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Freshman Rep. Rashida Tlaib introduces resolution urging Trump impeachment

Freshman Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib unveiled a resolution Wednesday pushing for the potential impeachment of President Trump -- pressing ahead despite the findings of the Robert Mueller probe.

Rep. Tlaib, D-Mich., submitted the resolution which calls on the House Judiciary Committee to probe whether or not the president committed any offenses that rise to the level of impeachment.

The resolution’s text states it is, “Inquiring whether the House of Representatives should impeach Donald John Trump, President of the United States of America.”

The controversial freshman’s measure included the support of just one other Democrat, Texas Rep. Al Green.

TLAIB CONTINUES CALL FOR TRUMP'S IMPEACHMENT, SAYS HE'S 'MOST DANGEROUS THREAT' TO DEMOCRACY

Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., speaks at a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 17, 2019. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., speaks at a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 17, 2019. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

In recent days, some Democrats have attempted to distance themselves from impeachment efforts in the wake of Special Counsel Mueller’s report stating he did not find evidence of collusion between members of the Trump campaign, or anyone associated with the campaign, and the Russians during the 2016 presidential election, according to a summary released by Attorney General William Barr.

Speaking on Fox News’ “Outnumbered Overtime” on Wednesday, House Majority Whip James Clyburn, D-S.C, said his party is focusing on different issues.

“We are moving on,” he said, before mentioning the Affordable Care Act, rural broadband deployment and infrastructure.

Clyburn added: “We want to see the full report, give us the full report, let us make up our own minds. We do have brains on our side of the aisle.”

FLASHBACK: RASHIDA TLAIB CALLS TRUMP AN EXPLETIVE DURING PITCH TO IMPEACH

It comes after Tlaib, who caused an uproar within hours of being sworn into Congress with a profanity-laced call to charge the president with misconduct in office, reportedly circulated a letter Monday in which she urged others to support the effort to investigate Trump’s “impeachable actions” following his inauguration in 2017.

“The actions of President Trump before he was officially sworn in as President of United States is [sic] currently being investigated by the Southern District of New York and much of it is part of the completed report by independent investigator, Robert Mueller,” she wrote in a letter, according to the Washington Free Beacon.

“However, the most dangerous threat to our democracy is President Trump's actions since taking the oath of office,” she continued.

TRUMP TURNS UP HEAT ON MEDIA AFTER MUELLER REPORT, RENEWS 'ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE' LABEL

She added: “I urge your support in recommending that the House Committee on Judiciary begin hearings, take depositions and issue subpoenas to answer this question that is fundamental to the rule of law and the preservation of our democracy.”

Multiple Democrats, such as Reps. Eric Swalwell and Adam Schiff, both of California, have vowed to continue investigating the White House even as the Mueller report cleared the president of collusion with Russia -- though they don’t portray their probes as a way to impeach the president.

But House Speaker Nancy Pelosi shot down Democrats calling for impeachment in an interview earlier this month, warning the process just isn’t worth pursuing.

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“I’m not for impeachment,” Pelosi told the Washington Post Magazine. “Impeachment is so divisive to the country that unless there’s something so compelling and overwhelming and bipartisan, I don’t think we should go down that path, because it divides the country.”

She added: “And he’s just not worth it.”

House Democratic Caucus Chairman Hakeem Jeffries also dismissed Tlaib’s latest efforts, telling reporters on Monday that “We didn’t run on impeachment. We’re not focused on impeachment.”

Fox News’ Lukas Mikelionis contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News Politics

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Maduro's Useful Idiots

Much of the left in Europe and the US continues to subscribe to a Cold War worldview, in which virtually any domestic revolution stands in direct opposition to the ultimate enemy: Western imperialism. When it comes to Venezuela, that stance effectively advances the interests of multiple dictatorships.

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Cyprus: Ground not yet ready for peace talks resumption

Cyprus' president says conditions aren't yet ready for a resumption of formal talks to reunify the ethnically divided island nation because both sides remain apart on key issues regarding power sharing and security arrangements. Nicos Anastasiades, a Greek Cypriot, says efforts to restart negotiations are going through a "difficult phase," but that he and Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci have pledged to work to get negotiations back on track.

The United Nations hosted an informal meeting Tuesday between the two men in hopes they could clear the air on certain issues that would allow talks to resume.

They agreed on several measures to boost confidence, including an arrangement enabling people living in the breakaway north and the internationally recognized south to use their mobile telephones on either side.

Source: Fox News World

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Cesar Sayoc: August sentencing set for Florida pipe bomb suspect

A Florida man who pleaded guilty to sending pipe bombs to prominent critics of President Donald Trump will be sentenced in August rather than September, a judge said Monday.

U.S. District Judge Jed S. Rakoff set the Aug. 5 date to determine the penalty for Cesar Sayoc after his lawyer, Sarah Jane Baumgartel, said Sayoc was anxious about the sentencing.

Sayoc, 57, could face life in prison for spreading terror in the days leading up to the midterm election last year. One charge carries a mandatory 10-year prison sentence.

His March guilty plea to explosives charges was a deal with prosecutors that eliminated a charge that would have carried a mandatory life prison sentence. Sentencing was originally set for Sept. 12.

He wrote letters to the judge after the plea insisting that he never meant to say he knew the 16 rudimentary pipe bombs could injure someone when he mailed them to addresses in New York, New Jersey, Delaware, California, Washington, D.C., and Atlanta, Georgia.

Cesar Sayoc, left, sits with his lawyers in Manhattan federal court Monday.

Cesar Sayoc, left, sits with his lawyers in Manhattan federal court Monday. ( JANE ROSENBERG)

"The intention was to only intimidate and scare," he wrote in one letter, a sentiment he repeated Monday when questioned by Rakoff.

He also admitted that he knew the devices he described as "sparkler fireworks" could injure someone if they caught fire or detonated.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason Richman said prosecutors would present the judge with an FBI report longer than 100 pages to show the devices could have exploded if they were properly assembled.

Baumgartel responded by saying the defense would show they were not properly constructed.

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Sayoc has been held without bail since his late-October arrest outside a South Florida auto parts store. He had been living in a van plastered with Trump stickers and images of Trump opponents with crosshairs over their faces.

Authorities say he targeted numerous Democrats, including former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, former President Barack Obama, former Vice President Joe Biden, several members of Congress and actor Robert De Niro. He also sent explosives to CNN.

None exploded.

Source: Fox News National

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The Latest: Hong Kong protest organizers sentenced

The Latest on the sentencing of Hong Kong protest organizers (all times local):

11:40 a.m.

A court in Hong Kong handed down prison sentences of up to 16 months to eight leaders of massive 2014 pro-democracy protests after they were convicted last month of public nuisance offenses.

One other defendant, Tanya Chan, had her sentencing Wednesday postponed because of the need to undergo surgery.

The sentences are seen as an effort by the government of the semi-autonomous Chinese territory to draw a line under the protests. The charges carry potential sentences of up to seven years.

Three were given 16 months, one of them suspended for two years, two were given eight month sentences and two given suspended eight month sentences while another was ordered to perform 200 hours of community service.

It was not immediately clear if they planned to appeal.

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10 a.m.

A court in Hong Kong is preparing to sentence nine leaders of massive 2014 pro-democracy protests convicted last month of public nuisance offenses.

The sentences to be handed down Wednesday are seen as an effort by the government of the semi-autonomous Chinese territory to draw a line under the protests.

The nine were leaders of the "Occupy Central" campaign, which was organized as a nonviolent sit-in that became known as the "Umbrella Movement" after a symbol of defiance against police adopted by the street protests.

They could face up to seven years in prison.

Hong Kong, a former British colony, was handed over to Chinese rule in 1997 under an agreement in which China promised the city could retain its own laws, economic system and civil rights for 50 years.

Source: Fox News World

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Russia’s Rusal lands first U.S. investment since sanctions lifted

FILE PHOTO: Aluminium ingots are seen stored at the foundry shop of the Rusal Krasnoyarsk aluminium smelter in Krasnoyarsk
FILE PHOTO: Aluminium ingots at the foundry shop of the Rusal Krasnoyarsk aluminium smelter, Russia October 3, 2018. REUTERS/Ilya Naymushin/File Photo

April 15, 2019

By Polina Devitt

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Rusal is making its first investment in the United States since Washington lifted sanctions against the Russian aluminum giant, teaming up with U.S. manufacturer Braidy Industries to build a mill in Kentucky.

Rusal, the world’s largest aluminum producer outside China, announced the deal in one of the main markets for the sector less then three months after it was removed from a blacklist. It had already resumed supplies to the U.S. market.

The U.S. imposed sanctions on Rusal and its co-owner Oleg Deripaska in April 2018. Sanctions against Rusal and its parent En+, were lifted in January as Deripaska reduced his stake after months of talks and several extensions of the deadline for sanctions to take full effect..

Rusal and aluminum alloys manufacturer Braidy will create a joint project to produce flat-rolled aluminum products for the U.S. automotive industry, the Russian company said on Monday.

“The output from the mill will aid toward rebalancing the anticipated deficit of the auto body sheet in the U.S. market,” Rusal said in a statement.

The Atlas mill will be the first greenfield aluminum mill in the United States for 37 years, Braidy and En+ said.

“In 2021, Braidy Atlas will make the largest order for primary aluminum rolling slab worldwide,” Braidy Chief Executive Craig Bouchard said.

The binding documentation for the mill in Ashland, Kentucky, which will be 40 percent owned by Rusal and 60 percent by Braidy is expected to be signed by July, Rusal said.

It will have an annual capacity of 500,000 tonnes of hot-rolled band and 300,000 tonnes of finished cold-rolled products.

Rusal plans to supply aluminum slab alloys and primary metal for the new mill from its Taishet aluminum smelter that is currently under construction in Siberia. Rusal previously planned to launch the Taishet smelter in late 2020.

The Russian company intends to invest $200 million in this mill and supply about 2 million tonnes of low-carbon aluminum over 10 years worth about $500 million per year.

Rusal produced 3.8 million tonnes of aluminum in 2018. It historically has been the number two non-domestic supplier of prime aluminum in the United States, Braidy said.

(Reporting by Polina Devitt, Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky, Sherry Jacob-Phillips and Alexander Smith)

Source: OANN

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EU parliament chides Romania for charges against former anti-graft chief

European Union leaders summit in Brussels
European Parliament President Antonio Tajani arrives for a European Union leaders summit in Brussels, Belgium March 21, 2019. REUTERS/Eva Plevier/Pool

April 3, 2019

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – European Parliament head, Antonio Tajani, expressed concern on Wednesday over Romania pressing charges against the country’s former anti-corruption chief who is the chamber’s preferred candidate for the new role of EU chief prosecutor.

“I wish to express all the concern of the European Parliament for the situation that has occurred,” Tajani told a plenary session of the European Parliament after Bucharest filed charges against Laura Codruta Kovesi.

“Ms. Kovesi remains our candidate and continues to enjoy our respect and support,” he said, adding that he would write to the government in Bucharest on the matter.

The EU’s executive has also intervened on behalf of Kovesi and on Wednesday issued a stark warning to Romania, which the bloc fears is backtracking on anti-corruption reforms.

(Reporting by Gabriela Baczynska and Clare Roth)

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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A former ICE special agent told Fox News that he hopes the case of the Massachusetts judge accused of helping an illegal immigrant flee federal authorities will “send a message to other activist judges that immigration laws aren’t optional.”

Jim Hayes made the comments Friday on ‘Fox & Friends’ a day after Newton District Court Judge Shelley M. Richmond Joseph and court officer Wesley MacGregor were indicted by a federal grand jury for obstruction of justice and three other counts. The pair allegedly helped Jose Medina-Perez get out of the Massachusetts courthouse in 2018 through a back door in order to elude the ICE agent who sought him.

“I think that the judge certainly faces the criminal charges that are pending. I think certainly that bar card is up for grabs at this point, depending on the outcome of that case,” Hayes told ‘Fox & Friends’.

“I think that, hopefully, these charges will send a message to other activist judges that immigration laws aren’t optional,” he added.

District Court Judge Shelley M. Richmond Joseph departs federal court on Thursday in Boston after facing obstruction of justice charges for allegedly helping a man in the country illegally evade immigration officials as he left her Newton, Mass., courthouse after a hearing in 2018. (AP)

District Court Judge Shelley M. Richmond Joseph departs federal court on Thursday in Boston after facing obstruction of justice charges for allegedly helping a man in the country illegally evade immigration officials as he left her Newton, Mass., courthouse after a hearing in 2018. (AP)

MASSACHUSETTS JUDGE WHO ALLEGEDLY HELPED ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT ESCAPE ICE IS INDICTED

Medina-Perez, a twice-deported illegal immigrant with a fugitive warrant for drunken driving in Pennsylvania, had been in Joseph’s courtroom in order to be arraigned on drug charges, the Boston Globe previously reported.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Joseph, who has been suspended without pay, and MacGregor appeared in court Thursday and pleaded not guilty to all counts. No date has been set for their next court appearance.

“People who serve in the criminal justice system have to have honesty and integrity in order for the system to work and for our system and our justice system to continue,” Hayes said.

Fox News’ Katherine Lam and Nicole Darrah contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News National

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Cyprus police on Friday widened their search for more victims of a suspected serial killer after the 35-year-old national guard captain told investigators he killed four more people that he previously admitted to on the small Mediterranean nation.

The count now has climbed to seven.

CYPRUS FEARS POSSIBLE SERIAL KILLER AFTER BODIES OF TWO WOMEN ARE DISCOVERED IN MINESHAFT

Authorities said they are focusing on a military firing range, a man-made lake and an abandoned mine about 20 miles west of the capital Nicosia.

Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades expressed “deep sorrow and concern” at the slayings and said he shared the public’s revulsion at “murders that appear to have selectively targeted foreign women who are in our country to work.”

“Such instincts are contrary to our culture’s traditions and values,” he said in a statement from China, where he was on an official visit. He urged calm so police can complete their investigation.

The scale of the alleged crimes by a Cypriot National Guard captain has horrified the small nation of over a million people, where multiple killings are rare. Five British law enforcement officials — including a coroner, a psychiatrist and investigators who specialize in multiple homicides — have been dispatched to help with the investigation.

On Thursday, the 35-year-old suspect, who can’t yet be named because he hasn’t been formally charged, told investigators that he had killed four more people than he had previously admitted to. Police said the suspect will appear in court Saturday for another custody hearing.

Cypriot investigators and police officers search a flooded mineshaft where two female bodies were found, outside of Mitsero village, near the capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Monday, April 22, 2019. Police on the east Mediterranean island nation, along with the help of the fire service, are conducting the search Monday in the wake of last week's discovery of the bodies in the abandoned mineshaft and the disappearance of the six-year-old daughter of one of the victims. 

Cypriot investigators and police officers search a flooded mineshaft where two female bodies were found, outside of Mitsero village, near the capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Monday, April 22, 2019. Police on the east Mediterranean island nation, along with the help of the fire service, are conducting the search Monday in the wake of last week’s discovery of the bodies in the abandoned mineshaft and the disappearance of the six-year-old daughter of one of the victims.  (AP)

The victims — all foreigners— include Marry Rose Tiburcio, 38, from the Philippines, whose bound body was found April 14 in a flooded mineshaft. She and her six-year-old daughter had been missing since May of last year.

The girl remains missing and authorities believe she was also slain by the suspect. Divers have entered the reservoir to search for her but have not found her body yet.

CYPRUS: GROUND NOT YET READY FOR PEACE TALKS RESUMPTION 

Authorities tracked down the officer last week by scouring Tiburcio’s online messages.

Six days later, police discovered another body April 20 in the same mineshaft, identified by Cypriot media as 28-year-old Arian Palanas Lozano, also from the Philippines.

A third alleged victim, also of Filipino descent, is 31-year-old Maricar Valtez Arquiola, who had been missing since December 2017. The suspect initially denied killing Arquiola but reversed himself after a court hearing Thursday, a police official said.

The suspect on Thursday also pointed investigators to a military firing range, where they discovered another unidentified body, which according to the suspect belongs to a woman of either Nepalese or Indian descent.

SERIAL KILLER WHO MAY HAVE COMMITTED 90 MURDERS IS LINKED TO YET ANOTHER KILLING 

Cypriot police are also looking for a Romanian mother and daughter. Cypriot media identified them as Livia Florentina Bunea, 36, and eight-year-old Elena Natalia Bunea, who are believed to have been missing since September 2016.

The man-made lake remains off-limits to a manned search because of high levels of toxic heavy metals from the copper pyrite mine, Fire Service Chief Marcos Trangolas said, adding that authorities will use other means to scour the lake.

Chief of Cypriot police Zacharias Chrysostomou, center, walks with Cypriot investigators and police officers at a flooded mineshaft where two female bodies were found, outside of Mitsero village, near the capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Monday, April 22, 2019.

Chief of Cypriot police Zacharias Chrysostomou, center, walks with Cypriot investigators and police officers at a flooded mineshaft where two female bodies were found, outside of Mitsero village, near the capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Monday, April 22, 2019. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)

Cyprus police have faced criticism from immigrant activists who said they didn’t act fast enough to investigate the whereabouts of some of the victims, many of them domestic workers. The island nation has 80 unsolved missing persons cases, going back to 1990.

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Police chief Zacharias Chrysostomou said a three-member panel has been assigned to probe whether police followed all the correct protocol in recent missing persons cases.

According to the state-run Cyprus News Agency, an investigator had told the court at an earlier hearing that the suspect admitted to killing one woman he met online after having sex with her.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

Source: Fox News World

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Venezuelan opposition lawmaker Gilber Caro is seen delivering a speech at a forum on human rights in Caracas
Venezuelan opposition lawmaker Gilber Caro is seen delivering a speech at a forum on human rights in Caracas, Venezuela June 12, 2018 in this still image taken from a video. REUTERS TV/ via REUTERS

April 26, 2019

CARACAS (Reuters) – Venezuela’s opposition-run National Assembly said on Friday that opposition lawmaker Gilber Caro was detained, which it described in a Twitter post as a violation of diplomatic immunity.

Caro had previously spend a year and a half in jail, before being freed in June 2018. The arrest comes as Juan Guaido, the National Assembly’s leader, mounts a challenge to President Nicolas Maduro, arguing his 2018 re-election was illegitimate. Guaido in January invoked the country’s constitution to assume an interim presidency.

(Reporting by Caracas newsroom; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

Source: OANN

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FILE PHOTO: Customers shop in a Sainsbury's store in Redhill
FILE PHOTO: Customers shop in a Sainsbury’s store in Redhill, Britain, March 27, 2018. REUTERS/Peter Nicholls/File Photo

April 26, 2019

By James Davey

LONDON (Reuters) – With Sainsbury’s dream of creating Britain’s biggest supermarket group in tatters, its chastened CEO Mike Coupe needs to reassure investors he has the plan to arrest a sales decline when he presents annual results next week.

Britain’s competition regulator blocked Sainsbury’s 7.3 billion pound ($9.4 billion) takeover of Walmart’s Asda on Thursday, saying the deal would increase prices. Sainsbury’s shares fell 5 percent and are down 22 percent over the last three months.

For Sainsbury’s fourth quarter to March 9 analysts are on average forecasting a 1.6 percent fall in like-for-like sales, which would follow 1.1 percent decline over the Christmas period.

Monthly industry data from researcher Kantar has also shown Sainsbury’s as the weakest performer of the big four grocers this year and this month it lost its status as Britain’s No. 2 supermarket group by market share to Asda.

While Sainsbury’s has struggled, market leader Tesco has gained momentum, this month reporting a 34 percent jump in full year profit.

Prohibition of the deal was a major blow to Coupe, its architect and Sainsbury’s boss since 2014.

Martin Scicluna became Sainsbury’s chairman last month and when bedded-in may decide that if the group needs a major shake-up it is best carried out by a new leader.

Much will depend on the attitude of 22 percent shareholder the Qatar Investment Authority, which has so far declined to comment, as well as Coupe’s own appetite to continue after 15 years at the group.

THE RIGHT STRATEGY?

Coupe said on Thursday he was confident Sainsbury’s was pursuing the right strategy.

That was a clear indication that Wednesday’s results statement will not include radical changes to the group’s plans, such as a big margin reset — sacrificing profit to drive sales.

However, sources connected to Sainsbury’s said Coupe would likely acknowledge that more needs to be done on prices, so the supermarket business can better compete with its big four rivals – Tesco, Asda and No. 4 Morrisons – as well as German-owned discounters Aldi and Lidl.

Coupe’s strategy is based on differentiating Sainsbury’s food offer, growing its general merchandise, clothing business and bank, while investing in convenience and online channels.

Some analysts believe major change is needed.

HSBC analyst David McCarthy reckons Sainsbury’s needs a margin reset, should allocate more space for core lines and needs to drive better store standards. He said Sainsbury’s might consider closing down space in some of its larger stores and reducing its non-food offer.

For the full 2018-19 year analysts are on average forecasting a pretax profit of 626 million pounds, up from 589 million pounds in 2017-18 – a second straight year of profit growth. A full year dividend of 10.5 pence per share is forecast versus 10.2 pence last time.

Bank and lawyer fees related to the proposed combination with Asda were 17 million pounds in the first half and have reportedly jumped to around 50 million pounds.

(Reporting by James Davey; Editing by Keith Weir)

Source: OANN

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