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ECB keeps policy, rate guidance unchanged

FILE PHOTO: Sign of the European central Bank (ECB) is seen ahead of the news conference on the outcome of the Governing Council meeting, outside the ECB headquarters in Frankfurt
FILE PHOTO: Sign of the European central Bank (ECB) is seen ahead of the news conference on the outcome of the Governing Council meeting, outside the ECB headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany, March 7, 2019. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach/File Photo

April 10, 2019

FRANKFURT (Reuters) – The European Central Bank kept its policy unchanged as expected on Wednesday, maintaining interest rates at record lows and keeping its guidance for steady interest rates this year despite a sharp slowdown in economic growth.

With the economy and inflation both slowing, the ECB has already backtracked on its plans to tighten policy this year, unveiling instead even more stimulus to prop up an export-focused economy now struggling amid a global slowdown in trade.

But having unveiled fresh measures just last month, the ECB can afford to wait before contemplating any further steps, keeping its last remaining policy powder dry in case the growth downturn becomes more severe than now feared.

“The Governing Council now expects the key ECB interest rates to remain at their present levels at least through the end of 2019, and in any case for as long as necessary,” the ECB said in a statement, reaffirming its interest rate guidance.

While this policy is out of sync with market expectations, which put the first hike in 2021, policymakers have dismissed the significance of the disconnect, arguing that economic conditions would impact the eventual move and market prices simply reflect the changing outlook.

Attention now turns to ECB President Mario Draghi’s 1230 GMT news conference, at which he is likely to say that risks to growth remain on the downside and the bank remains ready to act with all available instruments.

Investors will also look to see if Draghi elaborates on his recent comments that the ECB would study whether negative rates are starting to have unintended side effects.

With Wednesday’s decision, the ECB’s rate on bank overnight deposits, which is currently its primary interest rate tool, remains at -0.40 percent.

The main refinancing rate, which determines the cost of credit in the economy, remained unchanged at 0.00 percent while the rate on the marginal lending facility — the emergency overnight borrowing rate for banks — remains at 0.25 percent.

(Reporting by Balazs Koranyi)

Source: OANN

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Liberals Believe Trump Should Follow Constitution, But They Shouldn’t

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In market debut, Lyft counters Uber with ‘nice guy’ image

Uber and Lyft signs are seen on a car in Redondo Beach
Uber and Lyft signs are seen on a car in Redondo Beach, California, U.S., March 25, 2019. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson

March 29, 2019

By Heather Somerville

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Lyft Inc has been challenging larger ride-hailing rival Uber Technologies Inc for years by cultivating an image of caring more for its drivers, riders and the environment. As the company debuts in the stock market on Friday, it hopes to convince investors the “nice guy” image will pay off.

“In the early days, people misunderstood, ‘Oh you guys are the nice guys. You guys are going to get crushed by a more competitive player,” Lyft President and co-founder John Zimmer told Reuters.

“We said, ‘No, we’re very competitive but treating our employees well, treating our drivers well, treating the local communities that we work with respect, which is also very good for business.”

Lyft exceeded market expectations with its initial public offering (IPO) on Thursday, raising $2.34 billion and fetching a valuation of $24 billion.

That is still a fraction of the $120 billion valuation that investment bankers have told Uber it could wind up with in its IPO in April, thanks to its international presence and expansion into sectors such as food delivery and freight hauling.

Despite its bigger size, Uber has evolved in lock-step with Lyft, adding new types of rides like car-pooling, changing fares investing in autonomous vehicle development and adding scooters and bikes.

As a result, Lyft and Uber look a lot alike. Both companies have been losing money, subsidizing rides to boost market share. But Lyft has been making inroads against Uber in the United States, boosting market share to 39 percent as of December from 35 percent in early 2018.

Some of Lyft’s gains are due to Uber’s woes. The latter is still recovering from a series of scandals in 2017, including allegations of sexual harassment made by female employees, the forced resignation of its chief executive officer and the departure of other senior executives, and its use of illicit software to deceive regulators.

A #DeleteUber campaign surged on social media. The negative publicity helped Lyft attract new drivers and riders without spending much on marketing.

Lyft, which operates in the United States and a few Canadian cities, also moved to boost its market share, adding more than 100 new cities since 2017. It targeted socially conscious millennials who are concerned about harming the environment by owning a car.

“We have barely scratched the surface of helping shift the world from a car ownership model to a transportation-as-a-service model,” Lyft’s CEO Logan Green, who is also a co-founder, told Reuters.

Lyft’s branding as a warmer, more caring alternative to Uber dates back to its launch in 2012. It borrowed marketing strategies from Southwest Airlines Co and Starbucks Corp, hoping to portray itself as friendly and customer-centric, and likened itself to the championship Golden State Warriors pro basketball team, according to Lyft executives.

‘PRICE IS MAIN FACTOR’

Anna-Marie Wascher, CEO and founding partner at Flat World Partners, an institutional advisory and asset management firm and early Lyft investor, said market share growth came as “consumers were being more discerning in their choices,” and recognizing the gulf in company culture and values between the two firms.

While some Lyft riders have turned into loyalists as a result of its branding efforts and Uber’s problems, many say they still pick the app with the lowest price.

“(My choice) is based on price and estimated time of arrival. But I would say price is the main factor,” said John Nickele, who owns a bicycle in San Francisco and spends about $30 a week on Lyft and Uber.

Both Lyft and Uber have been criticized for causing congestion in cities and creating hazards to bicyclists and pedestrians. A study by the San Francisco County Transportation Authority found that about half of new congestion in San Francisco from 2010 to 2016 was from ride-hailing.

Lyft said this week it will provide at least $50 million per year to cities to support transportation infrastructure, fight climate change and provide free rides to those in need, such as victims of natural disasters.

The first project will be in Los Angeles, where it will offer rides to individuals who provide services to the homeless.

Lyft’s and Uber’s relations with their drivers are not without strain. Lyft drivers this week held protests in San Francisco and Los Angeles over what they call wages that are too low to survive on. The company also faces a slew of arbitration claims and lawsuits from drivers who claim they are misclassified as independent contractors and owed back wages and reimbursement for expenses.

Zimmer told Reuters he believes the company’s ongoing work supporting drivers will help it stand apart from Uber. He said he still attends meetings with drivers to hear their grievances and exchanges texts with them.

(Reporting by Heather Somerville in San Francisco; Additional reporting by Jane Lee in San Francisco and Joshua Franklin and Carl O’Donnell in New York; Editing by Greg Roumeliotis and Jeffrey Benkoe)

Source: OANN

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A little love on the campaign trail – Rosario Dawson dating Cory Booker

Democratic 2020 U.S. presidential candidate and U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) gives the keynote speech at Brown Chapel AME Church in Selma
Democratic 2020 U.S. presidential candidate and U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) gives the keynote speech at Brown Chapel AME Church in Selma, Alabama, U.S. March 3, 2019. REUTERS/Chris Aluka Berry

March 14, 2019

By Steve Gorman

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Actress Rosario Dawson, whose film credits include “Rent” and “Men in Black II,” has confirmed reports she is dating U.S. Senator and presidential candidate Cory Booker, calling him “a wonderful human being” who she loves and admires.

Dawson, 39, went public about her relationship with the New Jersey Democrat in an on-camera interview with the celebrity news website TMZ.com as she was strolling through Reagan National Airport near Washington. The video was posted on Thursday.

Asked if there was any truth to recent media reports that she was involved with the 49-year-old bachelor politician, Dawson gamely replied, “Yes, very much so.”

“He’s a wonderful human being. It’s great to spend time together when we can,” she said.

Asked whether an engagement might be on the horizon, she said, “I have no idea. I’m just grateful to be to be with someone that I respect and love and admire so much who is so brilliant and kind and caring and loving.”

The New York Post reported in January that the actress and former Newark, New Jersey, mayor had been seeing each other since at least December 2018.

Neither Booker nor his representatives were immediately available for comment. Asked during a radio interview last month about how his bachelor status might play in the presidential race, Booker said he was “dating somebody now who’s very special.” Questioned whether she would make a “nice first lady,” he replied, “Yes, she would.”

The senator, who gained national prominence in the fight over Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation, formally launched his presidential campaign on Feb. 1, joining a crowded field of Democrats seeking their party’s nomination for the White House in 2020.

Booker initially won his Senate seat in a 2013 special election, and then was re-elected to a full six-year term in 2014. He became the second African-American to enter the 2020 presidential race, after fellow Democratic Senator Kamala Harris of California.

Dawson, a native New Yorker of Puerto Rican and Cuban ancestry, made her film debut in the 1995 indie drama “Kids.” Her movie credits include two Spike Lee dramas – “He Got Game” and “25th Hour” – “Sin City,” “Josie and the Pussycats” along with “Rent” and “Men in Black II.”

(Reporting by Steve Gorman in Los Angeles; Additional reporting by Lisa Richwine in Los Angeles; Editing by Tom Brown)

Source: OANN

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Ocasio-Cortez Rips NRA After New Zealand Shootings

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., on Friday blasted the National Rifle Association after 49 people were killed in shootings at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand.

“At 1st I thought of saying, “Imagine being told your house of faith isn’t safe anymore. But I couldn’t say ‘imagine,’ Because of Charleston. Pittsburgh. Sutherland Springs. What good are your thoughts & prayers when they don’t even keep the pews safe?” Ocasio-Cortez tweeted early Friday morning.

She wrote in a follow-up tweet: “(‘Thoughts and prayers’ is reference to the NRA’s phrase used to deflect conversation away from policy change during tragedies. Not directed to [New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda] Ardern, who I greatly admire.)”

“This is a time of great vulnerability for our communities,” the congresswoman said in another tweet. “We must come together, fight for each other, & stand up for neighbors. Isolation, dehumanizing stereotypes, hysterical conspiracy theories, & hatred ultimately lead to the anarchy of violence. We cannot stand for it.”

Source: NewsMax Politics

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Nearly 5,000 bankers in EU earn more than $1 million a year: watchdog

FILE PHOTO: EU flags fly outside the European Commission headquarters in Brussels
FILE PHOTO: European Union flags fly outside the European Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, March 6, 2019. REUTERS/Yves Herman

March 11, 2019

By Huw Jones

LONDON (Reuters) – The number of bankers in the European Union paid over a million euros ($1.1 million) a year rose in 2017 to nearly 5,000, even after regulators capped bonuses.

Most of them were based in Britain, according to data from the European Banking Authority (EBA), but as the country is due to leave the bloc at the end of this month some highly paid bankers are expected to move from London to staff new hubs on the continent.

EBA said on Monday that 4,859 bankers were paid more than a million euros in 2017, including bonuses, up from 4,597 in 2016.

After taxpayers bailed out lenders during the financial crisis a decade ago, the EU capped bonuses from 2014 to no more than basic salary, or twice that amount with shareholder approval.

EBA said the average ratio between variable and fixed pay for the high earners continues to fall, down from 104 percent in 2016 to 101.08 percent in 2017 as the cap bites. It was 123 percent in 2014 and 118 percent in 2015.

The higher earners were predominantly based in Britain, totaling 3,567 in 2017 or 73.3 percent – 38 more than in 2016. Germany had 390 in 2017, Italy 201, France 233, and Spain 161.

Many big London-based banks have since opened new hubs elsewhere in the European Union in preparation for business after Brexit.

Britain had opposed the introduction of the bonus cap, saying it would prompt banks to blunt its impact by raising basic pay, making it harder for lenders to cut costs in a market downturn.

EU financial rules have been embedded into UK law as part of Britain’s preparations for Brexit on March 29.

Bank of England Governor Mark Carney has hinted that the bonus cap could be among the bloc’s rules that are reviewed by the UK in future, but not at the risk of damaging overall resilience in the sector.

(Graphic: EBA link: https://tmsnrt.rs/2CcxFRa).

As bankers come under pressure to rein in bonuses, asset managers are escaping the full impact of the cap.

EBA said that in the banks’ business area of asset management, the average ratio of variable to fixed remuneration increased from 358 percent in 2016 to 402 percent in 2017, still far exceeding the maximum ratio of 200 percent.

“Several member states allow the application of waivers for staff in this business area, although CRD IV (EU bank capital rules) does not explicitly provide for this possibility,” EBA said in its review.

(Reporting by Huw Jones; Editing by Susan Fenton)

Source: OANN

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Secret Service under fire after agent testifies agency inserted malicious thumb drive into computer

The Secret Service is under fire after one of its members testified a fellow agent inserted a malicious thumb drive, found in the possession of a Chinese woman arrested at President Trump's Mar-a-Lago club last month, into an agency computer -- that then began installing unwanted files.

Monday's revelation about the embattled protection unit came the same day its director, Randolph "Tex" Alles, was reported to have been ousted as part of a larger shakeup at the Department of Homeland Security, the government arm to which the Secret Service reports.

Alles departure reportedly was not related to the March 30 incident at Mar-a-Lago in which Yujing Zhang, 32, was arrested and charged with unlawfully entering a restricted area and making false statements to federal law enforcement officers. Prosecutors said she isn’t accused of spying at this time, but noted there are "a lot of questions that remain to be answered."

WOMAN ARRESTED AT MAR-A-LAGO HAD CASH, SIGNAL DETECTOR IN HOTEL ROOM, PROSECUTORS SAY

She had $8,000 in U.S. and Chinese currency in her hotel room in addition to a signal detector meant to spot hidden cameras, a federal prosecutor in Florida said Monday. Zhang also had in her possession four cellphones, an external hard drive and a thumb drive with computer malware loaded into it.

The malicious thumb drive proved to be a particularly troubling piece of evidence.

Secret Service agent Samuel Ivanovich testified in court that another agent inserted the thumb drive into his computer in an effort to analyze it, prompting the drive to install files without the agent's consent and corrupt other files on the computer.

Yujing Zhang being led into federal court in West Palm Beach, Fla., on Monday.

Yujing Zhang being led into federal court in West Palm Beach, Fla., on Monday. (William Hennessy Jr. / CourtroomArt.com)

“That was something that had never happened before," Ivanovich told the judge, adding the agent, who was not identified, then shut down the computer to avoid further damage.

Security experts scolded the Secret Service for failing to follow one of the first rules of cybersecurity.

“Sounds like an agent trying to crack the case before the cyber team got there,” Eric O’Neill, a former FBI surveillance expert, tweeted.

SECRET SERVICE DIRECTOR TO STEP DOWN ON HEELS OF NIELSEN RESIGNATION

“You don’t put an unknown USB into your computer,” Chris Wysopal, chief technology officer at Veracode, told the Daily Beast. “That’s in all the training everyone gets, even in your dumb corporate training. You even tell your mom that.”

“You don’t put an unknown USB into your computer. That’s in all the training everyone gets, even in your dumb corporate training. You even tell your mom that.”

— Chris Wysopal, chief technology officer at Veracode

The Secret Service declined to comment to Fox News on Tuesday morning, citing the ongoing investigation.

But a source with knowledge of the investigation told Fox News that the court testimony did not accurately reflect the incident.

The source said the thumb drive’s forensic analysis was conducted on a standalone computer in accordance with protocol and added the Secret Service's network was never at risk of malware introduction, as the computer wasn’t connected to the network.

But some experts questioned this explanation, noting there would have been no reason to stop the spread of malware by shutting down the computer if the drive had been analyzed in accordance with protocol. Instead, letting the malware continue to spread on the standalone computer would have allowed analysts to gather more information about it.

Zhang is currently being held until her bond hearing resumes April 15 in West Palm Beach federal court. Prosecutors said the woman would present a "serious risk of flight" if she was released.

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Officials say Zhang approached a checkpoint at Mar-a-Lago and told a Secret Service agent she wanted to use the pool, even though she was not wearing a bathing suit. She was carrying two Chinese passports, which she showed as identification.

Fox News' John Roberts contributed to this report.

Fox News' Samuel Chamberlain, John Roberts and Ivonne Amor and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News National

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FILE PHOTO: The Huawei logo is pictured outside its Huawei's factory campus in Dongguan, Guangdong province
FILE PHOTO: The Huawei logo is pictured outside its Huawei’s factory campus in Dongguan, Guangdong province, China, March 25, 2019. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu/File Photo

April 26, 2019

By Ben Blanchard

BEIJING (Reuters) – Britain must get to the bottom of the leak of confidential discussions during a top-level security meeting about the role of China’s Huawei Technologies in 5G network supply chains, British finance minister Philip Hammond said on Friday.

News that Britain’s National Security Council, attended by senior ministers and spy chiefs, had agreed on Tuesday to bar Huawei from all core parts of the country’s 5G network and restrict its access to non-core elements was leaked to a national newspaper.

The leak of secret discussions has sparked anger in parliament and amongst Britain’s intelligence community. Britain’s most senior civil servant Mark Sedwill has launched an inquiry and written to ministers who were at the meeting.

“My understanding from London (is) that an investigation has been announced into apparent leaks from the NSC meeting earlier this week,” said Hammond, speaking on the sidelines of a summit on China’s Belt and Road initiative in Beijing.

“To my knowledge there has never been a leak from a National Security Council meeting before and therefore I think it is very important that we get to the bottom of what happened here,” he told Reuters in a pooled interview.

British culture minister Jeremy Wright said on Thursday he could not rule out a criminal investigation. The majority of the ministers at the NSC meeting have said they were not involved, according to media reports.

Hammond said he was unaware of any previous leak from a meeting of the NSC.

“It’s not about the substance of what was apparently leaked. It’s not earth-shattering information. But it is important that we protect the principle that nothing that goes on in national security council meetings must ever be repeated outside the room.”

Allowing Huawei a reduced role in building its 5G network puts Britain at odds with the United States which has told allies not to use its technology at all because of fears it could be a vehicle for Chinese spying. Huawei has categorically denied this.

There have been concerns that the NSC’s conclusion, which sources confirmed to Reuters, could upset other allies in the world’s leading intelligence-sharing network – the Five Eyes alliance of the United States, Britain, Australia, Canada and New Zealand.

However, British ministers and intelligence officials have said any final decision on 5G would not put critical national infrastructure at risk. Ciaran Martin, head of the cyber center of Britain’s main eavesdropping agency, GCHQ, played down any threat of a rift in the Five Eyes alliance.

(Writing by Michael Holden; Editing by Mark Heinrich)

Source: OANN

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President Trump on Friday said “no money” was paid to North Korea for Otto Warmbier, after reports that the U.S. received a $2 million hospital bill from Pyongyang for the late American prisoner’s care.

“No money was paid to North Korea for Otto Warmbier, not two Million Dollars, not anything else. This is not the Obama Administration that paid 1.8 Billion Dollars for four hostages, or gave five terroist[sic] hostages plus, who soon went back to battle, for traitor Sgt. Bergdahl!” Trump tweeted Friday.

NORTH KOREA GAVE US $2M HOSPITAL BILL OVER CARE OF AMERICAN OTTO WARMBIER, SOURCES SAY

The Washington Post first reported that North Korean authorities insisted the U.S. envoy sent to retrieve Warmbier, 21, who was a student of the University of Virginia, sign a pledge to pay the bill before allowing Warmbier’s comatose body to return to the United States. Sources confirmed the bill and the amount to Fox News on Thursday.

Sources told the post that the envoy signed an agreement to pay the medical bill on instructions from the president, but a source told Fox News that the U.S. did not ever pay money to North Korea.

The White House declined to comment when asked on the bill, with Press Secretary Sarah Sanders saying in a statement that: “We do not comment on hostage negotiations, which is why they have been so successful during this administration.”

Meanwhile, the president added: “’President[sic] Donald J. Trump is the greatest hostage negotiator that I know of in the history of the United States. 20 hostages, many in impossible circumstances, have been released in last two years. No money was paid.’ Cheif[sic] Hostage Negotiator, USA!”

Warmbier was on tour in North Korea when he allegedly stole a propaganda sign from a hotel. He was arrested in January 2016 and sentenced to 15 years in prison with hard labor in March 2016. Warmbier, for unknown reasons, fell into a coma while in custody and was held in that condition for an additional 17 months.

North Korean officials did not tell American officials until June 2017 that Warmbier had been unconscious the entire time. He died less than a week after he returned to the U.S. North Korean officials, though, have repeatedly denied accusations that Warmbier was tortured, instead claiming that he had suffered from botulism and then slipped into a coma after taking a sleeping pill.

AMERICAN PRISONERS HELD IN NORTH KOREA ON THEIR WAY HOME AFTER POMPEO VISIT, TRUMP SAYS

Fred and Cindy Warmbier sued North Korea over their son’s death and in December were awarded $501 million in damages – money that the Hermit Kingdom will probably never pay.

While the Warmbiers blamed North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Trump has said he believes Kim’s claims that he did not know about the student’s treatment.

Trump and Kim have met in two separate summits. The most recent, held in February, ended without an agreement on denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, told Fox News: “Otto Warmbier was mistreated by North Korea in so many ways, including his wrongful conviction and harsh sentence, and the fact that for 16 months they refused to tell his family or our country about his dire condition they caused.  No, the United States owes them nothing. They owe the Warmbier family everything.”

Last year, the Trump administration was also able to save three American prisoners held by North Korea. Kim Dong Chul, Tony Kim, and Kim Hak Song were all detained in North Korea. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo brought the three Americans home last May, and said they were all in “good health.”

Fox News’ John Roberts, Rich Edson, Nicholas Kalman, and Mike Emanuel contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News Politics

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Park Yoo-chun, a K-pop idol singer, arrives at the Suwon district court in Suwon
Park Yoo-chun, a K-pop idol singer, arrives at the Suwon district court in Suwon, South Korea, April 26, 2019. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji

April 26, 2019

SEOUL (Reuters) – K-pop and drama star Park Yu-chun was arrested on Friday on charges of buying and using illegal drugs, a court said, the latest in a series of scandals to hit the South Korean entertainment business.

Suwon District Court approved the arrest warrant for Park, 32, due to concerns over possible destruction of evidence and flight risk, a court spokesman told Reuters.

Park is suspected of having bought about 1.5 grams of methamphetamine with his former girlfriend earlier this year and using the drug around five times, an official at the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency said.

Park has denied wrongdoing, saying he had never taken drugs, and he again denied the charges in court, Yonhap news agency said.

Park’s contract with his management agency had been canceled and he would leave the entertainment industry, Park’s management agency, C-JeS Entertainment, said on Wednesday.

Park was a member of boyband TVXQ between 2003 and 2009 before leaving the group with two other members, forming the group JYJ.

A scandal involving sex tapes, prostitutes and secret chat about rape led at least four other K-pop stars to quit the industry earlier this year.

The cases sparked a nationwide drugs bust and investigations into tax evasion and police collusion at night clubs and other nightlife spots.

(Reporting by Joyce Lee; Additional reporting by Heekyong Yang; Editing by Nick Macfie)

Source: OANN

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FILE PHOTO: An American Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 8 flight taxis after landing at Reagan National Airport in Washington
FILE PHOTO: An American Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 8 flight from Los Angeles taxis after landing at Reagan National Airport shortly after an announcement was made by the FAA that the planes were being grounded by the United States over safety issues in Washington, U.S. March 13, 2019. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts/File Photo

April 26, 2019

(Reuters) – American Airlines Group Inc cut its 2019 profit forecast on Friday, saying it expected to take a $350 million hit from the grounding of Boeing’s 737 MAX planes after cancelling 1,200 flights in the first quarter.

The company said it now expects its 2019 adjusted profit to be between $4.00 per share and $6.00 per share.

Analysts on average had expected 2019 earnings of $5.63 per share, according to Refinitiv data.

The No. 1 U.S. airline by passenger traffic said net income rose to $185 million, or 41 cents per share, in the first quarter ended March 31, from $159 million, or 34 cents per share, a year earlier.

Total operating revenue rose 2 percent to $10.58 billion.

(Reporting by Sanjana Shivdas in Bengaluru)

Source: OANN

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2020 Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg speaks at a campaign event in Des Moines, Iowa
2020 Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg speaks at a campaign event in Des Moines, Iowa, U.S., April 16, 2019. REUTERS/Elijah Nouvelage

April 26, 2019

By James Oliphant

MARSHALLTOWN, Iowa (Reuters) – Four years ago, Donald Trump campaigned in small towns like Marshalltown, Iowa, vowing to restore economic prosperity to the U.S. heartland.

In his bid to replace Trump in the White House, Pete Buttigieg is taking a similar tack. The difference, he says, is that he can point to a model of success: South Bend, Indiana, the revitalized city where he has been mayor since 2012.

The Democratic presidential contender has vaulted to the congested field’s top tier in recent weeks, drawing media and donor attention for his youth, history-making status as the first openly gay major presidential candidate and a resume that includes military service in Afghanistan.

But Buttigieg’s main argument for his candidacy is that he is a turnaround artist in the mold of Trump, although the Democrat does not expressly invoke the comparison with the Republican president.

“I’m not going around saying we’ve fixed every problem we’ve got,” Buttigieg, 37, said after a house party with voters in Marshalltown. “But I’m proud of what we have done together, and I think it’s a very powerful story.”

Critics argue improving the fortunes of a Midwestern city of 100,000 people does not qualify Buttigieg, who has never held national office, for the presidency of a country of 330 million. Others say South Bend still has pockets of despair and that minorities, in particular, have failed to benefit from its growth.

Buttigieg has told crowds in Iowa and elsewhere that his experience in reviving a struggling Rust Belt community allows him to make a case to voters that other Democratic candidates cannot. That may give him the means to win back some of the disaffected Democratic voters who turned their backs on Hillary Clinton in 2016 to vote for Trump.

Watching Buttigieg at a union hall in Des Moines last week, Rick Ryan, 45, a member of the United Steelworkers, lamented how many of his fellow union workers voted for Trump. The president turned in the best performance by a Republican among union households since Ronald Reagan in 1984.

Ryan said he hoped someone like Buttigieg could return them to the Democratic fold.

“He’s aware of the decline in the labor force in America, not just in Indiana or Des Moines or anywhere else,” Ryan said. “Jobs are going overseas. We need a find to way to bring that back.”

Randy Tucker, 56, of Pleasant Hill, Iowa, a member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, said Trump appealed to union members “desperate for somebody to reach out to them, to help them, to listen to their voice.”

Buttigieg could do the same, he said. “In my heart right now, he’s No. 1.”

PAST VS. FUTURE

Buttigieg stresses a key difference in his and Trump’s approaches.

Trump, he tells crowds, is mired in the past, promising to rebuild the 20th century industrial economy. Buttigieg argues the pledge is misleading and unrealistic.

Buttigieg says his focus is on the future, and he often talks about what the country might look like decades from now.

“The only way that we can cultivate what makes America great is to look to the future and not be afraid of it,” Buttigieg said in Marshalltown.

Buttigieg knows his sexual preference may be a barrier to winning some blue-collar voters. But he notes that after he came out as gay in 2015, he won a second term as mayor with 80 percent of the vote in conservative Indiana.

Earlier this month, he announced his presidential bid at the hulking plant in South Bend that stopped making Studebaker autos more than 50 years ago. After lying dormant for decades, the building is being transformed into a high-tech hub after Buttigieg and other city leaders realized it would never again attract a large-scale industrial company.

“That building sat as a powerful reminder. We hoped we would get back that major employer that would fix our economy,” said Jeff Rea, president of the regional Chamber of Commerce.

Buttigieg is praised locally for spurring more than $100 million in downtown investment. During his two terms, unemployment has fallen to 4.1 percent from 11.8 percent.

But a study released in 2017 by the nonprofit group Prosperity Now said not all of the city’s residents had shared in its rebound. The median income for African-Americans remained half that of whites, while the unemployment rate for blacks was double.

Regina Williams-Preston, a city councilor running to replace Buttigieg as mayor, credits him for the revitalized downtown. But she said he had a “blind spot” when it came to focusing on troubled neighborhoods like the one she represents and only grew more engaged after community pressure.

“He understands it now,” she said. “The next step is figuring out how to open the doors of opportunity for everyone.”

‘ONE OF US’

Trump touts the fact that the United States added almost 300,000 manufacturing jobs last year as evidence he made good on his promise to restore the industrial sector. But that growth still left the country with fewer manufacturing jobs than in 2008.

The robust U.S. economy is likely the president’s greatest asset in his re-election bid, particularly in states he carried in 2016 such as Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania. He won Buttigieg’s home state by 19 points over Clinton in 2016.

Sean Bagniewski, chairman of the Democratic Party in Polk County, Iowa, said Buttigieg would be well positioned to compete with Trump in the Midwest.

“People love the fact that he’s a mayor,” said Bagniewski, who has not endorsed a candidate in the nominating contest. “If you can talk about a positive future, and if you actually have experience that can do it, that’s a compelling vision in Iowa.”

Nan Whaley, the mayor of Dayton, Ohio, which faces many of the same challenges as South Bend, agreed.

“He’s one of us,” Whaley said. “That helps.”

(Reporting by James Oliphant; Editing by Colleen Jenkins and Peter Cooney)

Source: OANN

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