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15 arrested in Belarus protesting at Soviet execution site

Police in Belarus have arrested 15 demonstrators who were trying to prevent the removal of wooden crosses from a wooded area near the capital of Minsk where tens of thousands of people were executed under Soviet dictator Josef Stalin.

The Kurapaty woods have strong significance for the beleaguered opponents of President Alexander Lukashenko, who has retained many elements of the Soviet Union during his quarter-century in power.

Lukashenko last month complained about the crosses that opposition supporters had set up at Kurapaty, where Soviet secret police carried out mass executions. The number of estimated victims ranges from 30,000 all the way up to 200,000.

On Thursday, police closed off the perimeter of Kurapaty and forest workers began removing the crosses. Police say the protesters tried to interfere with the work.

Source: Fox News World

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Trump backs Brexit by promising ‘large scale trade deal’ with UK, as lawmakers mull delay

President Trump on Thursday said his administration wants to make a ‘large scale trade deal’ with the U.K. and called the potential for such a deal "unlimited" -- a boost to British Prime Minister Theresa May’s besieged government on the same day as lawmakers across the pond are due to vote on delaying Britain’s departure from the bloc.

“My Administration looks forward to negotiating a large scale Trade Deal with the United Kingdom,” he tweeted. “The potential is unlimited!”

UK LAWMAKERS REJECT 'NO DEAL' BREXIT, TAKE STEP CLOSER TO DELAYING DEPARTURE

Trump’s pledge is likely to be welcomed by pro-Brexit lawmakers in the U.K., who have signaled the value of Britain being able to negotiate its own trade deals once it leaves the E.U. Under E.U. terms, individual countries are not allowed to negotiate their own deals.

Trump has been a vocal supporter of Britain’s 2016 decision to leave the E.U., claiming that the outcome of that vote foreshadowed his election victory a few months later. He has allied himself with pro-Brexit figures in the U.K., and has repeatedly promised to make a trade deal with the U.S. ally. Last summer the US Trade Representative’s Office formed a trading “committee” with the U.K. to work out a trade agreement, as a way to get around the fact that the U.S. cannot formally negotiate with the U.K. until it leaves the E.U.

BRITISH GIRL, 6, WRITES LETTER TO EU CHIEF ASKING TO BE FRIENDS DESPITE BREXIT

Britons voted in 2016 to leave the E.U., and Britain is set to leave the bloc on March 29. But Parliament overwhelmingly voted down May’s withdrawal agreement this week for the second time, leaving Britain set to exit without a deal -- something that business leaders and pro-E.U. lawmakers have warned would be catastrophic for the country.

Pro-Brexit lawmakers have downplayed fears of chaos at ports and food and medicine shortages, noting that the U.K. will revert to World Trade Organization (WTO) terms, and have dismissed the warnings as part of a “Project Fear” by those seeking to delay and eventually cancel Brexit.

Lawmakers voted Wednesday on a non-binding motion to reject a “no deal” Brexit, meaning that Parliament will vote Thursday on a motion that would call for May’s government to seek an extension of Britain’s departure until June.

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It is not clear that E.U. leaders will agree to such an extension. French President Emmanuel Macron said last month that E.U. leaders would only agree to an extension “if it is justified by new choices by the British.” European Council President Donald Tusk said on Thursday that he would call for E.U. leaders to be open to a “long extension” but that was on the condition that Britain “rethink its Brexit strategy and build consensus around it.”

Fox News' Edward Lawrence contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News Politics

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Uncertainty shadows Pennsylvania’s nuclear power future

Four decades after Three Mile Island became shorthand for America’s worst commercial nuclear power accident, there is a push to keep it open, according to reports.

NPR reported that concerns about climate change and the need for zero-carbon power are some of the factors behind the push.

MISSOURI MAN WHO TOPPLED MORE THAN 100 HEADSTONES AT JEWISH CEMETERY GETS PROBATION

“We’re at a point where if nuclear retires immediately, we would probably replace it with natural gas generation because we haven’t sufficiently planned to replace it with something cleaner,” Mark Szybist, a senior attorney with Natural Resources Defense Council, said.

The nation’s aging and shrinking nuclear power fleet is being buffeted by a flood of natural gas plants entering competitive electricity markets, relatively flat post-recession electricity demand, and states putting more emphasis on renewable energy and efficiency.

The pursuit of state guarantees has spurred questions over why ratepayers should foot the cost to keep nuclear power plants open, and whether nuclear power provides an indispensable environmental benefit in the age of global warming.

The spotlight moved in 2017 to Pennsylvania, the nation’s No. 2 nuclear power state.

That’s when Three Mile Island’s owner, Chicago-based Exelon Corp., announced it will close the plant that was the site of a terrifying partial meltdown in 1979 unless Pennsylvania comes to its financial rescue. It set this Sept. 30 as the closing date.

Ohio-based FirstEnergy Corp. also said it will shut down its Beaver Valley nuclear power plant in western Pennsylvania — as well as two nuclear plants in Ohio — within three years unless Pennsylvania steps up.

So far, no rescue has been written into legislation.

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Republican state Rep. Thomas Mehaffie recently introduced a bill, NPR reported, to try to keep the Pennsylvania plants open.

“If we lose one or more of these plants we might as well forget about all the time and money we’ve invested in wind and solar,” Mehaffie said.

Exelon said Pennsylvania must enact legislation by June 1 if it is to keep operating Three Mile Island, since fuel must be ordered months in advance.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News National

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Key Quotes from Mueller’s Report

The U.S. Department of Justice on Thursday released a redacted version of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report on his nearly two-year investigation into whether President Donald Trump and his 2016 campaign colluded with Russia or attempted to obstruct probes.

The following are some key quotes from Mueller's 448-page report:

  • "When (former Attorney General Jeff) Sessions told the President that a Special Counsel had been appointed, the President slumped back in his chair and said, 'Oh my God. This is terrible. This is the end of my Presidency. I'm f-----d.'"
  • "The evidence we obtained about the President's actions and intent presents difficult issues that prevent us from conclusively determining that no criminal conduct occurred. Accordingly, while this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him."
  • "Although the investigation established that the Russian government perceived it would benefit from a Trump presidency and worked to secure that outcome, and that the Campaign expected it would benefit electorally from information stolen and released through Russian efforts, the investigation did not establish that members of the Trump campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities."
  • "The Russian contacts (with Trump's campaign) consisted of business connections, offers of assistance to the Campaign, invitations for candidate Trump and Putin to meet in person, invitations for Campaign officials and representatives of the Russian government to meet, and policy positions seeking improved U.S.-Russian relations."
  • "The evidence supports the inference that the President intended (former campaign Chairman Paul) Manafort to believe that he could receive a pardon, which would make cooperation with the government as a means of obtaining a lesser sentence unnecessary." 

Source: NewsMax Politics

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The release of the Mueller report is not the end of the Russia controversy – it’s a new chapter

Welcome to Fox News First. Not signed up yet? Click here.
 
Developing now, Friday, April 19, 2019

MUELLER REPORT'S RELEASE MAY NOT BE THE END OF RUSSIA HYSTERIA: The public release of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report on Thursday marked the dramatic final note of a lengthy and contentious investigation, but also sparked new calls for subpoenas, congressional testimony, resignations, and even impeachment proceedings -- all despite the probe's central finding that no evidence showed that President Trump's team "coordinated or conspired" with Russia ... The whirlwind moments kept coming, even hours after the report's release, as more and more revelations from the 448-page document trickled out. The White House, for its part, claimed total victory and vindication for the president who, according to the report, once fretted that the special counsel's appointment meant he was "f---ed" beyond the possibility of redemption and that his agenda would be derailed by partisan distractions.

But Democrats and media outlets that long advanced the idea that the Trump campaign had treasonously worked with Russia -- and anticipated that the Trump administration would collapse -- quickly pivoted to whether the president had, instead, interfered with the now-completed investigation. Within minutes of the report's publication, House Judiciary Committee Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., charged that the special counsel had provided "disturbing evidence that President Trump engaged in obstruction of justice" and, referencing the report's limited redactions, wondered: "Imagine what remains hidden from our view."

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Nadler immediately called on Mueller himself to testify, and top Republicans, including Trump personal attorney Rudy Giuliani and Attorney General William Barr, said they would have no objections to him doing so. He also announced he would subpoena the full, unredacted version of the Mueller report and any underlying grand jury evidence, setting up a likely legal confrontation with the Justice Department.

TRUMP, SUPPORTERS REPEAT CALL TO INVESTIGATE THE INVESTIGATORS: President Trump and his legal team declared victory after Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia report was released, with the president repeating his "no collusion" mantra and saying “this should never happen to another president again" ... “I’m having a good day, too, it’s called ‘no collusion, no obstruction,’” he said in remarks for the Wounded Warrior Project Soldier Ride, at the White House. “There never was by the way, and there never will be.” Trump also added, “This should never happen to another president again, this hoax, it should never happen to another president again." He also promised “to get to the bottom of these things,” hinting at calls for the origins of the two-year investigation to be reviewed.

NATIONAL ENQUIRER TO BE SOLD TO NEWSSTAND MOGUL: The National Enquirer tabloid is being sold to James Cohen, the owner and CEO of airport newsstand company Hudson News, its parent company announced Thursday ... The deal announced by American Media Inc. also includes two other supermarket tabloids, Globe and the National Examiner. Financial terms were not disclosed. The sale comes after the Enquirer was caught up in a federal investigation of illegal campaign contributions to Donald Trump's presidential campaign in 2016.

AMBASSADOR ACCUSES 'MAYOR PETE' OF PULLING A JUSSIE SMOLLETT ON PENCE: The U.S. ambassador to Germany, Richard Grenell, defended Vice President Mike Pence against accusations of homophobia alleged by Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg and compared the claims to a “hate hoax along the lines of Jussie Smollett" ... Grenell, who is openly gay, said Thursday on “The Story with Martha MacCallum.” Buttigieg, who is openly gay and was once cordial with Pence, has fueled criticism of the vice president, repeatedly calling him anti-gay in recent weeks as his campaign has gained momentum. Grenell, who called Pence a friend, accused the mayor of South Bend of drumming up accusations to boost fundraising and asked why he didn’t speak up while Pence was the governor of Indiana.

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION WEIGHS FED PICK OPTIONS: Trump administration officials are weighing options as the prospective nomination of Stephen Moore and Herman Cain to the Federal Reserve Board face continued opposition from Republican members of the Senate Banking Committee, Fox Business has learned ... Neither Cain nor Moore have been officially nominated by President Trump to serve on the Fed’s board, though the president has stated his preference for their nomination. Officials have been told by GOP senators on the committee that at least for now, there appears to be almost no support for Cain, a former GOP presidential candidate and pizza industry executive, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter.

The appointment of Moore, a former opinion columnist and fellow at the conservative Heritage Foundation, has some support, but probably not enough to ensure Senate confirmation, this person added. The continued resistance to both potential nominations among Republicans involves several issues that GOP officials believe are problematic, from Cain’s alleged sexual misconduct, to Moore’s unpaid child support and taxes.

THE SOUNDBITE

APOLOGY IOU'S, ANYONE? - "To those who branded the primetime hosts on this network as state news for daring to tell the truth, not just our truth, but the truth? You owe us an apology." – Laura Ingraham, on "The Ingraham Angle," reflecting on the release of the Mueller report. (Click the image above to watch the full video.)

TODAY'S MUST-READS
RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel: Mueller report scandal no one is talking about . . . the Obama administration.
George Conway calls Trump a cancer that needs to be removed in blistering op-ed.
New York Post: Kate Smith’s 'God Bless America' out at Yankee Stadium over racist songs.

MINDING YOUR BUSINESS
Trump administration: USMCA would lead to North American auto industry surge.
HBO jabs Trump for 'Game of Thrones' tweet on Mueller report.
California gas prices surge to five-year high.

STAY TUNED

On Fox News:

Fox & Friends, 6 a.m. ET: Fallout from the release of the Mueller report with the following special guests: Rudy Giuliani, President Trump's attorney; Newt Gingrich, former House speaker; Dan Bongino, Fox News contributor and former Secret Service agent; George Papadopoulos, former Trump campaign aide.

Hannity, 9 p.m. ET: Rudy Giuliani, President Trump's attorney; former U.S. Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., and Fox News contributor

On Fox Business:

Mornings with Maria, 6 a.m. ET: Special guests include: U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Mich.; U.S. Rep. Michael Burgess, R-Texas.

Making Money with Charles Payne, 2 p.m. ET: Herman Cain, prospective Trump nominee for the Federal Reserve Board.

On Fox News Radio:

The Fox News Rundown podcast: "Mueller Report Made Public" -  Fox News Radio White House correspondent Jon Decker and Fox News Radio Capitol Hill correspondent Jared Halpern break down the Mueller report. Plus, North Korea has tested its first missile since the failed nuclear disarmament summit in Hanoi. Gordon Chang, author of "The Coming Collapse of China," weighs in. Don't miss the good news with Fox News' Tonya J. Powers.
Plus, commentary by Judge Andrew Napolitano, Fox News senior judicial analyst.

Want the Fox News Rundown sent straight to your mobile device? Subscribe through Apple Podcasts, Google Play, and Stitcher.

The Brian Kilmeade Show, 9 a.m. ET: Fallout from the release of the Mueller report with the following guests: Jonathan Swan, political reporter for Axios; John Dowd, President Trump's former attorney; Chris Wallace, "Fox News Sunday" anchor; Geraldo Rivera, Fox News correspondent-at-large; Shannon Bream, "Fox News @ Night" host. Phil Knight, co-founder and current Chairman Emeritus of Nike, Inc., on Tiger Woods' Masters victory and Colin Kaepernick

The Todd Starnes Show, Noon ET: Todd gets more reaction to the Mueller report from U.S. Rep. Jody Hice, R-Ga. and Sara Carter., investigative reporter and Fox News contributor.
                                                                                                        
On Fox News Weekend:

Cavuto Live, Saturday, 10 a.m. ET: U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan, ranking member of the House Oversight Committee, on House Judiciary Committee Chair Jerry Nadler calling on Special Counsel Mueller to testify by May 23. Former Whitewater Independent Counsel Ken Starr on the findings of the Mueller report and the Attorney General William Barr's decision to allow President Trump’s lawyers to read the report. New reaction as a Democratic lawmaker calls for a hunger strike at the border to “shut down ICE.” And the victims of the Columbine shooting are honored as one survivor, Austin Eubanks, remembers that day, 20 years later.

Fox News Sunday, Sunday, 2 p.m., 7 p.m. ET: Rudy Giuliani, President Trump's attorney.

#TheFlashback
1995: A truck bomb destroys the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, killing 168 people
1993: The 51-day siege at the Branch Davidian compound near Waco, Texas, ends as fire destroys the structure after federal agents began smashing their way in; about 80 people, including two dozen children and sect leader David Koresh, are killed.
1775: The American Revolutionary War begins with the battles of Lexington and Concord.

Fox News First is compiled by Fox News' Bryan Robinson. Thank you for joining us! Have a good day and weekend! We'll see you in your inbox first thing Monday morning.

Source: Fox News National

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Indonesia to speed up release of Lion Air crash report: safety agency head

An Indonesian National Transportation Safety Commission (KNKT) official examines a turbine engine from the Lion Air flight JT610 at Tanjung Priok port in Jakarta
FILE PHOTO: An Indonesian National Transportation Safety Commission (KNKT) official examines a turbine engine from the Lion Air flight JT610 at Tanjung Priok port in Jakarta, Indonesia, November 4, 2018. REUTERS/Beawiharta

March 15, 2019

(Reuters) – Indonesia plans to speed up the release of the report into its investigation of the October crash of Lion Air Boeing 737 that killed all 189 people on board to “between July to August”, the head of the nation’s transport safety committee KNKT said on Friday.

The crash was the world’s first of Boeing Co’s 737 MAX jet. A second deadly incident occurred on Sunday with the crash of an Ethiopian Airlines jet that killed all 157 people on board.

KNKT head Soerjanto told Reuters his agency would speed up its investigation and release the report months earlier than its original timeline of the fall of 2019.

(Reporting by Cindy Silviana; Writing by Fanny Potkin; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)

Source: OANN

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Last WWII ‘Doolittle Raider’ dies at 103

Retired Air Force Lt. Col. Richard "Dick" Cole, the last surviving member of World War II’s Doolittle Raiders, died Tuesday in Texas at the age of 103.

The president of the Doolittle Tokyo Raiders Association told The Air Force Times that Cole died in San Antonio on Tuesday morning with his son and daughter by his side.

Cole, originally from Dayton, Ohio, was mission commander Jimmy Doolittle's co-pilot in the 1942 bombing attack less than five months after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. The bold raid on Japan is credited with providing the United States with a morale boost and helping turn the tide of the war in the Pacific.

"I think the main thing was that you had to go in with a positive attitude," Cole said in September of the against-the-odds mission. "I really didn't worry about it. It was our job, and we knew what to expect."

HISTORIC WWII RAID LIVES ON WITH DOOLITTLE SURVIVOR, NOW 103 

In 2015, the Raiders, including Cole, were honored with the Congressional Gold Medal for their "outstanding heroism, valor, skill and service to the United States."

Cole parachuted to safety, and he and other Raiders were helped by Chinese partisans. But seven crewmembers died – three were killed during the mission; three others were captured and executed, and one died in captivity.

PEARL HARBOR SAILORS FINALLY LAID TO REST 77 YEARS LATER THANKS TO DNA TESTING

In 2015, Cole’s book about his service called “Dick Cole’s War: Doolittle Raider, Hump Pilot, Air Commando (American Military Experience)” was published. Proceeds from the book go to a scholarship fund in Doolittle’s name for students in the aviation field, according to Fox 13.

Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan tweeted Tuesday: “Our Nation has lost a legend. Our thoughts are with the family of Lt. Col. Dick Cole, the last of the Doolittle Raiders, who passed away at age 103. He was a true trailblazer, and his selfless legacy of service lives on in our Airmen of today and tomorrow.”

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A memorial service is being scheduled at Joint Base San Antonio. Cole will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News National

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FILE PHOTO: An aerial photo looking north shows shipping containers at the Port of Seattle and the Elliott Bay waterfront in Seattle
FILE PHOTO: An aerial photo looking north shows shipping containers at the Port of Seattle and the Elliott Bay waterfront in Seattle, Washington, U.S. March 21, 2019. REUTERS/Lindsey Wasson/File Photo

April 26, 2019

NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. economic growth is running at a 1.1% pace in the second quarter as the gains in exports and inventories recorded in the first quarter are expected to reverse, Morgan Stanley economists said on Friday.

“Our preliminary expectations for growth in the second quarter sees large drags from net exports and inventories after their contributions in 1Q,” they wrote in a research note.

Gross domestic product increased at a 3.2% annualized rate in the first three months of the year, driven by a smaller trade deficit and the largest accumulation of unsold merchandise since 2015, the Commerce Department said earlier Friday.

(Reporting by Richard Leong)

Source: OANN

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FILE PHOTO: The Deutsche Bank headquarters are pictured in Frankfurt
FILE PHOTO: The Deutsche Bank headquarters are pictured in Frankfurt, Germany, April 25, 2019. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski/File Photo

April 26, 2019

By Tom Sims

FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Within hours of the collapse of merger talks with Commerzbank, Christian Sewing scrambled to convince investors and employees that Deutsche Bank can stand on its own two feet.

The Deutsche Bank chief executive told staff, many of whom opposed a merger because of significant job losses, that while he had not been “skeptical” about the Commerzbank talks, he was cautious about the chances of success from the start.

And another top Deutsche Bank executive said on Friday that it had been Commerzbank that initiated the talks, suggesting there was no desperation on their part for a deal.

Commerzbank denied that version of events, ending the apparent truce between the normally highly competitive cross-town Frankfurt rivals over the past six weeks.

German hopes of creating a national banking champion able to challenge global competitors were finally dashed on Thursday when Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank ended their talks due to the risks of doing a deal, restructuring costs and capital demands.

For Sewing, the failure to clinch a deal has left the 49-year-old chief executive of Germany’s largest bank, who took over just over a year ago, with his back to the wall.

Credit ratings agency Standard & Poor’s, which downgraded Deutsche Bank last year, said on Friday that Deutsche Bank “will remain under strain”, adding that it “seems to have acknowledged the need to adjust its strategy”.

Under Sewing, a new leadership has tried to revive Deutsche Bank’s fortunes, but it has faced money laundering allegations and failed stress tests, as well as ratings downgrades.

At the heart of the debate over its future is whether it should focus its business on Germany and draw a line under its costly global ambitions to take on Wall Street’s big guns.

“MARKET PLAY”

Without a deal, Deutsche Bank now finds itself back at the mercy of equity and debt markets, with UBS analysts warning that in a “stress scenario” it could again “be forced into a ‘debt-driven capital increase’ even with solid capital ratios”.

“Deutsche remains a levered market play vulnerable to external events,” the UBS analysts said in a note.

Sewing, along with many analysts, believes Deutsche Bank can go it alone in the short-term, but will be counting on a turnaround in market conditions to do so in the long-run given its dependence on volatile investment bank earnings.

“To reach our return objective, we also need to see a revenue recovery in our more market-sensitive business,” Sewing said on Friday after reporting results.

“These revenues are available to us in better market conditions given our leading positions in many of these businesses, but we need to capture them,” he added.

Revenue at Deutsche Bank’s bond trading division fell 19 percent in the first quarter, it said on Friday, underscoring weakness at its investment bank.

If those earnings do not improve, Berlin’s desire to keep its biggest bank out of foreign hands may start to wane.

“Germany’s globally active companies need competitive financial institutions that can support them around the world,” German finance minister Olaf Scholz said on Thursday.

(Writing by Alexander Smith; Editing by Keith Weir)

Source: OANN

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Panama's former president Ricardo Martinelli yells to the media while arriving to the Electoral Court in Panama City
Panama’s former president Ricardo Martinelli reacts to the media while arriving to the Electoral Court in Panama City, Panama April 26, 2019. REUTERS/Erick Marciscano

April 26, 2019

PANAMA CITY (Reuters) – Panama’s electoral tribunal has ruled that former President Ricardo Martinelli, who is awaiting trial on wiretapping charges, cannot take part in elections on May 5 in which he was running for mayor of Panama City and a seat in Congress, a spokesman for Martinelli said on Friday.

“The ruling of the electoral tribunal has disqualified him as candidate,” said the spokesman, Eduardo Camacho, calling the court’s ruling a “political decision.”

Officials at the tribunal did not immediately confirm the ruling, which also was reported in local media in Panama.

Martinelli, a supermarket tycoon who ran the Central American country from 2009 to 2014, was extradited to Panama last June from the United States and charged with spying on 150 people, including politicians, union leaders and journalists.

A judge had previously cleared Martinelli to run for mayor of the capital. His critics vowed to appeal that decision.

(Reporting by Elida Moreno and Stefanie Eschenbacher; Editing by Bill Trott)

Source: OANN

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FILE PHOTO: Amazon boxes are seen stacked for delivery in the Manhattan borough of New York City
FILE PHOTO: Amazon boxes are seen stacked for delivery in the Manhattan borough of New York City, January 29, 2016. REUTERS/Mike Segar/File Photo

April 26, 2019

(Reuters) – Shares of Walmart, Target and other U.S. retailers fell on Friday as Amazon.com Inc unveiled a one-day delivery plan for its Prime members in a move to further disrupt the fiercely competitive retail landscape.

The e-commerce giant’s announcement on Thursday could cause other brands, manufacturers, retailers, and logistics companies to have to invest more aggressively to compete with Amazon and its delivery, analysts said.

Retailers in recent years have poured billions into ecommerce and faster shipping options and are trying to close the gap with Amazon.

“This is about making it more expensive to catch up and affirms our world view that only the largest and smartest will survive,” Bernstein analyst Brandon Fletcher said.

The move is expected to heighten consumer expectations on e-commerce delivery just like Amazon did with its two-day shipping option for members of its loyalty club Prime, noted analysts.

“The faster you ship, the more people buy,” RBC Capital Markets analyst Mark Mahaney said.

The challenge for non-Amazon players was that very few of the existing logistics and parcel delivery players now have the ability to do nationwide one-day delivery, Morgan Stanley analyst Brian Nowak said.

“And even fewer can do it at the vast scale and reasonable cost that AMZN would need for Prime delivery,” Nowak said in a note.

Walmart Inc’s shares fell about 3 percent, while Target Corp dropped about 5 percent in morning trade.

Shares of Kohl’s Corp, Macy’s Inc and Nordstrom Inc fell about 1 percent. Grocer Kroger Co was nearly 3 percent lower, while consumer electronics retailer Best Buy Inc dropped 2.1 percent.

(Reporting by Soundarya J and Akanksha Rana in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)

Source: OANN

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

April 26, 2019

By April Joyner

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Source: OANN

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