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Mitt Romney Questions Report of Herman Cain Fed Nomination

Hours after it was reported President Donald Trump intends to nominate former Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain for a seat on the Federal Reserve Board, Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, raised issue with it.

"I doubt that will be a nomination. But if it were a nomination, you can bet [what] the interest rates he would be pushing for," Romney told Politico.

"If Herman Cain were on the Fed, you'd know the interest rate would soon be 9-9-9."

Romney was referring to Cain's proposal from his 2012 presidential campaign that would erase all existing taxes and implement a 9 percent personal income tax, a 9 percent federal sales tax, and a 9 percent corporate tax.

Cain previously served as chair of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City from 1995-1996. He also worked as the chairman and CEO of Godfather's Pizza from 1986-1996.

Bloomberg reported earlier Thursday that Trump plans to nominate Cain and Stephen Moore, a visiting fellow at the Heritage Foundation, for two open Federal Reserve Board seats. Both men are Trump supporters.

Trump has repeatedly attacked Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell for raising interest rates, and Bloomberg News reported in December that Trump had even discussed firing him. One way the president can directly influence monetary policy is through nominations to the Fed board, though anyone he picks must be confirmed by the Senate.

Material from Bloomberg was used in this report.

Source: NewsMax America

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UMass Poll: Biden Has Edge in NH Over Declared Democrats

He has not tossed his hat in the ring, but Joe Biden is leading declared Democratic candidates among likely New Hamphshire voters for the 2020 primary, a new poll showed.

A University of Massachusetts Amherst survey released Wednesday found 28 percent of likely Democratic voters said they would support the former vice president if New Hampshire's must-win primary was held today.

Twenty percent, in turn, said they would vote for Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., who won New Hampshire's Democratic primary in 2016 and formally entered the 2020 race Tuesday, the poll found.

Likely Granite State Democratic voters were more divided on Sens. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., with a respective 14 percent and 9 percent saying they would support them if the state's primary occurred today.

Another 14 percent, meanwhile, said they were undecided about what Democrat they would support in next year's primary.

Tatishe Nteta, director of the UMass Poll and a political science associate professor, said the findings indicate, despite the Democratic Party's diverse roster of candidates vying for 2020 nomination, New Hampshire voters "seem to be more comfortable handing the reins to a seasoned veteran."

"While early, our results suggest that this race is Joe Biden's for the taking, the question is whether he wants it or not," said Tatishe Nteta, director of the UMass Poll and a political science associate professor,  Masslive.com reported, adding New Hampshire voters "seem to be more comfortable handing the reins to a seasoned veteran."

The UMass poll also found Biden leading other Democrats in most demographic groups, including among moderates, older voters, and women.

Nearly 40 percent of likely New Hampshire Democratic voters feel Biden represents the party's best shot at defeating President Donald Trump; 12 percent said that would be Sanders; 8 percent Harris would be the winning ticket; and 6 percent said Warren was better poised.

The poll's margin of error is plus or minus 4.8 percentage points.

Source: NewsMax Politics

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Police: Texas man offered $200 to beat transgender woman

Investigators in Dallas say a man was offered $200 to beat a transgender woman in an attack that was recorded as a crowd gathered to holler and watch.

A police affidavit released Monday says the woman accidentally backed into a vehicle before the driver of that vehicle pointed a gun at her and refused to let her leave unless she paid for the damage.

Police say that as a crowd gathered, someone offered $200 to 29-year-old Edward Thomas to beat the woman, who suffered a concussion, fractured wrist and other injuries.

Thomas was being held Tuesday at the Dallas County jail on a charge of aggravated assault causing serious bodily injury. Jail records don't indicate whether he has an attorney.

Police say a second person stomped on the woman's head in Friday's attack but hasn't yet been charged.

Source: Fox News National

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Doping: WADA appeals over swimming federation decision on Sun Yang

FILE PHOTO: Swimming - 2018 Asian Games - Men's 1500m Freestyle Final
FILE PHOTO: Swimming - 2018 Asian Games - Men's 1500m Freestyle Final - GBK Aquatic Center, Jakarta, Indonesia - August 24, 2018 China's Yang Sun celebrates winning the Men's 1500m Freestyle REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha/File Photo

March 13, 2019

LAUSANNE, Switzerland (Reuters) – The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has appealed to sport’s highest tribunal over a swimming federation decision involving China’s world and Olympic swimming champion Sun Yang.

WADA’s director general Olivier Niggli confirmed at a news conference on Wednesday that the agency had filed an appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

“There was a decision taken by the swimming federation (FINA) and all I can confirm is that we’ve appealed that decision to CAS,” he said.

Britain’s Sunday Times newspaper reported in January on an alleged dispute between doping testers and the swimmer last year which the newspaper said had resulted in damage to a blood sample.

China’s swimming association (CSA) rejected the allegations, saying an investigation by FINA had found the swimmer committed no anti-doping rule violation.

The CSA said Sun had rejected an out-of-competition doping test at his home in China on Sept. 4 last year over what the athlete said was the testing officials’ lack of proof of identification.

Sun, a triple Olympic gold medalist and world record holder, was banned in 2014 for three months after testing positive for the banned stimulant trimetazidine during the Chinese national championships.

His lawyer Zhang Qihuai has threatened the Sunday Times with legal action, saying in a statement to the Chinese news agency Xinhua that the newspaper reported with “a malign intention” which “severely damaged Sun Yang’s reputation and violated his privacy.”

(Writing by Brian Homewood; Editing by Hugh Lawson)

Source: OANN

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Betsy DeVos to visit struggling South Carolina schools

U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos is visiting a South Carolina area known as the "Corridor of Shame" due to its underperforming schools, making a trip to an area that's been held out as an example of the need to make reforms to the state's schools.

DeVos plans to travel on Thursday to Florence County, one of several dozen districts along Interstate 95 once bestowed the nickname "Corridor of Shame" because of their substandard schools.

Along with U.S. Deputy Secretary of Education Mitchell Zais — who headed up South Carolina's schools from 2011 to 2015 — Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette and state Superintendent of Education Molly Spearman, DeVos will visit Timmonsville Educational Center, as well as the Southeastern Institute of Manufacturing & Technology, which focuses on matching up workforce training programs with local industry needs.

They'll also be joined by U.S. Rep. Tom Rice, whose office told The Associated Press on Wednesday he's discussed the importance of technical schools with DeVos in the past and has been working to get her to the district to get a firsthand look at improvements.

The visit comes amid ongoing debate on how to improve South Carolina's education system, with legislative leaders and the governor saying they're placing a priority on the issue this session. Gov. Henry McMaster, who has asked officials for a study of the decades-old formula that determines how districts are funded, pledged in his State of the State address last month that "the words 'Corridor of Shame' will be a distant memory."

The area was part of a decades-old lawsuit over education funding. In 2014, the state Supreme Court ruled that rural schools had violated the state Constitution by failing to provide each student with quality education. Last year, the high court dismissed the suit, voting 3-2 to close a legal case that examined whether the Legislature provides enough money and support for poor and rural schools, ruling that officials had resolved the overarching dispute.

In a 1999 ruling, justices coined the phrase "minimally adequate education," immediately bothering many people who thought South Carolina should aspire to being more than adequate at something as important as public education.

The legal case led to the 2005 "Corridor of Shame" documentary, which depicted decrepit conditions. Politicians and public officials have made pilgrimages to the area, including then-Sen. Barack Obama, who in 2007 toured a school, a portion of which was still in use and dated to the late 19th century.

Upon taking office in 2017, McMaster launched a tour of some of the schools seen in the film to push for his ideas on education reform.

___

Meg Kinnard can be reached at http://twitter.com/MegKinnardAP

Source: Fox News National

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Slovakia’s departing president plans to form a new political party

Slovakia's President Andrej Kiska speaks at the party headquarters of Slovakia's presidential candidate Zuzana Caputova in Bratislava
Slovakia's President Andrej Kiska speaks at the party headquarters of Slovakia's presidential candidate Zuzana Caputova in Bratislava, Slovakia, March 30, 2019. REUTERS/Radovan Stoklasa

April 3, 2019

BRATISLAVA (Reuters) – Slovakia’s outgoing president said on Wednesday he would form a new political party when his term expires in June, aiming to unite the country’s liberal, pro-European Union camps.

Andrej Kiska had not run for re-election but endorsed the eventual winner, Zuzana Caputova. A civic campaigner and anti-graft lawyer, her landslide victory last weekend encouraged the pro-EU liberals Kiska hopes to lead.

“Slovakia wants change. We won this election, now we have to win the general election,” Kiska said in a video posted on his official Facebook page. “I will start a political party, and I want to unite all decent and willing people and change our country for the better.”

The Slovakian presidency is largely ceremonial, but Kiska made it an influential office. He sided with protesters who mounted massive demonstrations after the killing last year of Jan Kuciak, a reporter covering corruption, and his fiancee, Martina Kusnirova.

The protests led to the resignation of Robert Fico as prime minister. Fico’s ruling party, Smer, saw its support plunge after Kuciak’s and Kusnirova’s murders.

Political analysts said it was not clear whether Kiska, the country’s most trusted politician, with an approval rating of 57 percent, can unify the disparate opposition or will further fragment the centrist pro-EU, anti-graft camp.

An AKO agency poll of 1,000 people last month showed 9 percent of voters would certainly and 31 percent would probably vote for his party if he set one up.

Its natural allies, Caputova’s Progressive Slovakia, which runs on a joint slate with Spolu (Together) party, saw their joint support double since February to 14.4 percent. Caputova will quit her party in the coming days in a nod to a tradition that the president is non-partisan.

The leftist but socially conservative Smer saw its support fall under 20 percent for the first time in more than a decade. Support for anti-European, far-right People’s Party-Our Slovakia rose to 11.5 percent in April from 9.5 percent in February.

(Reporting By Tatiana Jancarikova)

Source: OANN

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NFL notebook: Rosen calls life in limbo ‘annoying’

FILE PHOTO: NFL: Jacksonville Jaguars at Tennessee Titans
FILE PHOTO: Dec 6, 2018; Nashville, TN, Jacksonville Jaguars executive vice president of football operations Tom Coughlin looks on before a game aTennessee Titans at Nissan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

April 19, 2019

Arizona Cardinals quarterback Josh Rosen spoke publicly for the first time Thursday about the limbo he finds himself in with the team that drafted him last year, telling SI TV that it’s “annoying” but that he “definitely understands the situation.”

The Cardinals hold the No. 1 pick in next week’s NFL draft and speculation is rampant that the team, with new coach Kliff Kingsbury at the helm, will select former Oklahoma quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Kyler Murray.

“I definitely understand the situation,” Rosen told SI TV. “I mean, it’s annoying but, like, it is what it is. Football’s a business, and I definitely respect the higher-ups and their decisions. … Whatever decisions are made, it’s my duty to prove them right if they keep me, and prove them wrong if they ship me off.”

The Cardinals went 3-13 last year under former coach Steve Wilks. Rosen started 13 games and passed for 2,278 yards, throwing for 11 touchdowns against 14 interceptions in his rookie season. Rosen was conspicuous in his omission from the Cardinals’ hype video — save for a brief shot of him 56 seconds in — released earlier Thursday along with a 2019 promotional calendar.

–The Carolina Panthers restructured the contract of star linebacker Luke Kuechly to free up more than $7 million in cap space, ESPN reported.

The Panthers converted $9.05 million of Kuechly’s 2019 salary into a bonus, a move that gives the cap-strapped club an additional $7.24 million to play with one week ahead of the draft, according to the report. The Panthers had just $1.34 million in cap space prior to the restructure.

It’s the second consecutive year the Panthers have given Kuechly upfront money. The 28-year-old linebacker is coming off his fifth first-team All-Pro bid. Kuechly posted 130 tackles — including a career-high 20 for loss — last year to go with two sacks and an interception in 16 games.

–Speaking during the Jacksonville Jaguars’ annual state of the franchise address, team executive vice president of football operations Tom Coughlin spoke about team attendance at this week’s organized team activities and criticized those not in attendance.

“We’re very close to 100 percent attendance, and quite frankly, our players should be here building the concept of team, working hard side by side, constructing our bond of togetherness, formulating our collective priorities and goals,” Coughlin said, via ESPN.

The players not in attendance are All-Pro cornerback Jalen Ramsey — who also missed last offseason’s program to train at his father’s facility in Nashville, Tenn. — and starting linebacker Telvin Smith. Following Coughlin’s comments, the NFLPA tweeted a statement from president Eric Winston reiterating that such activities are voluntary and that coaches and executives are prohibited “from threatening players to participate in voluntary workouts.”

–Washington Redskins defensive end Matt Ioannidis agreed to a three-year extension worth $21.75 million, NFL Network reported.

Ioannidis was drafted 152nd overall in 2016 out of Temple and was entering the final year of his rookie contract. In 38 career games, Ioannidis has 19 starts and 12.0 sacks, including 7.5 last season.

–The Houston Texans expect wide receiver Will Fuller to be on the field for their season-opening Monday night game against the Saints at New Orleans, team general manager Brian Gaine told the team’s website.

Fuller emerged as a dangerous deep threat in his third season in 2018, catching 32 passes for 503 yards and four touchdowns through seven games but suffered a torn ACL in Week 8 against Miami.

–Field Level Media

Source: OANN

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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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