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Kraft Heinz’s new CEO looks beyond cost-cutting, big M&A

Commemorative items for sale at the Kraft Heinz booth during the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholders Meeting in Omaha Nebraska
FILE PHOTO: Commemorative items for sale are on display at the Kraft Heinz booth during the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholders Meeting at the CenturyLink Center in Omaha, Nebraska, U.S. April 30, 2016. REUTERS/Ryan Henriksen

April 23, 2019

By Richa Naidu

CHICAGO (Reuters) – Kraft Heinz Co’s incoming chief executive, Miguel Patricio, is indicating a change in strategy for the packaged food company that could move it away from the aggressive cost-focused culture that has been in place since the company was created in 2015.

Patricio, a 52-year-old Portuguese native who will take over the helm of the world’s fifth biggest food company from July 1, said he plans to focus more on efficiency, investing in brands and growing sales organically at a company that has been reeling from a $15.4 billion writedown on some of its brands.

Kraft Heinz’s focus on cost-cutting and interest in scoring a big acquisition have been key to the company’s strategy under management installed by Brazilian private equity firm 3G Capital. 3G, along with Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, forged the $49 billion merger of Kraft Foods with H.J. Heinz in 2015.

“I think the obsession for efficiency has to be much bigger than the obsession for cutting costs,” Patricio, 52, told Reuters on Monday.

“Cost cutting should be a priority for any company. However, you cannot cut costs every year,” said Patricio, who most recently was the global head of marketing for brewer Anheuser-Busch InBev’s. He previously worked at Philip Morris, Coca-Cola Co and Johnson & Johnson.

3G Capital, which is Kraft Heinz’s second largest shareholder, behind Berkshire Hathaway, with a 22.15 percent stake, is known for scoring large M&A deals and using a controversial cost-cutting tool called zero-based budgeting to keep profit margins high.

Zero-based budgeting requires managers to justify their expenses annually from scratch, rather than use the prior year as a guide or pursue cost savings on an ongoing basis.

Kraft Heinz’s outgoing CEO, Bernardo Hees, a 3G partner, told Reuters in September that he was considering M&A to fuel growth.

Asked on Monday if Kraft Heinz was still considering big acquisitions, Patricio said he was sure the company would do so one day, but that his focus, for now, was on growing existing brands.

“At this moment, I’m really focused on the organic part of it. I think we can – and we need – to get organic growth and I’m going to put a lot of my time figuring that out.”

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The announcement comes two months after Kraft Heinz took the massive writedown on some of its brands, cut its dividend and disclosed a Securities and Exchange Commission probe into accounting practices at its procurement unit. Intense competition from private-label brands, changing consumer habits and pressure from retailers to lower prices has sent the food industry reeling in recent years.

“Given what’s happened at Kraft Heinz in the past several months, that 3G model has come into question,” Edward Jones analyst Brittany Weissman said. “I think they realize they cut a little too far.

“And to Patricio’s point, it may now be about investing where you need to while maintaining cost discipline. Investors want to see proof that can grow sales.” Weissman said. “It’s good to hear they’re not thinking about an imminent acquisition. From a balance sheet perspective, they’re not there yet.”

3G did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Under Hees, Kraft Heinz lost half its market value, as it ceded market share to competitors and failed to snap up Anglo-Dutch consumer giant Unilever Plc in a proposed $143-billion merger. At the time, Unilever cited concerns about Kraft Heinz’s culture.

Kraft Heinz’s cost-focused strategy also gave way to a high-pressure, anxious environment, according to four former Kraft Heinz employees who worked at the company’s Chicago headquarters and two former employees from Europe.

The deep cuts and layoffs also ate away at advertising budgets and decades of industry experience, said two sources who worked at Kraft Heinz’s marketing department.

“3G are known for being ruthless and brutal when it comes to cost and what does that do to culture?” Edward Jones’ Weissman said. “It’s too early to see how much flexibility Patricio will have to change the culture or improve processes at the company. Can he get those brands back to growth? That’s probably going to take a lot of investment.”

Zero-based budgeting (ZBB) is a pillar of the Kraft Heinz culture, spokesman Michael Mullen said, noting that cost savings help the company increase support for its brands, drive innovation, and invest in top-tier talent.

“In 2018, and again this year, savings from ZBB allow us to invest in new capabilities, emerging channels, and new product platforms for top-line growth,” Mullen said.

Industry analysts have raised concerns that Kraft Heinz was pricing its brands too high at a time when private-label brands from Walmart, Aldi and Kroger were gaining popularity. Kraft Heinz’s ketchups, sliced cheeses and hot dogs were some of the first products these retailers sought to replicate at a lower price.

Buffett, whose Berkshire Hathaway Inc owns 26.7 percent of Kraft Heinz, highlighted the pressure from retailers in February, saying Costco Wholesale Corp’s Kirkland brand outsells all Kraft Heinz products.

“These next two months, I’m going to dedicate fully to knowing the people (at Kraft Heinz), to build on culture, to agree or tweak the long-term strategy of the company, and to know the financials behind the business in detail. These are the four big things I want to do,” Patricio told Reuters.

“I bring diversity of thought to the team. My background is very different from the background of the other team members. And I think that this is critical in any company.”

(Reporting by Richa Naidu in Chiago; additional reporting by Martine Geller in London; editing by Vanessa O’Connell and Leslie Adler)

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Sri Lanka’s leader calls for officials’ firings as Easter suicide bombers revealed to be ‘well-educated people’ who studied abroad

Sri Lanka's president has called for the resignations of the country’s defense secretary and national police chief Wednesday after officials admitted to suffering a “major lapse” in communications in the lead-up to the Easter Sunday bombings, which have left more than 350 people dead.

The announcement comes as officials also revealed that the nine suicide bombers responsible for the attacks were “quite well-educated people” who are believed to have studied abroad and obtained degrees in places like the U.K. and Australia before returning to their homeland. Two of those bombers, they added, were a husband and wife duo.

"It was a major lapse in the sharing of information," deputy defense minister Ruwan Wijewardene told reporters Wednesday, according to AFP, just minutes before news broke that his boss may be on the way out. "The government has to take responsibility."

It wasn’t immediately clear who would replace the two key officials, but President Maithripala Sirisena said during a televised speech Tuesday that he planned to change the head of the defense forces within 24 hours.

CLERIC 'MASTERMIND' BEHIND SRI LANKA ATTACKS KNOWN FOR HATE-FILLED SERMONS, POSSIBLE ISIS LINKS

A priest conducts religious rituals during a mass burial for Easter Sunday bomb blast victims in Negombo, Sri Lanka, on Wednesday.

A priest conducts religious rituals during a mass burial for Easter Sunday bomb blast victims in Negombo, Sri Lanka, on Wednesday. (AP)

The looming shakeup in Sri Lanka’s leadership follows widespread criticism directed at its government for failing to act on warnings it received about the bombers in the days leading up to the attacks. The official death toll on Wednesday rose to 359 and ISIS – through propaganda videos and statements -- has claimed responsibility for the bombings, despite not providing any evidence of their connection.

“We believe that one of the suicide bombers studied in the U.K. and later did his postgraduate in Australia before coming back and settling in Sri Lanka,” the Guardian quoted Wijewardene as saying Wednesday.

“This group of suicide bombers, most of them are well-educated and come from middle or upper-middle class, so they are financially quite independent and their families are quite stable financially, that is a worrying factor in this,” he added. “Some of them have I think studied in various other countries, they hold degrees, LLMs [law degrees], they’re quite well-educated people.”

Investigators also told the AFP that two of the bombers were sons of a wealthy spice trader in Colombo – Sri Lanka’s capital and site of many of the attacks. Two others, according to police spokesman Ruwan Gunasekara, were a husband and wife duo.

That woman, two children and three policemen are said to have died in an explosion as authorities closed in on her late Sunday, hours after attacks were launched against three churches and three hotels.

A view of St. Sebastian's Church damaged in suicide blast in Negombo, north of Colombo, Sri Lanka.

A view of St. Sebastian's Church damaged in suicide blast in Negombo, north of Colombo, Sri Lanka. (AP)

OCASIO-CORTEZ CALLED OUT FOR SOCIAL MEDIA SILENCE IN WAKE OF SRI LANKA ATTACKS

Gunasekara said 60 people have been arrested so far, while U.S. Ambassador Alaina Teplitz confirmed that a team of FBI agents and U.S. military officials are helping in the investigation.

Teplitz told reporters Wednesday that "clearly there was some failure in the system," but said the U.S. had no prior knowledge of a threat before the attacks, the worst violence in the South Asian island nation since its civil war ended a decade ago. She described the breakdown in communication amongst Sri Lankan officials as "incredibly tragic."

Sources close to the investigation told The Guardian that up to nine people linked to the bombings could still be at large. Among those arrested so far are six Pakistani refugees, including two women and two children. A police official says security footage and telephone records indicated that the refugees may have been in contact with one of the alleged church bombers, it added.

Over the past three years, radical Islamic cleric Zahran Hashim, alternately known as Mohammed Zahran, amassed an online following of thousands for hate-filled online sermons – sometimes delivered before a banner depicting the enkindled Twin Towers – and composed of impassioned calls for “all non-Muslims be eliminated.” 

Over the past three years, radical Islamic cleric Zahran Hashim, alternately known as Mohammed Zahran, amassed an online following of thousands for hate-filled online sermons – sometimes delivered before a banner depicting the enkindled Twin Towers – and composed of impassioned calls for “all non-Muslims be eliminated.”  (YouTube)

Sri Lankan authorities had earlier blamed a local extremist group, National Towheed Jamaar, whose leader, alternately named Mohammed Zahran or Zahran Hashmi, became known to Muslim leaders three years ago for his incendiary online speeches. On Wednesday, Wijewardene said the attackers had broken away from National Towheed Jamaar and another group, which he identified only as "JMI."

Teplitz declined to discuss whether U.S. officials knew about National Towheed Jamaar or its leader before the attack. "If we had heard something, we would have tried to do something about this," Teplitz said.

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Wijewardene also edged away from comments he made Tuesday that the bombings were retaliation for the March 15 mosque shootings by a white supremacist in Christchurch, New Zealand, that killed 50 people. He told reporters Wednesday that the mosque attack may have been a motivation for the bombings, but that there was no direct evidence of that.

New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said Wednesday she hasn't received any official advice from Sri Lanka or seen any intelligence reports to corroborate the claims.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News World

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Amsterdam sex workers angry at red light district tours ban

The city of Amsterdam's latest attempt to rein in the nuisance of over-tourism by banning guided tours of the red light district has run into opposition from some of the people it is intended to protect: sex workers.

The Dutch capital plans to ban such tours, saying they are disrespectful and contribute to congestion in the narrow, canal-side streets where scantily-clad sex workers sit behind windows to attract customers.

The first step in the new policy was taken Monday night in the red light district, with tours banned from 7 p.m.

On a recent Friday night, the problem was clear to see: Tourists bathed in a red glow emanating from the windows and peep shows' neon lights were packed shoulder to shoulder as they shuffled through the alleys.

But sex workers' union Proud questions whether banning tours will reduce tourist numbers and argues that guides educate visitors and encourage them to behave more respectfully toward the women.

"It could also be that now there are no guides that people just wander into the area themselves and gawk at the women behind the window and take photos because there is no one anymore to inform them how to behave or what the rules of the game are in this area," said a sex worker who goes by the name of Velvet and is the advocacy coordinator for Proud. Velvet declined to give her real name, saying that because of the stigma attached to sex work, most sex workers use a working name or pseudonym to protect their privacy and safety.

Amsterdam's Prostitution Information Center, which is housed in the same building as Proud, offers its own red light district tours.

The total ban on guided tours, which is planned to come into full force on Jan. 1, is another step in the city's campaign to reduce the problems associated with over-tourism and part of a broader package of measures reining in tours in the city.

Bobien van Aalst of the Dutch tour guide association Guidor slammed the ban on tours, not just to the red light district but to other historic parts of the city. She said it means guides won't be able to explain to tourists where Rembrandt van Rijn painted one of his first famous works or where the painter's wife is buried.

"I mean it's like in Paris if you're forbidding (tours) to go to the Arc de Triomphe or the Eiffel Tower," she said.

City Hall says that more than 1,000 tour groups per week now operate around the Old Church Square in the heart of the red light district.

"Yeah, there's really over-tourism there — too crowded. I mean there were evenings where ... residents basically couldn't leave their homes anymore because the alleys were blocked," the city's deputy mayor, Udo Kock, told The Associated Press.

People who work in Amsterdam's sex industry question whether there are more tourists, or whether similar numbers are squeezing into a red light district that has shrunk in recent years as hundreds of the sex workers' windows have been shuttered in an attempt to diversify the narrow streets.

Kock acknowledges that not everybody is happy, but says many others are pleased that the city is tackling the tours.

The red light district is a tourist magnet, especially after dark, with crowds of people waiting to get into sex shows and visiting the Red Light Secrets Museum of Prostitution, where you can experience the windows from a sex worker's perspective by sitting on a stool in front of a "window" onto which images are projected of men walking past and peering in.

The museum's manager, Natascha Flipsen, agrees that guided tours help educate the visitors not just about the history of the centuries-old red light district, but also about how to treat the women who work there with respect.

And she says that tourism is good for the business.

For tourists, "this is like the once in a lifetime experience, so they visit the sex work as well of course," Flipsen said.

Source: Fox News World

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Warren Trails Biden, Sanders in Home State

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., trails Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and former Vice President Joe Biden in her home state, according to a 2020 presidential poll released by Emerson Sunday.

Sanders leads the Democratic primary field with 26% of the vote, followed by Biden at 23%, though Biden has not declared a run.

Warren has just 14% of the vote, followed by South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg at 11%, former Texas congressman Beto O’Rourke at 8% and California Sen. Kamala Harris at 7%.

Spencer Kimball, director of Emerson Polling, in a statement said the results were “a concern for Warren who at this time does not have a firewall in her home state, and her rival Sanders has a strong base in the Bay State.”

The poll also found:

  • 45% of those who supported Sanders in the 2016 primary plan to support him in 2020
  • Younger voters support Sanders and older voters support Biden
  • Biden is most popular among voters over the age of 65
  • President Donald Trump is very popular within the Republican Party in Massachusetts
  • Buttigieg is also popular among voters over the age of 65 with 16%

“This poll continues a trend we have seen over the last month with Mayor Pete becoming increasingly relevant in the Democratic primary with 11% of the vote, just 3 points behind Senator Warren,” said Kimball. “This finding is similar to the results of the Emerson poll conducted a few weeks earlier in Iowa, but higher than the latest polls in Nevada and Pennsylvania, where Mayor Pete had 5% and 6% of the vote.”

Source: NewsMax Politics

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Venezuelans rally to protest chronic power outages

Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido attends a rally in San Antonio
Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido, who many nations have recognised as the country's rightful interim ruler, attends a rally in San Antonio, Venezuela, March 30, 2019. REUTERS/Ivan Alvarado

March 30, 2019

By Deisy Buitrago and Shaylim Valderrama

CARACAS (Reuters) – Thousands of Venezuelan opposition sympathizers protested on Saturday against recurring blackouts that crippled much of the country this month and have aggravated the OPEC nation’s economic and social crisis.

Electricity has slowly been restored following a blackout on Monday that left most of Venezuela’s 24 states without power. That followed a massive week-long national outage on March 7.

President Nicolas Maduro has said the situation was caused by “terrorist attacks” on the Guri hydroelectric dam that powers much of the country.

Critics including opposition leader Juan Guaido, who is recognized by most Western nations as Venezuela’s legitimate head of state, blame the electricity problems on corruption and mismanagement.

“We all know who is responsible for the blackout – Maduro,” Guaido said at a rally in the Caracas suburb of Los Teques on Saturday. “We must accelerate the process to remove this corrupt and thieving regime.”

Maduro has said Guaido is seeking to lead a coup against him, with the help of Washington.

The United States has levied crippling sanctions against Maduro’s government in efforts to push him from power, but he has hung on in large part thanks to continued loyalty by top military commanders.

He has also won diplomatic backing from Russia and China, which accuse Washington of meddling in the country’s affairs.

Government supporters also marched in Caracas on Saturday to protest against “imperialism” by the U.S. government, which Maduro accuses of causing the blackouts by attacking generation and transmission systems.

“It’s easy to see that (Guaido) doesn’t understand the country’s situation,” said Antonio Ponce, 56, a bus driver. “He’s been put there by the ultra-right, he doesn’t even know what he’s asking for.”

The outages have left hospitals without power, worsened the already precarious supply of drinking water and left many stores without functioning point-of-sale terminals – which are crucial in the hyperinflationary economy where cash is in short supply.

“Enough of all this humiliation, we do not deserve to live like this,” complained Yuderkis Varela, 46, in the western city of San Cristobal near the border with Colombia. “We don’t have power, we don’t have water, we don’t have gas.”

After Monday’s outage, the government shuttered businesses for three days and schools for four.

The blackout also halted operations at the main oil export terminal of Jose, which had restarted operations by Friday.

(Reporting by Deisy Buitrago and Shaylim Valderrama, Additional reporting by Anggy Polanco in San Cristobal; Writing by Diego Oré; Editing by Rosalba O’Brien)

Source: OANN

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Singapore unveils budget bonanza for elderly with election anticipated

FILE PHOTO: Singapore's Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat speaks at a UBS client conference in Singapore
FILE PHOTO: Singapore's Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat speaks at a UBS client conference in Singapore, January 14, 2019. REUTERS/Feline Lim/File Photo

February 18, 2019

By John Geddie and Fathin Ungku

(Reuters) – Singapore unveiled an expansionary budget for the next financial year on Monday, setting aside S$6.1 billion for the welfare of its elderly in a generous package before an election expected as soon as this year.

Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat also announced a S$1.1 billion bonus package for all Singaporeans to mark 200 years since the former British colony’s founding, that includes vouchers, a cash bonus for lower income workers and income tax rebates for the middle class.

The government finance for the 2019 fiscal year that begins April 1 is expected to turn to a deficit of S$3.5 billion, after a predicted surplus of S$2.1 billion for the 2018 fiscal year.

The budget proposal comes after data showed Singapore’s economy grew at its slowest pace in more than two years in the fourth quarter, and its trade ministry warned that manufacturing is likely to face significant moderation this year.

Analysts have said stronger fiscal impulse will also be needed to tackle heightened external pressure on the economy, including from the U.S.-Sino trade war and Britain’s imminent departure from the European Union.

Singapore must hold its next general election by early 2021, but Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, eyeing retirement, has suggested it could be this year.

“The Merdeka Generation Package is a gesture of our nation’s gratitude for their contributions and a way to show care for them in their silver years,” said Heng, who been tapped to be the next leader of the People’s Action Party which has ruled the city-state for over half a century without interruption.

The so-called Merdeka, or “independence” generation refers to those born in the 1950s, near the end of British colonial rule. With the second-fastest aging population in the world after South Korea, and as pressure grows on more of the elderly to stay in the workforce beyond retirement age, the low-tax finance hub is facing rising social angst over the welfare of its aged.

Heng said about 30 percent of Singapore’s total budgeted expenditure for the 2019 fiscal year will support defense, security and diplomacy efforts and the quota for foreign workers in the services sector will be reduced in coming years.

Among other budget highlights was a hike in excise duty for diesel to 20 Singapore cents per liter from 10 cents with immediate effect. For all the highlights, click.

(Reporting by John Geddie and Fathin Ungku; Editing by Shri Navaratnam)

Source: OANN

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Accrediting board rejects appeal from North Carolina school

Officials at a historically black private women's college in North Carolina have lost their appeal to have its accreditation restored.

News outlets report The Southern Association of Schools Commission on Colleges announced Friday that a panel had rejected Bennett College's appeal, which was heard earlier this week.

The decision leaves Bennett without accreditation for now. There was no immediate reaction from the school.

School leaders have said previously that they will sue the agency. In previous instances, the commission has responded to lawsuits by agreeing to extend accreditation to let the legal process develop.

Bennett embarked on a fundraising campaign to maintain its accreditation and raised nearly $10 million. Nearby High Point University President Nido Qubein announced earlier this month that his school would donate $1 million to Bennett.

Source: Fox News National

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

April 26, 2019

By April Joyner

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Source: OANN

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Cyprus police on Friday widened their search for more victims of a suspected serial killer after the 35-year-old national guard captain told investigators he killed four more people that he previously admitted to on the small Mediterranean nation.

The count now has climbed to seven.

CYPRUS FEARS POSSIBLE SERIAL KILLER AFTER BODIES OF TWO WOMEN ARE DISCOVERED IN MINESHAFT

Authorities said they are focusing on a military firing range, a man-made lake and an abandoned mine about 20 miles west of the capital Nicosia.

Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades expressed “deep sorrow and concern” at the slayings and said he shared the public’s revulsion at “murders that appear to have selectively targeted foreign women who are in our country to work.”

“Such instincts are contrary to our culture’s traditions and values,” he said in a statement from China, where he was on an official visit. He urged calm so police can complete their investigation.

The scale of the alleged crimes by a Cypriot National Guard captain has horrified the small nation of over a million people, where multiple killings are rare. Five British law enforcement officials — including a coroner, a psychiatrist and investigators who specialize in multiple homicides — have been dispatched to help with the investigation.

On Thursday, the 35-year-old suspect, who can’t yet be named because he hasn’t been formally charged, told investigators that he had killed four more people than he had previously admitted to. Police said the suspect will appear in court Saturday for another custody hearing.

Cypriot investigators and police officers search a flooded mineshaft where two female bodies were found, outside of Mitsero village, near the capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Monday, April 22, 2019. Police on the east Mediterranean island nation, along with the help of the fire service, are conducting the search Monday in the wake of last week's discovery of the bodies in the abandoned mineshaft and the disappearance of the six-year-old daughter of one of the victims. 

Cypriot investigators and police officers search a flooded mineshaft where two female bodies were found, outside of Mitsero village, near the capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Monday, April 22, 2019. Police on the east Mediterranean island nation, along with the help of the fire service, are conducting the search Monday in the wake of last week’s discovery of the bodies in the abandoned mineshaft and the disappearance of the six-year-old daughter of one of the victims.  (AP)

The victims — all foreigners— include Marry Rose Tiburcio, 38, from the Philippines, whose bound body was found April 14 in a flooded mineshaft. She and her six-year-old daughter had been missing since May of last year.

The girl remains missing and authorities believe she was also slain by the suspect. Divers have entered the reservoir to search for her but have not found her body yet.

CYPRUS: GROUND NOT YET READY FOR PEACE TALKS RESUMPTION 

Authorities tracked down the officer last week by scouring Tiburcio’s online messages.

Six days later, police discovered another body April 20 in the same mineshaft, identified by Cypriot media as 28-year-old Arian Palanas Lozano, also from the Philippines.

A third alleged victim, also of Filipino descent, is 31-year-old Maricar Valtez Arquiola, who had been missing since December 2017. The suspect initially denied killing Arquiola but reversed himself after a court hearing Thursday, a police official said.

The suspect on Thursday also pointed investigators to a military firing range, where they discovered another unidentified body, which according to the suspect belongs to a woman of either Nepalese or Indian descent.

SERIAL KILLER WHO MAY HAVE COMMITTED 90 MURDERS IS LINKED TO YET ANOTHER KILLING 

Cypriot police are also looking for a Romanian mother and daughter. Cypriot media identified them as Livia Florentina Bunea, 36, and eight-year-old Elena Natalia Bunea, who are believed to have been missing since September 2016.

The man-made lake remains off-limits to a manned search because of high levels of toxic heavy metals from the copper pyrite mine, Fire Service Chief Marcos Trangolas said, adding that authorities will use other means to scour the lake.

Chief of Cypriot police Zacharias Chrysostomou, center, walks with Cypriot investigators and police officers at a flooded mineshaft where two female bodies were found, outside of Mitsero village, near the capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Monday, April 22, 2019.

Chief of Cypriot police Zacharias Chrysostomou, center, walks with Cypriot investigators and police officers at a flooded mineshaft where two female bodies were found, outside of Mitsero village, near the capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Monday, April 22, 2019. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)

Cyprus police have faced criticism from immigrant activists who said they didn’t act fast enough to investigate the whereabouts of some of the victims, many of them domestic workers. The island nation has 80 unsolved missing persons cases, going back to 1990.

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Police chief Zacharias Chrysostomou said a three-member panel has been assigned to probe whether police followed all the correct protocol in recent missing persons cases.

According to the state-run Cyprus News Agency, an investigator had told the court at an earlier hearing that the suspect admitted to killing one woman he met online after having sex with her.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

Source: Fox News World

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Venezuelan opposition lawmaker Gilber Caro is seen delivering a speech at a forum on human rights in Caracas
Venezuelan opposition lawmaker Gilber Caro is seen delivering a speech at a forum on human rights in Caracas, Venezuela June 12, 2018 in this still image taken from a video. REUTERS TV/ via REUTERS

April 26, 2019

CARACAS (Reuters) – Venezuela’s opposition-run National Assembly said on Friday that opposition lawmaker Gilber Caro was detained, which it described in a Twitter post as a violation of diplomatic immunity.

Caro had previously spend a year and a half in jail, before being freed in June 2018. The arrest comes as Juan Guaido, the National Assembly’s leader, mounts a challenge to President Nicolas Maduro, arguing his 2018 re-election was illegitimate. Guaido in January invoked the country’s constitution to assume an interim presidency.

(Reporting by Caracas newsroom; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

Source: OANN

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FILE PHOTO: Customers shop in a Sainsbury's store in Redhill
FILE PHOTO: Customers shop in a Sainsbury’s store in Redhill, Britain, March 27, 2018. REUTERS/Peter Nicholls/File Photo

April 26, 2019

By James Davey

LONDON (Reuters) – With Sainsbury’s dream of creating Britain’s biggest supermarket group in tatters, its chastened CEO Mike Coupe needs to reassure investors he has the plan to arrest a sales decline when he presents annual results next week.

Britain’s competition regulator blocked Sainsbury’s 7.3 billion pound ($9.4 billion) takeover of Walmart’s Asda on Thursday, saying the deal would increase prices. Sainsbury’s shares fell 5 percent and are down 22 percent over the last three months.

For Sainsbury’s fourth quarter to March 9 analysts are on average forecasting a 1.6 percent fall in like-for-like sales, which would follow 1.1 percent decline over the Christmas period.

Monthly industry data from researcher Kantar has also shown Sainsbury’s as the weakest performer of the big four grocers this year and this month it lost its status as Britain’s No. 2 supermarket group by market share to Asda.

While Sainsbury’s has struggled, market leader Tesco has gained momentum, this month reporting a 34 percent jump in full year profit.

Prohibition of the deal was a major blow to Coupe, its architect and Sainsbury’s boss since 2014.

Martin Scicluna became Sainsbury’s chairman last month and when bedded-in may decide that if the group needs a major shake-up it is best carried out by a new leader.

Much will depend on the attitude of 22 percent shareholder the Qatar Investment Authority, which has so far declined to comment, as well as Coupe’s own appetite to continue after 15 years at the group.

THE RIGHT STRATEGY?

Coupe said on Thursday he was confident Sainsbury’s was pursuing the right strategy.

That was a clear indication that Wednesday’s results statement will not include radical changes to the group’s plans, such as a big margin reset — sacrificing profit to drive sales.

However, sources connected to Sainsbury’s said Coupe would likely acknowledge that more needs to be done on prices, so the supermarket business can better compete with its big four rivals – Tesco, Asda and No. 4 Morrisons – as well as German-owned discounters Aldi and Lidl.

Coupe’s strategy is based on differentiating Sainsbury’s food offer, growing its general merchandise, clothing business and bank, while investing in convenience and online channels.

Some analysts believe major change is needed.

HSBC analyst David McCarthy reckons Sainsbury’s needs a margin reset, should allocate more space for core lines and needs to drive better store standards. He said Sainsbury’s might consider closing down space in some of its larger stores and reducing its non-food offer.

For the full 2018-19 year analysts are on average forecasting a pretax profit of 626 million pounds, up from 589 million pounds in 2017-18 – a second straight year of profit growth. A full year dividend of 10.5 pence per share is forecast versus 10.2 pence last time.

Bank and lawyer fees related to the proposed combination with Asda were 17 million pounds in the first half and have reportedly jumped to around 50 million pounds.

(Reporting by James Davey; Editing by Keith Weir)

Source: OANN

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Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey rejected demands from a secular group to remove posts on social media where he sent Easter greetings and cited a Bible verse, offering to provide copies of the Constitution to his critics.

Ducey, who’s a practicing Catholic, has been bombarded with calls from Secular Communities for Arizona to remove the post, which included a cross, a Bible verse, and the phrase, “He is risen.”

ARIZONA’S GOP GOVERNOR WAGING WAR AGAINST OCCUPATIONAL LICENSING LAWS

The group argued the posts crossed a line into government sponsorship of religious messages and was unconstitutional.

The governor fired back at the group, saying in a tweet that he will never remove the posts or other religious ones.

“We won’t be removing this post. Ever. Nor will we be removing our posts for Christmas, Hanukkah, Rosh Hashanah, Palm Sunday, Passover or any other religious holiday,” he tweeted. “We support the First Amendment, and are happy to provide copies of the Constitution to anyone who hasn’t read it.”

Dianne Post, an attorney for the secular group, told the Arizona Republic “elected officials should not use their government position and government property to promote their religious views.”

LICENSE REQUIRED TO REPAIR DOORS? REGS SPARK HEATED DEBATE IN ARIZONA

She added the courts have repeatedly “struck down symbolism that unites government with religion,” adding that Ducey’s office must “represent and protect the rights of all residents of Arizona, including those who do not believe in a monotheistic God or any gods at all.”

Many congratulated Ducey for not backing down amid the pressure, though some Facebook users sided with the secular group and criticized the governor on his original post.

“Why do you use a government platform to bring up your personal religion?” asked one person. “Are there no citizens in your jurisdiction that believe differently from you?”

Another stipulated that the post was somewhat discriminatory. “Great sensitivity, Doug. That’s the last time this Jew votes for you,” one person wrote.

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Ducey wished in a statement Arizonans last week a “blessed and joyful Easter and Passover weekend.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News Politics

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