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U.S. Democrat O’Rourke raised $9.4 million in first weeks of campaign

U.S. 2020 Democratic presidential candidate and former Representative Beto O'Rourke speaks at the 2019 National Action Network National Convention in New York
U.S. 2020 Democratic presidential candidate and former Representative Beto O'Rourke speaks at the 2019 National Action Network National Convention in New York, U.S., April 3, 2019. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton

April 3, 2019

By Ginger Gibson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Democratic presidential hopeful Beto O’Rourke raised $9.4 million in the first 18 days of his bid for the presidency, his campaign announced on Wednesday.

O’Rourke, the former congressman from Texas whose unsuccessful Senate run in 2018 garnered him national attention, collected 218,000 separate contributions, his campaign said in a statement.

The average donation was $43, his campaign said.

Like most of his Democratic rivals, O’Rourke is refusing campaign donations from corporate political action groups or lobbyists. Of the money he did raise, 99 percent came from online solicitations, O’Rourke’s campaign said.

Candidates are required by law to track and report all campaign donations. Donations collected between Jan. 1 and March 31 must be disclosed by April 15. Candidates are limited to collecting $2,800 from a single donor during the primary process.

O’Rourke’s first-quarter haul lags behind some of his other Democratic rivals who announced their candidacies earlier in the year and therefore had more time to raise funds. O’Rourke launched his campaign on March 14.

U.S. Senator Kamala Harris of California, who launched her campaign in late January, raised $12 million in the first quarter. U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who began his campaign in late February, raised $18.2 million.

With such a crowded field – more than 15 Democrats have announced they are running – fundraising abilities have become an early way to prove to donors and potential supporters that a candidate is viable.

Additionally, the Democratic National Committee has said a candidate must have raised money from 65,000 different donors in order to qualify for the first debate to be held on June 26 and 27.

(Reporting by Ginger Gibson; Editing by Susan Thomas)

Source: OANN

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Pakistan standoff helps India's Modi shift focus from jobs

A standoff with nuclear rival Pakistan appears to have given Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi a boost ahead of national elections set to begin in April.

After a suicide bombing killed 40 soldiers in Indian-controlled Kashmir, India's air force launched a strike on an alleged terrorist training camp inside Pakistan.

The crisis has helped the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party-led government to turn attention away from its mixed record on the economy.

Conflicting government accounts on the damage caused by the Indian strike in Pakistan have given opposition parties more ammunition to attack Modi. But Modi has used their doubts about the strike to polish his own "strongman" credentials.

Source: Fox News World

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Settlement allows Minnesota boys to dance competitively

Minnesota boys will be allowed to compete alongside girls on high school dance teams starting the next school year, following the settlement of a lawsuit against the Minnesota State High School League that claimed sexual discrimination.

The league said in a statement last week that the settlement avoids further litigation and allows the league, its nearly 500 member schools and the Minnesota Association of Dance Teams to prepare for the 2019-2020 dance season, the Star Tribune reported.

Juniors Dmitri Moua and Zachary Greenwald sued last July saying the league's girls-only bylaws violate Title IX, the federal law that bars sex discrimination in education programs that receive federal funds.

A federal judge initially denied the request, saying the league was allowed to create girls-only teams. But the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last month reversed the judge's ruling and remanded the case to the lower court to issue the boys' injunction to allow them onto the teams. The appeals court cited the 14th Amendment requirement of equal protection under the law.

The issue of whether banning boys from competitive dance constitutes gender discrimination hasn't been litigated in federal district court.

Moua and Greenwald had both sought a rule change so that other boys wanting to competitively dance in the state wouldn't have to sit on the sidelines. The boys, who had served as team managers for the all-girls dance teams, will be able to compete in their senior year.

"We never thought this was going to end," Greenwald told the newspaper last month. "For so long, I've just had to sit and watch. Now I'll finally be able to participate."

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Information from: Star Tribune, http://www.startribune.com

Source: Fox News National

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Florida city dismantles, relocates Confederate statue

A statue of a Confederate soldier is being removed from a Florida park.

The statue had stood at the center of Lakeland's Munn Park for 109 years. City officials began dismantling the monument Friday.

City commissioners voted in December 2017 to start the process to move the statue after receiving complaints from residents. In November, commissioners approved funding the $150,000 cost of moving the statue with citations issued as part of the city's red-light camera program.

The Ledger reports the statue is being relocated to a different park where the city honors soldiers and first responders. Veterans Park is adjacent to a city-owned convention and entertainment complex.

The director of the city's parks and recreation department, Bob Donahay, says dismantling the monument and relocating it will take several days.

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Information from: The Ledger (Lakeland, Fla.), http://www.theledger.com

Source: Fox News National

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Netanyahu makes deal with far-right party ahead of Israeli election

FILE PHOTO: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks as he meets with U.S. Vice President Mike Pence in Warsaw
FILE PHOTO: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks as he meets with U.S. Vice President Mike Pence in Warsaw, Poland, February 14, 2019. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel -/File Photo

February 20, 2019

By Jeffrey Heller

JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu forged an election alliance with a far-right party on Wednesday that could give followers of the late anti-Arab rabbi, Meir Kahane, a stronger voice in Israeli politics.

The deal, announced by Netanyahu’s Likud and the ultranationalist Jewish Home party, was aimed at solidifying a potential right-wing coalition after the April 9 parliamentary election.

Opinion polls predict Netanyahu’s Likud will win the most parliamentary seats and will be in a position to form a governing coalition of rightist and religious parties similar to the one he now heads.

But the surveys also show that a possible alliance between two of his strongest centrist opponents, former armed forces chief Benny Gantz, who leads the Resilience Party, and ex-finance minister Yair Lapid, head of the Yesh Atid faction, could spark an upset.

Gantz and Lapid met on Wednesday, with speculation high they could strike a deal.

Moving to counter that prospective partnership, Netanyahu agreed to set aside two cabinet posts for Jewish Home on condition it agreed to a merger with the Jewish Power party, whose leaders have portrayed themselves as Kahane’s successors.

Jewish Home’s chairman said in a statement he accepted the deal after talks with Netanyahu. Its central committee then met and ratified the pact, party officials said.

Jewish Power has already agreed to the merger, saying it would “prevent the establishment of a leftist government, God forbid”.

Such an alliance could be crucial to the two parties’ survival: opinion polls have shown that Jewish Home and Jewish Power might not garner enough votes on their own to win even a single seat in the Knesset.

Kahane, a U.S.-born rabbi, served one term in the Knesset in the 1980s as head of the Kach party, which advocated the “transfer” of Palestinians to neighbouring Arab countries and also called for a ban on intermarriage between Israeli Jews and Arabs.

Kahane’s movement was subsequently banned from Israeli politics as racist. He was assassinated in 1990 in New York by an Egyptian-born American.

Netanyahu’s political future has also been clouded by three corruption cases. The attorney-general is weighing whether to accept police recommendations to indict him over allegations he wrongfully accepted gifts from wealthy businessmen and dispensed favours to try to win favourable coverage in an Israeli newspaper and a website.

In office since 2009, after an earlier term as prime minister from 1996 to 1999, Netanyahu has denied wrongdoing. He says he is a victim of a left-wing witchhunt to topple him.

(Editing by Frances Kerry)

Source: OANN

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Thailand plans $630 million in economic measures to boost growth: Finance Minister

FILE PHOTO: Workers work at a construction site in central Bangkok
FILE PHOTO: Workers work at a construction site in central Bangkok, Thailand, September 26, 2016. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha

April 19, 2019

BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thailand will introduce economic measures worth about 20 billion baht ($629.52 million) to spur its slowing economy, the finance minister said on Friday.

The measures will be aimed at boosting consumption, tourism and helping low-income earners, and will be submitted to cabinet within two weeks, Apisak Tantivorawong told reporters.

Thailand’s economic growth is expected to slow to about 3 percent in the first and second quarters of the year, Apisak said, cooling from 3.7 percent in the last quarter of 2018.

Official first-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) will be released on May 21.

Thailand’s trade-dependent economy has been affected by slowing global demand, while the country is waiting for the next government to be formed after a March 24 general election.

($1 = 31.7700 baht)

(Reporting by Kitiphong Thaichareon; Writing by Orathai Sriring; Editing by Kim Coghill)

Source: OANN

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AP Explains: Why southern African cyclone is so shattering

The lives of hundreds of thousands of people are at risk after a cyclone ripped into central Mozambique and heavy rains continue to fall. Aid groups report people clinging to rooftops and trees as rivers burst their banks and waters rise. Authorities openly worry that the world has not grasped the severity of the crisis.

Here is a look at the disaster that has killed untold hundreds of people in Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi.

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WILL THE DEATH TOLL RISE?

Almost certainly. Emergency responders are struggling to reach parts of the three countries after some roads, bridges and communications networks were washed away or destroyed.

A massive storm surge when Cyclone Idai made landfall in Mozambique over the weekend created what one World Food Program staffer calls "inland oceans extending for miles and miles in all directions." The city of Beira with its some 500,000 residents is said to be 90 percent destroyed.

The European Union's global observation program, mapping the crisis, said some 394 square kilometers (152 square miles) of Mozambique had been flooded.

Further deaths could occur if people clinging to hope are swept away by the rising waters or are not reached in time with critical water, food and other aid.

And now authorities are warning of water-borne diseases after what infrastructure existed in the largely impoverished countries was stripped away.

Mozambique's president, after flying over the region, has warned as many as 1,000 people could die.

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WHAT IS BEING DONE TO HELP?

Mozambique and Malawi are two of the poorest countries in Africa, and the economy of once-prosperous Zimbabwe has collapsed in recent years.

Aid appeals for millions of dollars have begun as the United Nations and other humanitarian organizations rush to deliver food, water, fuel and medicines to the vast affected area. In Beira, a staging point for emergency responders, electricity could be out through the end of the month and a fuel shortage is reported. The Beira hospital is severely damaged.

The European Union and Britain have been among the first to pledge aid. The EU says its initial package to Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi is worth about $3.9 million, while Britain says it will provide up to $7.9 million.

The U.S. Embassy in Zimbabwe says it is "mobilizing support" for partners in the three countries, with no further details. Tanzania's military airlifted some 238 tons of emergency food and medicine to the three countries.

Zimbabwe's president has said a number of countries, including the United Arab Emirates, South Africa, Botswana, Namibia and Angola, also were offering aid.

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WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

Aid organizations and authorities are rushing humanitarian aid to Beira and other areas by air and sea, while rescue efforts push on. The torrential rains are expected to continue in central Mozambique until Thursday.

As the water begins to recede throughout the region, the extent of the devastation will become clearer.

And thousands, perhaps scores of thousands, of families could be on the move, seeking new refuge after their homes were washed away.

"I salvaged nothing except this baby," Chipo Dhliwayo told The Associated Press in eastern Zimbabwe, referring to her 6-month-old son.

Burials, which already have begun, will continue.

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Follow Africa news at https://twitter.com/AP_Africa

Source: Fox News World

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FILE PHOTO: Supporters of the Spain's far-right party VOX wave Spanish flags as they attend an electoral rally ahead of general elections in the Andalusian capital of Seville
FILE PHOTO: Supporters of the Spain’s far-right party VOX wave Spanish flags as they attend an electoral rally ahead of general elections in the Andalusian capital of Seville, Spain April 24, 2019. REUTERS/Marcelo del Pozo/File Photo

April 26, 2019

By John Stonestreet and Belén Carreño

MADRID (Reuters) – Spain’s Vox party, aligned to a broader far-right movement emerging across Europe, has become the focus of speculation about last minute shifts in voting intentions since official polling for Sunday’s national election ended four days ago.

No single party is anywhere near securing a majority, and chances of a deadlocked parliament and a second election are high.

Leaders of the five parties vying for a role in government get final chances to pitch for power at rallies on Friday evening, before a campaign characterized by appeals to voters’ hearts rather than wallets ends at midnight.

By tradition, the final day before a Spanish election is politics-free.

Two main prizes are still up for grabs in the home straight. One concerns which of the two rival left and right multi-party blocs gets more votes.

The other is whether Vox could challenge the mainstream conservative PP for leadership of the latter bloc, which media outlets with access to unofficial soundings taken since Monday suggest could be starting to happen.

The right’s loose three-party alliance is led by the PP, the traditional conservative party that has alternated in office with outgoing Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s Socialists since Spain’s return to democracy in the 1970s.

The PP stands at around 20 percent, with center-right Ciudadanos near 14 percent and Vox around 11 percent, according to a final poll of polls in daily El Pais published on Monday.

Since then, however, interest in Vox – which will become the first far-right party to sit in parliament since 1982 – has snowballed.

It was founded in 2013, part of a broader anti-establishment, far-right movement that has also spread across – among others – Italy, France and Germany.

While it is careful to distance itself from the ideology of late dictator Francisco Franco, Vox’s signature policies include repealing laws banning Franco-era symbols and on gender-based violence, and shifting power away from Spain’s regional governments.

TRENDING

According to a Google trends graphic, Vox has generated more than three times more search inquiries than any other Spanish political party in the past week.

Reasons could include a groundswell of vocal activist support at Vox rallies in Madrid and Valencia, and its exclusion from two televised debates between the main party leaders, on the grounds of it having no deputies yet in parliament.

Conservative daily La Vanguardia called its enforced absence from Monday’s and Tuesday’s debates “a gift from heaven”, while left-wing Eldiario.es suggested the PP was haemorrhaging votes to Vox in rural areas.

Ignacio Jurado, politics lecturer at the University of York, agreed the main source of additional Vox votes would be disaffected PP supporters, and called the debate ban – whose impact he said was unclear – wrong.

“This is a party polling over 10 percent and there are people interested in what it says. So we lose more than we win in not having them (in the debates),” he said

For Jose Fernandez-Albertos, political scientist at Spanish National Research Council CSIC, Vox is enjoying the novelty effect that propelled then new, left-wing arrival Podemos to 20 percent of the vote in 2015.

“While it’s unclear how to interpret the (Google) data, what we do know is that it’s better to be popular and to be a newcomer, and that Vox will benefit in some form,” he said.

For now, the chances of Vox taking a major role in government remain slim, however.

The El Pais survey put the Socialists on around 30 percent, making them the frontrunners and likely to form a leftist bloc with Podemos, back down at around 14 percent.

The unofficial soundings suggest little change in the two parties’ combined vote, or the total vote of the rightist bloc.

That makes it unlikely that either bloc will win a majority on Sunday, triggering horse-trading with smaller parties favoring Catalan independence – the single most polarizing issues during campaigning – that could easily collapse into fresh elections.

(Election graphic: https://tmsnrt.rs/2ENugtw)

(Reporting by John Stonestreet and Belen Carreno, Editing by William Maclean)

Source: OANN

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FILE PHOTO: The logo of the OPEC is seen at OPEC's headquarters in Vienna
FILE PHOTO: The logo of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries at OPEC’s headquarters in Vienna, Austria December 5, 2018. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger/File Photo

April 26, 2019

JOINT BASE ANDREWS, Md. (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday he called the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and told the cartel to lower oil prices.

“Gasoline prices are coming down. I called up OPEC, I said you’ve got to bring them down. You’ve got to bring them down,” Trump told reporters.

(Reporting by Roberta Rampton; Writing by Makini Brice; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

Source: OANN

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Sonia Bompastor, director of the Olympique Lyonnais womenÕs Youth Academy, leads a training at the OL Academy near Lyon
Sonia Bompastor, director of the Olympique Lyonnais womenÕs Youth Academy, leads a training at the OL Academy in Meyzieu near Lyon, France, April 16, 2019. REUTERS/Emmanuel Foudrot

April 26, 2019

By Julien Pretot

MEYZIEU, France (Reuters) – Olympique Lyonnais president Jean-Michel Aulas was wringing out his women’s team shirts in the locker room on a rainy London day eight years ago when he decided it was time to take gender equality more seriously.

It was halftime in their Champions League semi-final second leg against Arsenal at Meadow Park with 507 fans watching and Aulas realized that his players did not have a another kit for the second half.

“Next time, there will be a second set just like for the men, that’s how it’s going to work from now on,” he said.

Lyon have since won five Champions League titles to become the most successful women’s team in Europe and recently claimed a 13th consecutive domestic crown.

They visit Chelsea on Sunday in the second leg of their Champions League semi-final, with a fourth straight title in their sights.

At the heart of their achievements is a pervasive ethos that promotes gender equality throughout the club, starting in the youth academy.

In 2013, Aulas appointed former Lyon and France player Sonia Bompastor as head of the Women’s Academy — the female equivalent of one of France’s top youth set-ups that has produced players such as Karim Benzema, Alexandre Lacazette and Hatem Ben Arfa.

At the Youth Academy, girls and boys share the same facilities.

“Pitches, physiotherapy rooms are the same for all,” the 38-year-old Bompastor told Reuters.

As the girls train under the watch of former Lyon and France international Camille Abily, the screams of the boys practicing can be heard nearby.

The boys and girls also benefit from the same psychological support that includes hypnosis sessions and yoga.

“We have a ‘mental ability’ cell and the hypnotist acts on the girls’ subconscious, on their deeply held beliefs after observing them on and off the pitch,” Bompastor added.

SAME TREATMENT

One message the Academy staff are trying to convey is that girls are as good as boys.

“Women’s nature is such that we have low self-esteem. So self-esteem is a big topic for our girls,” said Bompastor.

This is not the case with the boys, she added.

“Some 14, 15-year-old boys still think they would beat our professional players, we tell them this would not be happening. We still need to work on those beliefs,” she said.

Female players also have to face questions that their male counterparts do not, Bompastor explained.

“In France there is a problem with the way women are considered, there are high aesthetic expectations. So we get heavy questions on femininity, intimate questions that men don’t get,” she said.

OL’s Academy has been held up as a shining example for others to follow, even in the U.S., where women’s soccer has a wider audience than in Europe.

“About one third of the (senior women’s) squad comes from the Academy, we have a good balance,” said Bompastor.

“I’m getting tons of requests from American universities and foreign clubs, who want to come and visit our facilities.”

‘ONE CLUB’

The salaries of the senior players is one area where there remains a large discrepancy between Lyon’s men’s and women’s teams.

While the three best-paid women players in the world are at Lyon with Ballon d’Or winner Ada Hegerberg earning 400,000 euros ($445,520) a year, this figure is dwarfed by the around 4 million euros earned annually by men’s player Memphis Depay.

There is, however, a level of interaction between the men’s and women’s players that is not present at many other clubs.

“When you talk about OL you talk about women and men, you talk about one club and you feel it when you are here or outside in the city,” Germany defender Carolin Simon told Reuters.

“We see it when we play in the big stadium. It’s not ‘normal’ for women’s football,” the 26-year-old, who joined the club last year, added.

Lyon’s female players also enjoy respect from their male counterparts, Simon said.

“It’s very cool, it’s a big honor to feel that it doesn’t matter if you are a professional man or woman. We talk with the men, there are handshakes, it’s a good atmosphere and it’s also why we are successful,” said Simon.

“The men respect us and it’s not just for the cameras.”

Her team mate, England’s Lucy Bronze, sees the men’s respect as key to improving women’s football.

“We might not be paid the same but they are just normal with us, they see us as footballers the same as they are,” Bronze told Reuters.

“Being at Lyon has really opened my eyes. To improve women’s football, it starts with having the respect of your male counterparts. It’s the biggest thing because they can influence so many people.”

(Reporting by Julien Pretot; Editing by Toby Davis)

Source: OANN

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FILE PHOTO: Ethiopian migrants, stranded in war-torn Yemen, sit on the ground of a detention site pending repatriation to their home country, in Aden, Yemen
FILE PHOTO: Ethiopian migrants, stranded in war-torn Yemen, sit on the ground of a detention site pending repatriation to their home country, in Aden, Yemen April 24, 2019. REUTERS/Fawaz Salman/File Photo

April 26, 2019

GENEVA (Reuters) – Yemeni authorities have rounded up about 3,000 irregular migrants, predominantly Ethiopians, in the south of the country, “creating an acute humanitarian situation,” the U.N. migration agency said on Friday.

“IOM is deeply concerned about the conditions in which the migrants are being held and is engaging with the authorities to ensure access to the detained migrants,” the International Organization for Migration said.

The migrants are held in open-air football stadiums and in a military camp, it said in a statement.

The detentions began on Sunday in the city of Aden and the neighboring province of Lahj, which are under the control of the internationally recognized government backed by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Iran-aligned Houthi rebels control Sanaa, the capital, and other major urban centers.

Both sides are under international diplomatic pressure to implement a United Nations-sponsored ceasefire deal agreed last year in Sweden and to prepare for a wider political dialogue that would end the four-year-old war.

Thousands of migrants arrive in Yemen every year, mostly from the Horn of Africa, driven by drought and unemployment at home and lured by the wages available in the Gulf.

(Writing by Maher Chmaytelli, Editing by William Maclean)

Source: OANN

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U.S. dollar notes are seen in this picture illustration
U.S. dollar notes are seen in this November 7, 2016 picture illustration. Picture taken November 7. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

April 26, 2019

(Reuters) – Following are five big themes likely to dominate thinking of investors and traders in the coming week and the Reuters stories related to them.

1/DOLLAR JUGGERNAUT

The dollar has zipped to near two-year highs, leaving many scratching their heads. To many, it’s down to signs the U.S. economy is chugging ahead while the rest of the world loses steam. After all, Wall Street is busily scaling new peaks day after day.

Never mind the cause, the effect is stark. The euro has tumbled to 22-month lows against the dollar and investors are preparing for more, buying options to shield against further downside. Emerging-market currencies are also in pain, with Turkish lira and Argentine peso both sharply weaker.

Now U.S. data need to keep surprising on the upside or even just meet expectations. The International Monetary Fund sees U.S. growth at 2.3 percent this year. For Germany, the forecast is 0.8 percent. The U.S. economy’s rude health has given rise to speculation the Fed might resume raising interest rates. Unlikely. But as other countries — Canada, Sweden and Australia are the latest — hint at more policy easing, there seems to be one way the dollar can go. Up.

(GRAPHIC: Dollar outperforms G10 FX – https://tmsnrt.rs/2Dz17S5)

2/FED: UP OR DOWN?

Wall Street is near record highs and recession worries are receding, so as we mentioned above, investors might wonder if the Federal Reserve will start raising rates again.

Such a pivot is unlikely after the Fed killed off rate-rise expectations at its March meeting. And the latest Reuters poll all but puts to bed any risk of rates will go up this economic cycle, given inflation remains below the Fed’s alarm threshold and unemployment is the lowest in generations.

Before the March rate-pause announcement, a preponderance of economists penciled in one or more increases this year. But that has flipped. A majority of those surveyed April 22-24 see no further tightening through December and more are leaning toward a cut by the end of next year.

Indeed, interest rate futures imply Fed Funds will be below the current 2.25-2.50 percent target range by this December.

Recent positive consumer spending and exports data have eased market concerns of a sharp economic slowdown. But inflation probably needs to run hot for a long period to panic policymakers off their wait-and-see course.     

(GRAPHIC: Federal funds and the economy – https://tmsnrt.rs/2DzjTZz)

3/HEISEI TO REIWA

Next week ends three decades of Japan’s Heisei era. Heisei, or Achieving Peace, began in 1989 near the peak of a massive stock market bubble and closes with the country trapped in low growth, no inflation, and negative interest rates.

The new era that dawns on May 1 is called Reiwa, meaning Beautiful Harmony. It begins when Crown Prince Naruhito ascends the Chrysanthemum Throne. But do investors really want harmony? What they want to see is a bit of economic growth and inflation to shake up the status quo.

The Bank of Japan’s stimulus toolkit to revive a long-suffering economy is anything but harmonious and yet it’s set to stay. The central bank confirmed recently rates will stay near zero for a long time. But the coming days may not be harmonious or peaceful for currency markets. A 10-day Golden Week holiday kicks off on April 29 and investors are fretting over the risk of a “flash crash” – a violent currency spasm that can occur in times of thin trading turnover.

The year has already seen two yen spikes and many, including Japan’s housewife-trader brigade – so-called Mrs Watanabes – appear to have bought yen as the holiday approaches. Their short dollar/long yen positions recently reached record highs, stock exchange data showed.

(GRAPHIC: Japan stocks: from Hensei to Reiwa – https://tmsnrt.rs/2W6a7Fe)

4/EARNING TURNING

Quarterly earnings were supposed to be the worst in Europe in almost three years, but with a third of results in, things are looking a little rosier.

Two-thirds of companies’ results have beat expectations, and they point to earnings growth of 4.5 percent year-on-year. Financials have delivered the biggest surprises, according to analysis by Barclays.

That might just show how low expectations were. In fact, analysts are still taking a red pen to their estimates.

The latest I/B/E/S data from Refinitiv shows analysts on average expect first-quarter earnings-per-share for STOXX 600-listed companies to fall 4.2 percent. That would be their worst quarter since 2016 and down sharply from an estimated 3.4 percent just a week earlier.

Those estimates may end up being a little too bearish as earnings season goes on, quelling worries that Europe is heading toward a corporate recession.

GSK and Reckitt Benckiser will give the market a glimpse of the health of the consumer products market and spending on everything from toothpaste, washing powder and paracetamol.

(GRAPHIC: Earnings forecasts – https://tmsnrt.rs/2DuO2ZF)

5/WAITING FOR THE OLD LADY

Sterling has gone into the doldrums amid the Brexit delay and unproductive talks between the UK government and the opposition Labour party on a EU withdrawal deal. The resurgent dollar, meanwhile, has taken 2 percent off the pound in April. It is unlikely the Bank of England will be able to rouse it at its May 2 meeting.

Despite robust retail and jobs data of late, the economic picture is gloomy – 2019 growth is likely to be around 1.2 percent, the weakest since 2009, investment is down and Governor Mark Carney says business uncertainty is “through the roof”.

Indeed, expectations for an interest rate increase have been whittled down; Reuters polls forecast rates will not move until early 2020, a calendar quarter later than was forecast a month ago. The hunt for a new governor to replace Carney in October adds more uncertainty to the mix.

The recent run of UK data has fueled hopes of economic rebound. That’s put net hedge fund positions in the pound into positive territory for the first time in nearly a year. The Old Lady of Threadneedle Street might temper some of that optimism.

(GRAPHIC: Sterling positions – https://tmsnrt.rs/2XJwUXX)

(Reporting by Alden Bentley in New York, Vidya Ranganathan in Singapore; Karin Strohecker, Josephine Mason and Saikat Chatterjee in London; compiled by Sujata Rao; edited by Larry King)

Source: OANN

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