Japan's colonisation surround a statue of a girl as they attend an anti-Japan rally in front of the Japanese embassy in Seoul
FILE PHOTO: Descendants of Koreans who were conscripted to the Japanese imperial army or recruited for forced labor under Japan's colonisation surround a statue of a girl as they attend an anti-Japan rally in front of the Japanese embassy in Seoul, South Korea, June 22, 2015. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji/File Photo

April 8, 2019

(This March 20th story corrects headline and lead to show the threat was punishment (not legal action)

TOKYO (Reuters) – The Japan Times, an English-language newspaper that amended its description of “comfort women” and wartime forced laborers last year, apologized to its staff last month, but threatened to punish anyone found leaking confidential information.

In a five-sentence note published last November, the paper said it would refer to Korean laborers simply as “wartime laborers” and would describe comfort women as “women who worked in wartime brothels, including those who did so against their will.”

The move polarized readers. Some saw it as an effort to whitewash Japan’s wartime history, while others celebrated the move as a way to correct foreign misinterpretations.

In an email sent to the paper’s staff on Feb 28, Japan Times president Takeharu Tsutsumi apologized for causing “turmoil.” A Japan Times source shared the email with Reuters; it was verified by several other employees at the paper.

The president explained that the purpose of the style change was to “enable us to report controversial issues in a fair and neutral manner,” and denied that the paper had shifted its political views.

“Some European and American media have accused us with the narrative that ‘The Japan Times’ editorial direction moved to the right following the change in ownership.’ Based on groundless speculation, this is inaccurate,” he wrote, adding that on the other hand “Japan’s right wingers seem to have welcomed this change, but by no means did we intend to reflect any right-wing views.”

Reuters called and emailed Tsutsumi for comment about the internal email. In response, a public relations representative for the Japan Times wrote in an email that it would not respond to queries about internal documents.

In January, Reuters published a story based on interviews with nearly a dozen sources at the Japan Times, as well as hundreds of pages of internal emails and presentation materials, that showed the revision was partly made to ease criticism that the publication was “anti-Japanese” and increase advertising revenue from Japanese corporations and institutions.

The issue of comfort women and Koreans forced to work in wartime factories and coal mines remains incendiary more than seven decades after the war.

Despite the backlash, Tsutsumi told staff there was no significant impact on the number of subscribers. In his email to staff last month, Tsutsumi also called the Reuters story “regrettable” and said it “coupled speculations with information taken out of context to promote a certain narrative.”

“According to the Reuters article, the company’s confidential materials and remarks made at the All Company Meeting appear to have been leaked,” he wrote, saying it was regrettable if any information had been divulged by employees.

“The act of leaking confidential information and the act of damaging the company’s reputation constitutes a violation of compliance,” he wrote. “If we learn the identity of the parties who leaked confidential information, we would have no other choice but to penalize them.”

Some of the paper’s staff have criticized the recent changes.

In an open letter published online last month ahead of the president’s email, Tozen, a labor union representing mostly foreign workers in several industries across Japan, and its Japan Times chapter demanded a full retraction of the style changes.

The paper’s local union, which has 15 members, has been in collective bargaining meetings with management over the issue. Members of the Japan Times chapter declined to comment on the contents of the recent all company e-mail.

“Both changes were pushed through with total disregard for the input of knowledgeable writers and editors, with zero advance notice, and the changes also show a disturbing disregard for the mainstream historical record,” the paper’s union members wrote in the letter.

(Reporting by Mari Saito; Editing by Gerry Doyle)

Source: OANN

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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.)

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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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German drug and crop chemical maker Bayer holds annual general meeting
Werner Baumann, CEO of German pharmaceutical and chemical maker Bayer AG, attends the annual general shareholders meeting in Bonn, Germany, April 26, 2019. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay

April 26, 2019

By Patricia Weiss and Ludwig Burger

BONN (Reuters) – Bayer shareholders vented their anger over its stock price slump on Friday as litigation risks mount from the German drugmaker’s $63 billion takeover of seed maker Monsanto.

Several large investors said they will not support aspirin investor Bayer’s management in a key vote scheduled for the end of its annual general meeting.

Bayer’s management, led by chief executive Werner Baumann, could see an embarrassing plunge in approval ratings, down from 97 percent at last year’s AGM, which was held shortly before the Monsanto takeover closed in June.

A vote to ratify the board’s actions features prominently at every German AGM. Although it has no bearing on management’s liability, it is seen as a key gauge of shareholder sentiment.

“Due to the continued negative development at Bayer, high legal risks and a massive share price slump, we refuse to ratify the management board and supervisory board’s actions during the business year,” Janne Werning, representing Germany’s Union Investment, a top-20 shareholder, said in prepared remarks.

About 30 billion euros ($34 billion) have been wiped off Bayer’s market value since August, when a U.S. jury found the pesticide and drugs group liable because Monsanto had not warned of alleged cancer risks linked to its weedkiller Roundup.

Bayer suffered a similar defeat last month and more than 13,000 plaintiffs are claiming damages.

Bayer is appealing or plans to appeal the verdicts.

Deutsche Bank’s asset managing arm DWS said shareholders should have been consulted before the takeover, which was agreed in 2016 and closed in June last year.

“You are pointing out that the lawsuits have not been lost yet. We and our customers, however, have already lost something – money and trust,” Nicolas Huber, head of corporate governance at DWS, said in prepared remarks for the AGM.

He said DWS would abstain from the shareholder vote of confidence in the executive and non-executive boards.

Two people familiar with the situation told Reuters this week that Bayer’s largest shareholder, BlackRock, plans to either abstain from or vote against ratifying the management board’s actions.

Asset management firm Deka, among Bayer’s largest German investors, has also said it would cast a no vote.

Baumann said Bayer’s true value was not reflected in the current share price.

“There’s no way to make this look good. The lawsuits and the first verdicts weigh heavily on our company and it’s a concern for many people,” he said, adding it was the right decision to buy Monsanto and that Bayer was vigorously defending itself.

This month, shareholder advisory firms Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) and Glass Lewis recommended investors not to give the executive board their seal of approval.

(Reporting by Patricia Weiss and Ludwig Burger; Editing by Alexander Smith)

Source: OANN

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