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The Latest: Snow, ice making Midwest travel dangerous

The Latest on severe weather impacting the central U.S. (all times local):

6:45 a.m.

A powerful spring snow storm sweeping across the Midwest has made travel hazardous across Minnesota, Nebraska and South Dakota.

As much as 18 inches of snow has fallen in parts of South Dakota, where Gov. Kristi Noem closed state offices in much of the state Thursday amid heavy snow and strong winds.

Whiteout conditions have been reported in western Nebraska, where the Department of Transportation reported several highway closures Thursday morning.

Schools in Minneapolis and St. Paul are among hundreds of closed schools in Minnesota, where as much as 2 feet (0.61 meters) of snow is expected in the southwest part of the state by Friday. The Minnesota State Patrol says it has responded to more 200 crashes statewide since Wednesday.

The blizzard is part of a storm system known as a "bomb cyclone" that's slowly churning through the central U.S. for the second time in a month.

___

12 a.m.

A storm system known as a "bomb cyclone" churned through the U.S. interior for the second time in a month, unleashing a blizzard that struck the Upper Midwest and creating hazardous fire conditions farther south.

The storm knocked out power Wednesday to thousands of homes and businesses in South Dakota, disrupted air and ground travel from Colorado to Minnesota and threatened to swell rivers in the Midwest that flooded after March's drenching.

National Weather Service Forecaster David Roth said both storms are what is known as a "bomb cyclone," a weather phenomenon that entails a rapid drop in air pressure and a storm strengthening explosively.

Forecasters said this week's storm will swell rivers again, though likely not to the levels seen last month.

Source: Fox News National

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NHL roundup: Price makes Habs history

NHL: Detroit Red Wings at Montreal Canadiens
Mar 12, 2019; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Montreal Canadiens goalie Carey Price (31) prepares to throw pucks to the crowd after being named first star of the game after the game against the Detroit Red Wings at the Bell Centre. Price becomes the winningest goalie in franchise history. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-USA TODAY Sports

March 13, 2019

Carey Price set the Montreal franchise record for most wins by a goalie, Max Domi scored two goals, and the host Canadiens defeated the reeling Detroit Red Wings for the ninth consecutive time, 3-1 on Tuesday.

With his 315th regular-season victory, Price supplanted Jacques Plante for the team mark. He made 20 saves as the Canadiens completed a sweep of the four-game season series by a 21-7 aggregate score.

Brett Kulak collected the other goal for Montreal while Tomas Tatar recorded two assists.

Andreas Athanasiou scored the only goal for the Red Wings, who have lost 11 of their last 12 games (1-8-3). Jonathan Bernier made 33 saves.

Flames 9, Devils 4

Johnny Gaudreau collected a career-best six points — including a hat trick — and host Calgary exploded for six goals in the third period en route to a comeback victory over New Jersey.

Derek Ryan had two goals and an assist, and Sean Monahan and Elias Lindholm both collected a goal and three assists for the Flames. Sam Bennett and Matthew Tkachuk also scored for Calgary.

Blake Coleman produced a goal and an assist for the Devils, who also got goals from Kyle Palmieri, Kenny Agostino and Travis Zajac.

Stars 2, Sabres 0

Ben Bishop recorded his third consecutive shutout, Roope Hintz notched his first multiple-goal game, and visiting Dallas beat Buffalo.

Bishop made 35 saves to notch his sixth shutout of the season and the 30th of his career, running his career record to 12-0-1 against the Sabres. He has a shutout streak of 204:20, the second-longest stretch in club history. Ed Belfour went 219:26 without allowing a goal in the 2000-01 season.

The three straight shutouts ties Bishop with Belfour and Cesare Maniago for the franchise record. Maniago did it in December 1967 with the then-Minnesota North Stars, and Belfour’s hot stretch was in November 2000.

Penguins 5, Capitals 3

Evgeni Malkin had two assists to become the 88th NHL player to reach 1,000 career points, and Pittsburgh halted visiting Washington’s seven-game winning streak.

Sidney Crosby scored twice, and Jake Guentzel, Phil Kessel and Jared McCann tallied once apiece for Pittsburgh, which has won five of six. Matt Murray stopped 38 shots.

Jakub Vrana scored twice and John Carlson once for the Capitals, and Braden Holtby made 25 saves. Washington’s Alex Ovechkin had an assist to reach 1,200 career points.

Sharks 5, Jets 4

Joe Pavelski scored the go-ahead goal with five seconds remaining in the third period as San Jose won at Winnipeg for its sixth straight victory.

Gustav Nyquist scored twice to record his 13th career multi-goal performance, and Marcus Sorensen added a goal and an assist for the Sharks, who improved to 15-3-1 in their past 19 games.

Joe Thornton had two assists to move past Hall of Famer Stan Mikita (1,467 assists) for sole possession of 14th place in NHL history. The 39-year-old Thornton skated in his 1,554 regular-season game to tie Jarome Iginla for 13th place on the league’s all-time list.

Coyotes 3, Blues 1

Darcy Kuemper made 39 saves as Arizona moved into the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference with a victory at St. Louis.

Richard Panik, Vinnie Hinostroza and Oliver Ekman-Larsson scored goals for the Coyotes, who won for the ninth time in their past 11 games. Kuemper, pulled in the second period after giving up four goals on 12 shots in a 7-1 loss at Chicago on Monday, bounced back to improve to 18-5-3 since Jan. 1.

Jaden Schwartz scored a power-play goal and Jordan Binnington had 19 saves for the Blues.

Blue Jackets 7, Bruins 4

Boone Jenner recorded his 100th career goal and first hat trick as Columbus earned a wild victory over visiting Boston.

Zach Werenski and Josh Anderson each had one goal and three assists for the Blue Jackets, who were shut out twice in the past three contests and posted seven non-shootout goals while losing four of their previous six.

The Bruins have lost two straight in regulation following their 15-0-4 stretch. Boston’s Brad Marchand reached the 30-goal mark for a fourth straight season and equaled his career high of 85 points with two goals and an assist.

Ducks 3, Predators 2

Ryan Getzlaf scored less than four minutes into the game, and Anaheim denied visiting Nashville a chance to move into first place in the Central Division.

The Predators made things interesting with a pair of Filip Forsberg goals 58 seconds apart in the third period, but the Ducks were able to make their early 3-0 lead stand.

Jakob Silfverberg and Daniel Sprong also scored for the Ducks, who won for the fourth time in their past six games. Anaheim goaltender John Gibson made 32 saves.

–Field Level Media

Source: OANN

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Chinese smartphone firms jazz up products, seize turf in home market from Apple

FILE PHOTO: Xiaomi founder and CEO Lei Jun attends a launch ceremony of the new flagship phone Xiaomi Mi 9 in Beijing
FILE PHOTO: Xiaomi founder and CEO Lei Jun attends a launch ceremony of the new flagship phone Xiaomi Mi 9 in Beijing, China February 20, 2019. REUTERS/Jason Lee/File Photo

March 22, 2019

By Josh Horwitz

SHANGHAI (Reuters) – Smartphone retailers in China say it’s a tough sell of late with consumers reluctant to upgrade, put off by chill economic winds.

Even so domestic brands led by Huawei have made big strides, wooing consumers with top-notch hardware and innovative features as they move upmarket in the $500-$800 price range. The result: a loss of share in a key segment for Apple Inc and fresh price cuts for iPhones by Chinese retailers.

“Of those people who are upgrading, there are many switching from Apple to Chinese brands but very few switching from Chinese brands to Apple,” said Jiang Ning, who manages a Xiaomi store in the northern province of Shandong.

Huawei Technologies Co Ltd, Xiaomi Corp, Oppo and Vivo once sought to grab share in the world’s biggest smartphone market with value-for-money devices, but consumer demand for better phones has prompted strategic rethinks.

“People are more attached to their phone than ever and have higher expectations for the function and experience it offers. The response has been constant upgrading of hardware specs,” Alen Wu, global vice president at Oppo, told Reuters.

He Fan, CEO of Huishoubao which buys and resells used phones, said he has seen a consumer shift to Huawei from Apple, driven by the Chinese love of selfies and emphasis on camera quality. Huawei has had a tie-up with German camera maker Leica since 2016.

“Huawei’s cameras have become noticeably better than Apple’s in that they suit the tastes of Chinese consumers more,” he said.

Compared to dual-cameras common in most smartphones, Huawei’s P20 Pro device boasts three rear-facing cameras, with the additional one improving zoom capabilities.

It is one of several new devices in its P20 and Mate 20 lines, which helped Huawei’s share of the $500-$800 segment in China surge to 26.6 percent last year from 8.8 percent, data from research firm Counterpoint shows.

Apple, by contrast, saw its share of the segment tumble to 54.6 percent from 81.2 percent, also hurt by its decision to move even further upmarket with the iPhone X series.

“Most Chinese smartphone buyers are not ready to shell out beyond $1,000 for a phone,” said Neil Shah, research director at Counterpoint. “This left a gap in the below-$800 segment, which Chinese vendors grabbed with both hands.”

(For a graphic on ‘Chinese smartphones increase share of home market’ click https://tmsnrt.rs/2HvsyQi)

Shipments of phones priced above $600 in China grew 10 percent in 2018, data from research firm Canalys shows. By contrast, the overall market shrunk 14 percent, marking a second year of contraction.

OVERSEAS GAINS

The weaker cachet for Apple in China was underscored this month when several major retailers simultaneously cut iPhone prices for a second time this year.

A 64GB iPhone 8 sold at Suning.com Co Ltd now costs 3,899 yuan ($580), roughly 25 percent less than it did in December. That’s also lower than its $599 price tag in the United States, where iPhones typically cost less to buy than in China. Most iPhone models through to the iPhone 8 series have seen prices in China cut, albeit not equally.

In earnings too, it seems to be a tale of divergent fortunes. Apple’s October-December revenue from the Greater China region fell by about a quarter from a year earlier. Greater China currently accounts for 15.6 percent of its overall revenue.

Huawei, the world’s No. 2 smartphone maker, has estimated revenue for 2018 rose 21 percent, which analysts attribute in large part to robust smartphone sales.

More broadly, fewer sales for Apple means fewer customers for its App Store and media streaming services. The shift to higher-end phones by Chinese brands has also meant greater inroads in overseas markets.

Huawei’s shipments in Europe jumped 55 percent in the latest quarter and it now has 23.6 percent market share, according to Canalys. That’s not far behind Samsung Electronics and Apple which saw small declines in shipments.

OPPO, VIVO

If Huawei is taking the lion’s share of turf that Apple once had in China, Oppo and Vivo – brands owned by electronics hardware conglomerate BBK – are the newest threats.

In June, Vivo launched the Nex which starts from 3,898 yuan ($610) and in July, Oppo launched the Find X, priced at 4,999 yuan ($755).

The models mark the first time the brands have priced a phone above $600, a sharp departure from their roots selling $300-$500 models to young consumers in second-tier cities.

The devices came with features unavailable in the iPhone, including under-the-glass fingerprint sensors and “notchless” displays, both of which increase the size of usable screen.

Xiaomi too is going upmarket, announcing in January it would split off its low-budget Redmi range of phones into a sub-brand. In doing so, it is taking a leaf out of Huawei’s book which has for years sold cheaper devices under the Honor brand, helping differentiate its products.

Redmi will target international markets and e-commerce sales, while the flagship Xiaomi brand will target China and offline retail markets, company founder Lei Jun told reporters.

Last month, Xiaomi unveiled the Mi 9, its latest flagship device with a price tag of 2,999 yuan ($450). But the company also said it might be the last time a Xiaomi flagship phone would be priced under 3,000 yuan.

“Xiaomi’s flagship series phones were once always set at 1,999 yuan,” said Lei. “This was a contributing factor to our rise, but it also became an obstacle to our growth,” he said.

(For a graphic on ‘Chinese smartphones increase share of home market’ click https://tmsnrt.rs/2Hx2KD4)

(Reporting by Josh Horwitz; Additional reporting by Stephen Nellis in San Francisco, Paul Sandle in Barcelona and the Shanghai newsroom; Editing by Jonathan Weber and Edwina Gibbs)

Source: OANN

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Malaysia to sell 1MDB-linked superyacht for $126 million

Seized luxury yacht Equanimity, belonging to fugitive Malaysian financier Low Taek Jho, is brought to Boustead Cruise Terminal in Port Klang
Seized luxury yacht Equanimity, belonging to fugitive Malaysian financier Low Taek Jho, is brought to Boustead Cruise Terminal in Port Klang, Malaysia August 7, 2018. REUTERS/Lai Seng Sin

April 3, 2019

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – Malaysia has agreed to sell a superyacht linked to a multi-billion dollar scandal at state fund 1MDB to casino operator Genting Malaysia Bhd for $126 million, the country’s attorney general said on Wednesday.

The superyacht Equanimity is among assets allegedly bought by fugitive financier Low Taek Jho and his associates with money taken from the fund, the U.S. and Malaysian officials have said.

Low allegedly paid $250 million for the yacht, which has an interior clad in marble and gold leaf, a spa and sauna, a 20-meter (66-ft) swimming pool, a movie theater and helipad.

(Reporting by A. Ananthalakshmi; Editing by Paul Tait)

Source: OANN

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Ex-Venezuelan intelligence chief jailed in Spain pending decision on U.S. extradition

Law enforcement van believed to be carrying former head of Venezuelan military intelligence, Carvajal, arrives in Madrid
A Civil Guard van believed to be carrying the former head of Venezuelan military intelligence, Hugo Carvajal arrives outside the high court, in Madrid, Spain April 13, 2019. REUTERS/Javier Barbancho

April 13, 2019

MADRID (Reuters) – Hugo Carvajal, a former Venezuelan military intelligence chief who Washington believes has valuable information on President Nicolas Maduro, was jailed on Saturday by Spain’s High Court pending a decision on an extradition request to the United States, a court spokesman said.

A former general and close ally of former Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez, Carvajal was arrested by Spanish police on Friday on a U.S. warrant for drug trafficking charges.

During the hearing, Carvajal denied links with drug trafficking and Colombia’s FARC rebel group and challenged his potential extradition to the United States, the spokesman said.

The United States must now formalize its extradition request, which will be ruled upon by the High Court.

The U.S. Justice Department said on Friday it had requested Carvajal’s extradition on cocaine smuggling charges filed in 2011 and unsealed in 2014.

Carvajal was previously sanctioned by the U.S. government in 2008 for “materially assisting the narcotics trafficking activities” of Colombia’s FARC rebel group.

A U.S. administration official told Reuters on Friday that Carvajal has valuable information on Maduro and is willing to cooperate.

(Reporting by Miguel Gutierrez, Editing by Jane Merriman and Angus MacSwan)

Source: OANN

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$150G BMW i8 damaged after suspected drunk driver slams into California dealership

It could have been worse -- It could have been a Ferrari dealership.

A suspected drunk driver may end up with a hefty tab after slamming into a pricey California car dealership showroom and causing nearly $200,000 in damage, the showroom manager said.

The crash happened around 2 a.m. at the Century West BMW in North Hollywood, where the red Subaru sedan plowed through a floor-to-ceiling showroom window and sparked a fire.

“The fire was small, in general, but smoke charged inside the building and set the sprinklers off,” Los Angeles Fire Department Battalion Chief Thomas Gikas told KABC-TV. “Some vehicles were damaged.”

DRIVER PLOWS INTO GROUP OF PEOPLE IN CALIFORNIA, INJURING 8 BEFORE SMASHING INTO TREE, POLICE SAY

Two vehicles were damaged in the crash, including a BMW i8. The car, with a "spaceship design," is worth around $150,000, according to Car and Driver magazine.

"Just looking, there's a couple hundred thousand dollars in damage to the cars," Showroom Manager Joe Deitrick told KNBC-TV. "The i8 is a very expensive car. They have carbon fiber bodies that have to be repaired a certain way."

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The driver, whose name was not released, was arrested on suspicion of DUI. No serious injuries were reported, and the crash was under investigation.

The Subaru was expected to be removed from the building my mid-Wednesday, KNBC reported.

Source: Fox News National

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US aid cuts will spur Central America migration, experts say

Government officials, aid workers and activists in Central America are mystified by U.S. President Donald Trump's threat to cut off nearly $500 million in aid to Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador in response to what he calls an immigration crisis. Over time, they say, it will only worsen the problem.

At risk of falling on the chopping block are development programs that work to tackle the root causes driving migration: poverty, inequality, violence and corruption. These include outreach to at-risk youth to combat forced gang recruitment as well as programs to address gender-based violence and support education, workforce development and the uphill fight to root out endemic graft.

"It's illogical and it's irresponsible. ... You're talking about long-term challenges that are going to require long-term, sustainable solutions," said Adriana Beltrán, a Central America specialist at the Washington Office on Latin America. "So rather than helping to stabilize the situation and try to address these long-term challenges, the cut in assistance will only make the situation worse."

"Gutting important programs," she added, "will eventually lead to more migration, more insecurity, more corruption, more impunity in these countries."

It's still not clear exactly what, when or how much could be cut.

Trump said last week that "we were paying them tremendous amounts of money and we're not paying them anymore because they haven't done a thing for us," and mentioned a figure of $500 million.

State Department spokesman Robert Palladino said Tuesday that the amount affected by any aid cut would be $450 million from fiscal year 2018 as well as an as yet undetermined amount from 2017.

"The president has made clear that the decision is aimed at securing the United States borders and protecting American citizens," Palladino said. "These programs have not effectively prevented illegal immigration from coming to the United States, and they've not achieved the desired results."

The aid is meant to promote democracy-building, good governance, trade, agriculture, education, health, public safety and law enforcement. Experts say all of those areas play a direct role in whether people feel they can get by or even survive in their home countries.

Reaction from the three governments has been muted so far, perhaps for fear of angering Trump.

Both Honduras and El Salvador pointedly said they had not been formally notified of any specific cuts in U.S. aid. Honduran Defense Minister Fredy Díaz said cooperation with the United States on security is "unchanged," while the Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the relationship has been "solid, close and positive."

Salvadoran Vice President Oscar Ortiz said Tuesday that an aid cut would not solve the migration problem but have the opposite effect. "The best way to tackle the issue of migration ... is not with this type of decision," he said. "The best way to tackle the issue is to keep working together."

Guatemala, the source of much of the recent migration from the region, was particularly circumspect, with presidential spokesman Alfredo Brito saying simply that the official response was not to comment for the time being.

But those carrying out the boots-on-the-ground work are concerned.

Rick Jones, who works in El Salvador as the youth and migration policy adviser for Catholic Relief Services, counsels young people to keep them out of gangs and help them get jobs. He also runs behavioral therapy for inmates to deter them from returning to crime — all things that have "a positive impact to help guys think about and change their behavior," he said.

It's seen as unglamorous but badly needed work, especially in a place like El Salvador, which has a homicide rate that is among the world's highest at more than 50 per 100,000 people last year.

But all $38 million that Catholic Relief Services gets from U.S. government agencies to run programs in the three countries — including ones on education and jobs — could disappear if the cutoff goes through.

If that happens, "it will be sending the message, 'Help is not on the way ... and you're going to be left on your own,'" Jones said. "And basically people left on their own are going to be more desperate and more people are going to leave."

Likewise, Vicki Gass, Oxfam America senior policy adviser for Central America and Mexico, said that axing funding for programs that have been running for years, would, in many cases, "waste U.S. taxpayer dollars that have already been invested" and "foster the same instability that is making people flee in the first place."

Some government programs aimed at persuading Central Americans not to emigrate have been put in place, in part in response to Trump's earlier criticism about the migrant caravans that brought thousands trekking toward the U.S. border, and the threatened aid cutoff does not take that into account, officials say.

"This goes against what we have seen in reports that show there have really been some decreases in migration, and that they are the result of the efforts being made on this issue," said lawmaker Yanci Urbina of the left-leaning FMLN party in El Salvador, the least populated of the three countries and a distant third in terms of how many migrants are heading for the U.S.

Salvadoran Treasury Minister Nelson Fuentes said U.S. aid in his country includes $20 million in technical and fiscal funding over five years, and the government has not gotten word of any cuts. Another $200 million to spur growth and employment is managed in tandem with the World Bank, and it remains to be seen whether this will be reduced. Finally there are direct donations from Washington to the Salvadoran government and private organizations.

Fuentes said aid for security and migration could be affected, but that actively funded contracts should not be.

In Guatemala, the most significant aid comes in security assistance to fight drug trafficking — and that has already come under scrutiny recently over questionable use of armored vehicles donated by Washington. Other funds through USAID go to help programs on things like agriculture and education in poor rural communities, plus training for prosecutors, who have waged a high-profile fight against corruption in recent years, or for judges.

Former Honduran Foreign Minister Ernesto Paz called U.S. aid to his country "vital" and said the threatened cuts show that Washington is "an unreliable ally for Honduras."

Like Guatemala, Honduras has backed the Trump administration on key issues such as recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capital and on the political crisis in Venezuela. It remains to be seen whether such support could waver. "A sense of nationalism is surging in this country ... and that could be a good thing," Paz said.

Beltrán noted that most of the assistance now in jeopardy does not go directly to the three countries' governments but to agencies, NGOs, church groups and others.

She predicted that an attempt to cut aid could face pushback in Congress if funds are reprogrammed without lawmakers' consent. Particularly in the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives, members and committees could try to place holds on money in the next funding bill, she said.

"It is going to ensue into a battle," Beltrán said, "because it is Congress that at the end of the day has the power of the purse."

___

Associated Press writers Sonia Perez D. in Guatemala City, Freddy Cuevas in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, Matthew Lee in Washington and Mark Stevenson and Peter Orsi in Mexico City contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News World

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The headquarters of Wirecard AG is seen in Aschheim near Munich
FILE PHOTO: The headquarters of Wirecard AG, an independent provider of outsourcing and white label solutions for electronic payment transactions is seen in Aschheim near Munich, Germany April 25, 2019. REUTERS/Michael Dalder

April 26, 2019

BERLIN (Reuters) – Wulf Matthias will not stand for a second term as Wirecard’s chairman in 2020, German daily Handelsblatt said on Friday, citing sources in the financial industry.

For age reasons alone this would not be an option for Matthias, aged 75, Handelsblatt added.

Matthias will keep his mandate until it ends in 2020, the paper quoted a company spokeswoman as saying.

Wirecard was not immediately available for comment when contacted by Reuters.

(Reporting by Tassilo Hummel; Editing by Thomas Seythal)

Source: OANN

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FILE PHOTO: The Credit Suisse logo is pictured on a bank in Geneva
FILE PHOTO: The Credit Suisse logo is pictured on a bank in Geneva, Switzerland, October 17, 2017. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo

April 26, 2019

ZURICH (Reuters) – Shareholders approved Credit Suisse’s 2018 compensation report with an 82 percent majority on Friday, overriding frustrations expressed at its annual general meeting over jumps in executive pay during a year its share price plummeted.

Three shareholder advisers had recommended investors vote against Switzerland’s second-biggest bank’s remuneration report, while a fourth backed the report but expressed reservations about whether management pay matched performance.

The approval marked a slight increase over the 80.8 percent support garnered for the bank’s 2017 compensation report.

(Reporting by Brenna Hughes Neghaiwi; Editing by Michael Shields)

Source: OANN

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FILE PHOTO: Traders work on the trading floor of Barclays Bank at Canary Wharf in London
FILE PHOTO: Traders work on the trading floor of Barclays Bank at Canary Wharf in London, Britain December 7, 2018. REUTERS/Simon Dawson/File Photo

April 26, 2019

By Simon Jessop and Sinead Cruise

LONDON (Reuters) – Activist investor Edward Bramson is likely to fail in his attempt to get a board seat at Barclays’ annual meeting next week, even though shareholders are dissatisfied with performance of the group’s investment bank.

New York-based Bramson’s Sherborne Investors and the board of the British bank have been sparring for months over Barclays’ strategy.

Bramson wants to scale back Barclays’ investment bank to reduce risk and boost shareholder returns. Barclays Chief Executive Jes Staley remains staunchly committed to growing the business out of trouble.

After failing to persuade Staley to change course since he began building a 5.5 percent stake in the bank in March last year, Bramson hopes a board seat will rachet up the pressure.

Both sides have written to shareholders pitching their case and Bramson has courted investors in one-on-one meetings, although none have publicly backed him yet.

Interviews by Reuters with five institutional investors in Barclays suggest Bramson has failed to persuade them.

Sherborne declined to comment.

Mirza Baig, head of investment stewardship at top-40 shareholder Aviva Investors, said Bramson was welcome on the bank’s register but the boardroom was a step too far.

“He has created a lot of value at other businesses, but, generally, when he has come in as executive chair and taken full control. This would be a different case where he would just be one lone voice on the board,” he said.

A second Barclays shareholder said he backed Bramson’s goal of improving returns but via an “evolutionary” approach.

“If you look at banks that have tried to restructure their operations in investment banking – you look at Natwest Markets, Deutsche Bank – I struggle to think of an example where a roughshod restructuring has been accretive to shareholder value.”

A third, top-30 investor said he had been impressed by incoming Chairman Nigel Higgins’ grasp of the challenge in hand, and felt investors would give him time.

“Management know they have to execute and deliver improved returns… [Higgins] will continue to re-shape the board but obviously he didn’t feel that having someone with a diametrically opposed view on it would be helpful.”

A fourth, top-30 investor agreed: “We voted for the chairman to come in and it would be crazy to allow an activist to join the board (at this time).”

Jupiter Fund Management, the 24th largest investor, said it also planned to vote against Bramson.

Barclays has nearly 500 institutional shareholders, Refinitiv data showed.

Since Staley joined Barclays in 2015, the investment bank returns relative to capital invested have increased but are still underperforming the overall business.

Barclays’ first-quarter figures showed the investment bank posted a 6 percent drop in income from its markets business and a 17 percent fall in banking advisory fees.

Returns in the investment bank fell to 9.5 percent from 13.2 percent a year ago.

Famed for successful campaigns against smaller British companies in sectors from chemicals to advertising, Bramson’s board seat pitch has been rebuffed by shareholder advisory firms.

Institutional Shareholder Services, the world’s biggest, said Bramson’s proposal “falls short of what can reasonably be expected from a shareholder trying to address issues at a 28 billion pounds, systemically important bank”.

Glass Lewis also flagged concern about Bramson’s lack of banking experience and “questionable” shareholding structure, referring to Sherborne’s use of derivative contracts to hedge losses should its strategy fail.

Critics said the arrangement meant his interests are not truly aligned with those of other long-term shareholders.

British advisory firm Pirc, however, said it recommended that investors abstain in the vote on Bramson’s proposal as a challenge to the board to do better in the year ahead – or face a similar contest in 2020.

(Editing by Jane Merriman)

Source: OANN

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https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2019/04/918/516/02_2.jpg?ve=1&tl=1

After an over 15-month pregnancy, “Akuti,” a 7-year-old Greater One Horned Indian Rhinoceros, gave birth as a result of induced ovulation and artificial insemination at Zoo Miami, April 23, 2019.

Ron Magill/Zoo Miami

https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2019/04/918/516/02_2.jpg?ve=1&tl=1

Source: Fox News World

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FILE PHOTO: File photo of a Chevron gas station sign in Del Mar, California
FILE PHOTO: A Chevron gas station sign is seen in Del Mar, California, in this April 25, 2013 file photo. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo

April 26, 2019

(Reuters) – U.S. oil and natural gas producer Chevron Corp reported a 27 percent fall in quarterly earnings on Friday, hit by lower crude prices and weaker margins in its refining and chemicals businesses.

Net income attributable to the company fell to $2.65 billion, or $1.39 per share, for the first quarter ended March 31, from $3.64 billion, or $1.90 per share, a year earlier.

Earlier in the day, larger rival Exxon Mobil Corp reported earnings well below analysts’ estimates, as margins in its refining business were hurt by higher Canadian prices and heavy scheduled maintenance.

(Reporting by Arathy S Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)

Source: OANN

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