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U.S. ambassador to Italy met TIM’s Gubitosi: U.S. embassy

Alitalia special commissioner Gubitosi talks during news conference at the Alitalia headquarters at Rome's Fiumicino Airport
Luigi Gubitosi talks during a news conference at the Alitalia headquarters at Rome's Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino Airport, Italy May 10, 2017. REUTERS/Remo Casilli

February 20, 2019

ROME (Reuters) – The United States’ ambassador to Italy, Lewis Eisenberg, met Telecom Italia (TIM)’s CEO Luigi Gubitosi on Wednesday, the U.S. embassy said.

Eisenberg saw TIM’s chief “as part of (his) ongoing outreach with Italian and U.S private sector leaders,” the U.S. embassy said on Twitter, adding that the meeting had been “pleasant”.

(Reporting by Steve Scherer; Writing by Giselda Vagnoni; Editing by Crispian Balmer)

Source: OANN

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Explainer: Europe’s money laundering scandal

FILE PHOTO: General view of the Danske Bank building in Copenhagen
FILE PHOTO: General view of the Danske Bank building in Copenhagen, Denmark, September 27, 2018. REUTERS/Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen/File Photo

April 4, 2019

By Francesco Guarascio

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The largest ever money laundering scandal in Europe is rippling through the region’s banks.

It began in the Baltics and has engulfed several Nordic lenders, notably Denmark’s Danske and Sweden’s Swedbank, who had large Baltic operations.

Here are some facts about Europe’s problems.

HOW DID THE CURRENT SCANDAL EMERGE?

The Baltics’ proximity to Russia has traditionally made them vulnerable to illegal financial flows from their neighbor.

U.S. investigators raised concerns about some of the region’s banks early last year, prompting domestic and European watchdogs to investigate.

WHICH BANKS HAVE BEEN AFFECTED SO FAR?

The first to be hit was Latvia’s ABLV, which was liquidated last year after U.S. accusations of money-laundering activities.

The scandal spread to the Estonian branch of Danske Bank, Denmark’s largest lender, which is now facing probes in several countries for handling 200 billion euros ($224 billion) in suspicious transactions of Russian money between 2007 and 2015.

Sweden’s Swedbank has recently been drawn into the scandal, after it was reported it handled some of the same payments that went through Danske, leading to the dismissal of its chief executive last week.

COULD IT SPREAD TO BANKS BEYOND THE BALTICS AND NORDICS?

Other lenders that helped process suspicious payments from the Baltics could also be in the frame. Deutsche Bank, which acted as a correspondent bank to Danske, is under investigation over its links to the money.

IS THE PROBLEM LIMITED TO FLOWS FROM RUSSIA TO THE BALTICS?

Money from Russia and former Soviet Union countries does not only go to the Baltics. Cyprus and Malta are among the EU states that are most welcoming of these flows, data show, with Pilatus Bank in Malta shut down last year following a U.S. probe on its owner and after allegations of suspicious transactions involving Azerbaijan’s ruling elite.

But the problem is not limited to Russian flows. EU-based criminal organizations, such as Italian mafias, launder most of their illegal proceeds in the largest EU states, estimates show.

ING, the Netherlands’ largest financial services provider, was forced by the Dutch regulator to pay a $915 million fine last year over money laundering. Its Italian business is also under investigation over similar allegations.

HOW MUCH COULD THIS COST BANKS?

A lot. EU banks payed over $16 billion in fines between 2012 and 2018 because of lax money-laundering checks, rating agency Moody’s said in a report on Tuesday, with U.S. regulators levying more than 75 percent of those fines.

Now the allegations have stepped up, so could the fines.

WHO SUPERVISES THIS AND WHY DID SO MUCH MONEY GET LAUNDERED?

Despite money-laundering being a cross-border crime, it is not tackled at EU level but almost exclusively by national authorities, who often lack the capabilities to counter it.

In some cases domestic supervisors have shown little interest in acting, as reputational damages could hit national economies. Malta’s financial supervisor has been found in breach of EU law over the Pilatus case, and the EU is investigating the Estonian regulator after the Danske scandal.

Many banks do not report all suspicious transactions as their due-diligence units are often understaffed.

Reports are not standardized, often producing irrelevant data and hampering cooperation among national supervisors.

WHAT ARE THE DIFFICULTIES IN DETECTING THESE FLOWS?

EU rules to fight money laundering have been overhauled, but some loopholes have never been closed. They are also applied differently and EU states are often late in executing them.

States, including Luxembourg and Germany, use loopholes in EU rules that allow them not to disclose fines on banks in breach of money-laundering rules. This vastly reduces the effectiveness of sanctions which are mostly feared by lenders for their reputational impact.

In the latest reforms, EU legislators added stricter transparency requirements on companies’ owners, but allowed them to remain hidden in some cases. Money-laundering is often conducted through shell firms whose owners are unknown.

Data that could raise alarm bells, such as the share of non-resident deposits or oversized cross-border flows, are collected at national level, often without details of final beneficiaries. No-one checks them at EU level.

The EU has also failed to agree an updated list of jurisdictions that pose money-laundering risks because of lax rules. This reduces banks’ ability to spot dodgy payments.

(Reporting by Francesco Guarascio in Brussels; additional reporting by Anthony Deutsch in Amsterdam; Editing by Alexandra Hudson)

Source: OANN

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Carry on: central bank signals leave ‘carry’ traders chasing more

FILE PHOTO: Euro, Hong Kong dollar, U.S. dollar, Japanese yen, pound and Chinese 100 yuan banknotes are seen in this picture illustration
FILE PHOTO: Euro, Hong Kong dollar, U.S. dollar, Japanese yen, pound and Chinese 100 yuan banknotes are seen in this picture illustration, January 21, 2016. REUTERS/Jason Lee/Illustration/File Photo

March 18, 2019

By Tommy Wilkes

LONDON (Reuters) – Collapsing asset price volatility has turned ‘carry trading’ into one of investors’ top plays of 2019. Many reckon the run is far from over.

This strategy sees investors borrow in currencies where interest rates are low to invest in countries where yields are high, such as in emerging markets. Investors can pocket the difference, or ‘carry’.

For the trade to work liquidity needs to be plentiful, the global economic backdrop benign and, importantly, currency volatility next to nothing. Broadly, all those conditions seem to be in place.

Volatility, or vol, had been crushed this year by central banks’ decisions to hit the pause button on interest rate rises. Societe Generale analyst Kit Juckes says markets’ “outright boredom” so far in 2019 has been the perfect recipe for carry trade success – FX volatility is near multi-year lows.

As a result, carry trading has returned 5.5 percent in 2019, according to HSBC’s Global FX Carry Index. That follows a fall of 1.4 percent in 2018, when rising U.S. interest rates caused a stampede out of emerging markets, the favored place to earn carry.

The current environment for carry is “textbook”, says Andreas Koenig, head of foreign exchange at Amundi Asset Management.

(GRAPHIC: Speculators long on Mexican peso – https://tmsnrt.rs/2Cg2cxu)

SELL AND BUY

Koenig has been betting on the Turkish lira and Brazilian real, both of which offer yields well into the double digits.

Investors buying 10-year Russian government bonds can earn yields of 8.5 percent, or 8 percent in Mexico. Those returns have been further burnished by currency appreciation — some emerging currencies such as the rouble have firmed as much as six percent against the dollar and euro.

On the other hand, the Japanese yen, Swiss franc and euro tend to be carry traders’ funding currencies of choice, as their low yields make them attractive to sell.

Yields in Switzerland on the benchmark bond return -0.35 percent; in Germany barely 0.07 percent. But the euro has been particularly popular this year as the struggling economy has further delayed policy tightening plans in the bloc.

(GRAPHIC: Comeback for carry – https://tmsnrt.rs/2O2a6iz)

But can the good times last?

Analysts say the carry trade is here for a while, or at least as long as rates remain low and economic data is strong, but not so strong it forces a central bank rethink.

BNP Paribas predicts near-term growth in major economies will be “not too cold, but certainly not hot.

“The tepid economic outlook means we are positive on long carry and short volatility trades,” the bank’s economists wrote last week.

POOR PERFORMANCES

As history shows, the hunt for carry is not without risks.

Should U.S. growth deteriorate, international trade conflicts escalate or the end of the decade-long bull run crystallize, the resulting volatility spike can send “safe” currencies such as the yen, euro and Swiss franc shooting higher, while inflicting losses on riskier emerging markets.

But even in a good carry environment, some high-yield trades may not work. For instance, MSCI’s emerging currency index is up 1.6 percent in 2019 after last year’s 3.8 percent drop, but the gains mask individual poor performances.

Robin Brooks, economist at the Institute for International Finance, notes that since the Federal Reserve’s surprise policy U-turn in January, high-yielders such as South Africa’s rand and Turkey’s lira have actually weakened.

Asian currencies including India’s rupee and the Malaysian Ringgit have gained – a “puzzle” Brooks attributes to expectations of a U.S.-China trade deal rather than investors responding to the Fed’s dovish shift.

(GRAPHIC: Emerging markets currency performance in 2019 png – https://tmsnrt.rs/2Cg2cxu)

Investors have also loaded up their carry trade positions already: speculators are $2.3 billion net long in Mexico’s peso against the U.S. dollar, against a neutral stance in January, according to CFTC positioning data.

(GRAPHIC: Speculators long on Mexican peso – https://tmsnrt.rs/2FbJ996)

Amundi’s Koenig said that following the strong recovery in high-yielding currencies in 2019 “the risk is not only in terms of volatility but in underlying levels.

“Carry from here is not my favorite strategy,” he said. “In a late-cycle stage, it’s not very likely that it holds forever.”

(Graphics by Ritvik Carvalho; Editing by Toby Chopra)

Source: OANN

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Blasts rock 3 churches, 3 hotels in Sri Lanka; multiple fatalities reported

Six nearly simultaneous explosions struck three churches and three hotels frequented by tourists on Easter Sunday in Sri Lanka, according to a security official in Colombo, the capital of the island nation in the Indian Ocean.

Multiple fatalities resulted among worshipers and hotel guests, the official said, adding that at least two of the church blasts were believed to have been carried out by suicide bombers.

SRI LANKA AVERTS RIFT SPILLING OVER TO UN RIGHTS SESSION

One church, St. Anthony's Shrine, and the three hotels are in Colombo and are frequented by foreign tourists. The other two churches are in Negombo, a Catholic majority town north of Colombo, and the eastern town of Batticaloa.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to speak with reporters.

Alex Agileson, who was in the vicinity, told the Associated Press that the explosions shook other buildings in the surrounding area. he reported seeing numerous people carried to ambulances.

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Police immediately rushed to the scenes of the blasts.

About 50 people with assorted injuries had so far been admitted in Colombo's main hospital.

There were no immediate claims of responsibility, Reuters reported.

The Associated Press contributed to this story. This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

Source: Fox News World

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Washington Post’s Next Conspiracy: Maybe Trump ‘Repaying’ Putin for Kremlin’s Election ‘Help’

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Rugby Australia intends to sack Folau over ‘disrespectful’ post

FILE PHOTO: England v Australia
FILE PHOTO: Rugby Union - England v Australia - Twickenham Stadium, London, Britain - November 24, 2018 Australia's Israel Folau runs in to score their first try REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo

April 11, 2019

By Nick Mulvenney

SYDNEY (Reuters) – Israel Folau, Australia’s best-known and best-paid rugby union player, is to have his contract terminated after posting a meme on social media that said gay people would go to “hell” if they did not “repent”, Rugby Australia said on Thursday.

The 30-year-old fullback, a fundamentalist Christian, posted similar comments last year but escaped sanction and signed a new deal through 2022 with RA in February.

That multi-million dollar contract looks certain to be torn up unless Folau can convince RA and the New South Wales Waratahs that there are “compelling mitigating factors” for his posts.

A statement from RA Chief Executive Raelene Castle and her Waratahs equivalent Andrew Hore said they had made “repeated attempts” to contact Folau since he posted the comments on Wednesday afternoon.

“Whilst Israel is entitled to his religious beliefs, the way in which he has expressed these beliefs is inconsistent with the values of the sport. We want to make it clear that he does not speak for the game with his recent social media posts,” the statement added.

“As a code we have made it clear to Israel formally and repeatedly that any social media posts or commentary that is in any way disrespectful to people because of their sexuality will result in disciplinary action.

“In the absence of compelling mitigating factors, it is our intention to terminate his contract.”

The unprecedented move will throw into disarray Australia coach Michael Cheika’s plans for the Rugby World Cup in Japan later this year.

Folau has been all but ever-present in the Wallabies number 15 shirt since switching to rugby union from Australian Rules in 2013 and scoring two tries on his test debut against the British and Irish Lions.

He has scored 35 more tries in 72 tests since and helped Australia to the final of the 2015 World Cup in England, where they were beaten by New Zealand.

An elusive and dangerous runner, Folau helped the Waratahs to the Super Rugby title in 2014 and only last weekend became the highest career try-scorer in the competition when he crossed for his 60th five-pointer. [nL8N21O05N]

Folau has had previous lucrative offers to play in Europe and Japan but his stated desire to remain in Australia makes his most likely destination a move back to rugby league, a code in which he represented Australia at the start of his career.

(Editing by Sudipto Ganguly)

Source: OANN

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War Room – 2019-Apr 10, Wednesday – Candace Owens Takes Hill To Task, As Trump Declares Victory Over Attempted Coup

President Trump responded to Attorney General William Barr’s assertion that the Obama administration spied on his 2016 presidential campaign, claiming that it was part of an “attempted coup.” And conservative commentator Candace Owens defends herself against allegations of white supremacy. Unite America First’s Will Johnson hosts this edition of War Room.

Source: The War Room

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Venezuela's Foreign Affairs Minister Jorge Arreaza talks to the media during a news conference in Caracas
Venezuela’s Foreign Affairs Minister Jorge Arreaza talks to the media during a news conference in Caracas, Venezuela April 8, 2019. REUTERS/Manaure Quintero

April 26, 2019

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Treasury Department on Friday imposed sanctions on Venezuela’s foreign minister and a Venezuelan judge, according to a statement on the department’s website.

Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza and a judge, Carol Padilla, were targeted over the ongoing crisis in Venezuela, the Treasury Department said, the latest in a list of officials blacklisted by U.S. authorities for their role in President Nicolas Maduro’s government.

(Reporting by Susan Heavey, Makini Brice and Lesley Wroughton; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

Source: OANN

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Avengers fans gather at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood to attend the opening screening of
Avengers fans gather at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood to attend the opening screening of “Avengers: Endgame” in Los Angeles, California, U.S., April 25, 2019. REUTERS/Mike Blake

April 26, 2019

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Marvel Studios superhero spectacle “Avengers: Endgame” hauled in a record $60 million at U.S. and Canadian box offices during its Thursday night debut, distributor Walt Disney Co said.

Global ticket sales for the film about Iron Man, Hulk and other popular characters reached $305 million for the first two days, Disney said.

(Reporting by Lisa Richwine; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

Source: OANN

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Funeral of journalist Lyra McKee in Belfast
Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn attends the funeral service for murdered journalist Lyra McKee at St Anne’s Cathedral in Belfast, Northern Ireland April 24, 2019. Brian Lawless/Pool via REUTERS

April 26, 2019

LONDON (Reuters) – The leader of Britain’s opposition Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn, said on Friday he had turned down an invitation to a state dinner which will be part of U.S. President Donald Trump’s visit to Britain in June.

“Theresa May should not be rolling out the red carpet for a state visit to honor a president who rips up vital international treaties, backs climate change denial and uses racist and misogynist rhetoric,” Corbyn said in a statement.

He said maintaining the relationship with the United States did not require “the pomp and ceremony of a state visit” and he said he would welcome a meeting with Trump “to discuss all matters of interest.”

(Reporting by Andy Bruce; Writing by William Schomberg)

Source: OANN

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A bedridden 67-year-old woman and more than a dozen animals were rescued Thursday after a welfare check found that they were living in a home filled with trash, urine, and feces, Florida police said.

Pinellas County sheriff’s deputies said when they arrived at the home in Dunedin around 7:20 p.m. Thursday, they could smell the odor of rotting trash and animal feces as they walked up to the driveway.

“Inside the residence, the odor of feces and urine was so overwhelming that deputies had to don masks,” the sheriff’s department said in a statement.

FLORIDA SHERIFF ON BORDER CRISIS AFTER MAJOR DRUG BUST: ‘IT MAKES ME ABSOLUTELY CRAZY’

Walking throughout the residence, the deputies found 10 emaciated dogs and puppies living in bins filled with their own feces, five large Macaw birds flying freely, rats, bugs and overall squalor.

Puppies discovered living in their own feces inside a Florida home that was filled with trash, urine, and feces.

Puppies discovered living in their own feces inside a Florida home that was filled with trash, urine, and feces. (Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office)

Deputies said due to the large amounts of trash in the home, they had to clear a path to reach the victim’s bedroom.

“None of the home’s toilets were working and all were found to be overflowing with feces,” deputies said. “The only working sink was located on the opposite end of the house from the victim’s bedroom.”

They said there was no food or water for the victim or the animals.

FLORIDA MAN IN EASTER BUNNY COSTUME CAUGHT IN VIRAL BRAWL IS WANTED IN NEW JERSEY, HAS HISTORY OF ARRESTS

The victim was transported to a local hospital for injuries that were non-life threatening, while the animals were transported to shelters.

The woman’s caretaker, Richard Lawrence Goodwin, 65, was arrested and charged with abuse and neglect of an elderly person, disabled person, and cruelty to animals.

Richard Goodwin, 69, was arrested for abuse and neglect of an elderly and disabled person after deputies found she was living in deplorable conditions.

Richard Goodwin, 69, was arrested for abuse and neglect of an elderly and disabled person after deputies found she was living in deplorable conditions. (Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office)

The sheriff’s department said this was Goodwin’s second arrest for abuse and neglect of the same victim. He was previously arrested in May 2018.

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Neighbor Victoria Muenzerbeer told FOX 13 that Goodwin and the victim were hoarders and the conditions inside the home were horrible years ago when she visited once.

“I went in and it was absolutely, a human being couldn’t live there,” she said. “The kitchen wasn’t usable and part of the wall was falling in.”

Source: Fox News National

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Libyan Minister of Economy Ali Abdulaziz Issawi speaks during an interview with Reuters in Tripoli
Libyan Minister of Economy Ali Abdulaziz Issawi speaks during an interview with Reuters in Tripoli, Libya April 25, 2019. REUTERS/Hani Amara

April 26, 2019

By Ulf Laessing

TRIPOLI (Reuters) – Libya’s U.N.-recognized government has budgeted up to 2 billion dinars ($1.43 billion) to cover costs of a three-week-old war for control of the capital, such as treatment for the wounded, to be funded without new borrowing, the economy minister said.

Ali Abdulaziz Issawi suggested the government hoped for business to continue more or less as usual despite the assault on Tripoli, in the country’s northwest, by forces tied to a parallel administration based in the eastern city of Benghazi.

Once Africa’s third largest producer of oil, Libya has been riven by factional conflict since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, with the country now broadly split between eastern-based forces under Khalifa Haftar and the U.N.-backed government in Tripoli, in the west, under Prime Minister Fayez al-Serraj.

Still, with Haftar’s Libyan National Army forces unable so far to pierce defenses in Tripoli’s southern suburbs, normal life and business activities continue in much of the capital and western coastal towns.

Issawi, in an interview with Reuters in his Tripoli office, also said Libya’s commercial ports and wheat imports were still functioning normally, although some roads have been blocked.

He said the Serraj government estimates it will spend up to 2 billion dinars extra on medical treatment for wounded, aid for displaced people and other “emergency” war costs.

He said this was not military spending but analysts believe that the sum will also cover expenditures such as pay for allied armed groups or food for fighters.

“We could actually spend less,” he added, in comments that gave the first insight into the economic impact of the fighting.

Issawi said the Tripoli government, which controls little territory beyond the greater capital region, would not incur new debt to fund the war costs, sticking to a plan to post a 2019 budget without a deficit.

Tripoli derives revenue largely from oil and natural gas production, interest-free loans from local banks to the central bank, and a 183 percent surcharge on foreign exchange transactions conducted at official rates.

But with centralized tax collection greatly diminished, public debt has piled up – to 68 billion dinars in the west, including unpaid state obligations such as social insurance.

Some analysts expect Serraj’s government will be forced to raise new debt if the war for control of Tripoli drags on.

With much of Libya dominated by armed factions that also act as security forces, the public wage bill for both the western and eastern administrations has soared as fighters have been made public employees in efforts to buy their loyalty.

The east has sold bonds worth 35 billion dinars outside the official financial system as the Tripoli central bank does not fund the parallel government apart from some wages.

Despite its limited reach, the Tripoli government still runs an annual budget of around 46.8 billion dinars, mainly for public salaries and fuel subsidies.

“This year we cannot finance via debt…we will not borrow (by agreement with the central bank),” Issawi said.

According to International Monetary Fund data, Libya’s central government debt-to-GDP ratio is 143 percent, making it one of the most heavily indebted in the world on that measure.

Issawi declined to say what parts of the budget would be trimmed to support the extra outlay for war costs.

However, with some 70 percent of the budget allocated to public wages, fuel subsidies and other welfare benefits, a portion devoted to infrastructure is most likely to be axed.

Widespread lawlessness has meant there have been no major infrastructural projects since 2011, when a NATO-backed uprising overthrew dictator Muammar Gaddafi, leaving schools, hospitals and roads in acute need of restoration.

FOREX SURCHARGE

Issawi said the government planned to raise as much as 30 billion dinars by the end of 2019 from hard currency deals after imposing in September a 183 percent surcharge on commercial and private transactions done on the official rate of 1.4 to the U.S. dollar. That fee has effectively devalued the official rate to 3.9, much closer to the black market equivalent.

Some 17 billion dinars have been raised since then, with hard currency allocated for import credit letters now issued without delays, Issawi said. The forex fee has helped the government forecast a budget in the black for 2019.

Despite the narrowing spread between the two rates, the black market continues to thrive. Dozens of traders remained at their favorite spot behind the central bank headquarters in Tripoli when Reuters reporters visited it last week.

But traders said it could take time for the Serraj government to register the extra forex receipts as official banking channels were taking up to six months to approve import financing, keeping the black market in play for dealers.

Issawi said authorities planned to lower the forex fee from 183 percent, without saying when. The black market rate has dropped from 6 to around 4.1 since September but it has hardly moved of late as demand for black market cash remains high.

The Tripoli government has stopped subsidizing food and bread, which used to be cheaper than drinking water in Libya. Wheat imports are now being arranged by private traders and there are surplus stocks of flour at the moment, Issawi said.

(Reporting by Ulf Laessing in Tripoli with additional reporting by Karin Strohecker in London; Editing by Mark Heinrich)

Source: OANN

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