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Big banks to report first quarter results with lowered expectations

FILE PHOTO: Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange shortly after the opening bell in New York
FILE PHOTO: Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange shortly after the opening bell in New York, U.S., April 2, 2019. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson/File Photo

April 5, 2019

By Stephen Culp

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Investors will focus on falling profits, a more dovish Federal Reserve and lower interest rates as major U.S. banks kick off what analysts expect to be the first quarter of contracting corporate earnings since 2016.

On Friday, April 12, JPMorgan Chase & Co and Wells Fargo & Co will post results to begin the earnings season in earnest. Citigroup Inc and Goldman Sachs Group Inc will report the following Monday, followed by Bank of America Corp and Morgan Stanley on Tuesday.

In the wake of the Federal Reserve’s cautious shift due to signs of softness in the U.S. economy and the subsequent drop in 10-year Treasury yields, S&P 500 banks are seen posting year-on-year first-quarter earnings growth of 2.3%, down from 8.2% forecast six months ago, according to Refinitiv data.

(For an interactive graphic on evolving bank earnings estimates: https://tmsnrt.rs/2HOVt1D)

“The Fed pivoted so abruptly, which gives one pause about what they’re saying about the economy,” said Chuck Carlson, chief executive officer at Horizon Investment Services in Hammond, Indiana. “Flat to falling interest rates are not good news for bank interest margins. It’s not surprising that analysts are taking down earnings estimates.”

The central bank’s change in tack put the brakes on what had been a pattern of quarterly rate hikes, amid signs of slowing economic growth.

Slowdown jitters have also hit 10-year Treasury yields. The benchmark bond’s yield hit a 15-month low in the first quarter, flattening the yield curve and narrowing the gap between the interest banks pay depositors and the interest they charge consumers, which is bad news for profits.

“That’s why the estimates are going down,” Carlson added. “(Analysts are) fearful of interest margins for banks and there’s an underlying concern about loan growth.”

In the first three months of the year, the S&P 500 bounced back from a sell-off in December, gaining 13.1%, its biggest quarterly increase since 2009. But financials underperformed the wider market, gaining 7.9% in the quarter as the new low-interest-rate normal that boosted other sectors was a headwind for banks.

Since October, analysts have drastically lowered their expectations for S&P 500 earnings in 2019, with first-quarter estimates dropping from 8.1% growth to a year-over-year decline of 2.2%. That would mark the first quarter of negative growth since the earnings “recession” that ended in 2016.

The partial federal government shutdown in January and an expected drop in trading revenues provided additional impetus for analysts to cut first-quarter bank earnings estimates.

In a KBW note dated April 3, lead analyst Brian Kleinhanzl sees median year-on-year revenues from both equities and fixed income, currencies and commodities (FICC) trading to have dropped by 15% in the quarter.

“Within financials, the industry that’s been hit hardest is capital markets,” said Tajinder Dhillon, senior research analyst at Refinitiv on London. “Those downward revisions have intensified over the last 90 days. Of the big 6 banks, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan have seen the biggest declines” in first-quarter earnings estimates.

But some analysts believe the effects on banks of a more accommodative Fed and the flattened yield curve are overstated.

Oppenheimer lead analyst Chris Kotowski wrote in a March 25 note “to be sure, rates and the yield curve have had an effect on bank earnings.” But he called the impact from the Fed’s decision “a minor one,” and wrote that aside from these impacts, “bank fundamentals are remarkably stable.”

Recent history shows that large U.S. financial institutions have beat analyst estimates at a higher rate than the broader market. In the eight most recent quarters, the six banks have beat earnings estimates 83.3% of the time on average, compared with the S&P 500’s 75.4% average beat rate. Additionally, bank revenues surprised to the upside 79.2% of the time, while S&P 500 company revenues came in ahead of analyst estimates 68.3% of the time, per Refinitiv data.

For a graphic on U.S. banks beat/miss track record, see – https://tmsnrt.rs/2Vmv2DP

In today’s late-cycle reality, however, it is not clear that banks can beat even lowered expectations. Either way they should set the tone for what analysts predict will be a rocky earnings period.

“Psychologically, these are bellwether companies that tend to drive sentiment,” Dhillon added, suggesting that their quarterly reports are proxy indicators of corporate earnings health. “Banks are up there.”

(Reporting by Stephen Culp; Editing by Alden Bentley and Dan Grebler)

Source: OANN

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Flags at half-mast after Utrecht shooting, police search for motive

Police officers are seen in front the building where the main suspect of the shooting has been arrested in Utrecht
Police officers are seen in front the building where the main suspect of the shooting has been arrested in Utrecht, Netherlands, March 18, 2019. REUTERS/Piroschka van de Wouw

March 19, 2019

By Toby Sterling

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – Flags flew at half mast on government buildings across the Netherlands on Tuesday, a day after a gunman opened fire on a tram on the outskirts of Utrecht, killing three people.

A suspect – 37-year-old Turkish-born Gokmen Tanis – was detained after a seven-hour manhunt on Monday, and by Dutch law must be brought before a judge by Thursday.

Authorities said they were still trying to establish the motive for the attack in the quiet residential neighborhood which also wounded five people.

Regional police commissioner Rob van Bree said on a late night talk show that there was no connection known yet between the suspect and the victims, while Prime Minister Mark Rutte said “terrorist” motives could still not be ruled out.

But in an evening press conference, Utrecht’s top prosecutor, Rutger Jeuken, said family issues could also be involved.

The suspect had previously been arrested, Jeuken told reporters, without giving further details.

There was no immediate comment from Tanis or any lawyer representing him.

Dutch newspaper Algemeen Dagblad identified one of the victims as a 19-year-old woman who worked in a cafe and another as a local football coach who was the father of two young children. Both have Dutch surnames.

The third victim has not been identified by police or press. Utrecht police did not answer telephone calls early on Tuesday but said in a Tweet they would issue a press statement “in the course of the morning.”

Utrecht, the Netherlands’ fourth largest city with a population of around 340,000, is known for its picturesque canals and large student population. Gun killings are rare there, as elsewhere in the Netherlands.

(Reporting by Toby Sterling; Editing by Andrew Heavens)

Source: OANN

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Conservative speaker who was assaulted by protester: ‘This was a warning shot to conservatives’

A conservative speaker who was assaulted by a protester Thursday while speaking about the differences between men and women says his attack was a “warning shot” by Leftists against conservatives and lambasted the university for allowing “political violence to fester on campus.”

“I woke up this morning expecting an apology for being assaulted during a lecture that I was invited to give at the University of Missouri. Instead, I was smeared baselessly as a bigot,” Michael Knowles said on “Tucker Carlson Tonight” Friday.

MICHAEL KNOWLES: CAN YOU BELIEVE WHAT THE PRESIDENT SAID ABOUT IMMIGRATION?

“They referred to my claim that men are not women as an extreme viewpoint and they tacitly are permitting political violence to fester on campus.”

The event, sponsored by the conservative Young America’s Foundation, took place at the University of Missouri-Kansas City and featured a speech titled “Men Are Not Women” before a protester sprayed an unknown substance on Knowles prompting the protester’s arrest.

Friday, Chancellor C. Mauli Agrawal praised Knowles protesters, but condemned the protester who “crossed a line” and condemned Knowles himself.

"A student group brought a speaker to campus – a speaker whose professed opinions do not align with our commitment to diversity and inclusion and our goal of providing a welcoming environment to all people, particularly to our LGBT community," Agrawal wrote in a statement.

DEFENDANT IN UC-BERKELEY ASSAULT PLEADS NOT GUILTY

Knowles called the chancellor “a disgrace” and called the protesters reaction “fascism.”

“This was a warning shot to conservatives on colleges around the country that if you don't shut up. If you don't kowtow to leftist orthodoxy you will be bullied. You will be shouted down. You will be physically intimidated and maybe next time that substance will be a little more dangerous, a little more toxic,” Knowles told Carlson.

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“It is fascism as clear as fascism can be.”

Source: Fox News Politics

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Republicans demand Michael Cohen transcript be sent to DOJ for review, potential perjury prosecution

House Oversight Committee Republicans on Wednesday introduced a resolution to force committee Chairman Elijah Cummings to send ex-Trump lawyer Michael Cohen’s congressional testimony to the Justice Department for review -- and possible prosecution for alleged perjury.

The resolution, rolled out by freshman Republican Rep. Mark Green of Tennessee, requests that the transcript of Cohen’s Feb. 27 interview before the committee be submitted for review to Attorney General Bill Barr.

GOP REP. MEADOWS FILES CRIMINAL REFERRAL FOR MICHAEL COHEN OVER FOREIGN CONTRACTS

"If Chairman Cummings fails to refer Mr. Cohen to the Department of Justice for perjury, it will forever mar the reputation of the oversight committee and call into question the integrity of the entire House. Mr. Chairman, do what you said you'd do and hold Mr. Cohen accountable for lying before our committee," Green said Wednesday.

“Chairman Cummings promised the American people that if Michael Cohen lied, he’d hold him accountable and I quote ‘nail him to the cross’ end quote,” Green added. “But 43 days later, nothing from Chairman Cummings. ... It appears they’re perfectly okay with witnesses lying to them as long as it supports their anti-Trump agenda.”

Green called for a vote on the floor to “allow this resolution” to refer Cohen to the Justice Department.

“Let’s give the entire body the opportunity to do what they said they were going to do,” House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., told reporters.

House Minority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., blasted Democrats for bringing Cohen before the panel as their "star witness" after he pleaded guilty to lying to Congress, as part of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation.

The measure is unlikely to advance in the Democrat-controlled House but represents the latest effort by Republicans to call Cohen's testimony -- in which he called Trump a “racist,” a “conman” and a cheat” -- into question, as he continues to reach out to congressional Democrats.

Cohen’s legal team, just last week, penned a letter to House Oversight Committee Democrats saying that he was still sorting through documents in his personal files that might be of interest to them in their investigations into President Trump, including emails, voice recordings, images and other documents on a hard drive.

“To date, Mr. Cohen has located several documents that we believe have significant value to the various congressional oversight and investigation committees,” Cohen’s attorneys Lanny Davis, Michael Monico, and Carly Chocron wrote in the letter, pleading with House Democrats to help keep Cohen out of prison.

"It is our hope that the authorities in the Southern District of New York will consider this total picture of cooperation by Mr. Cohen, verified by your letter and the important new evidence he has made available or could make available to assist the government, and the particular facts involved here to grant Mr. Cohen a reduced term following the rules and procedures of the Southern District of New York,” they wrote.

The resolution also comes after mounting requests by top Republicans on the committee—including Ranking Member Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C. The pair referred Cohen to the Justice Department in February for alleged perjury, claiming that he lied during sworn testimony before the panel about a number of issues, including his ambitions to work in the Trump administration and contracts with foreign entities.

MICHAEL COHEN FACING MOUNTING QUESTIONS OVER INCONSISTENCIES IN TESTIMONY

Meadows, chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, also filed a criminal referral for Cohen in February, claiming that he violated the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) by not disclosing his foreign contracts.

Cohen, who is slated to report to prison for three years next month as part of his guilty plea related to Mueller’s investigation and the criminal investigation into his personal business dealings led by the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Southern District of New York, was challenged over several claims made in his testimony.

One was his assertion that he “never asked for, nor would [he] accept, a pardon from Mr. Trump.”

Last month, though, Davis said that Cohen was “open to the ongoing ‘dangling’ of a possible pardon by Trump representatives privately and in the media.” Davis also said that Cohen “directed his attorney to explore possibilities of a pardon at one point with Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani as well as other lawyers advising President Trump.”

Davis, defending his client’s credibility, did say, however, that since July 2, 2018, when he began representing Cohen, he has said that he “would never accept a pardon from President Trump even if offered.”

GOP REPS REFER MICHAEL COHEN TO DOJ FOR ALLEGED PERJURY DURING HEARING

“That continues to be the case,” Davis said. “And his statement at the Oversight Hearing was true—and consistent with his post joint defense agreement commitment to tell the truth.”

Meanwhile, Cohen has been criticized for his statements about potentially working in the Trump White House. During the hearing last week, Jordan accused Cohen of turning on the president because he didn’t land a job at the White House. Cohen denied this, saying he just wanted to be “the personal attorney to the president.”

“I got exactly what I wanted,” Cohen testified.

Shortly afterward, Davis acknowledged that Cohen was, in fact, at one time considering the possibility of working in the White House. “The fact is, early on, Michael Cohen speculated about a possible position in the White House,” Davis said in a statement. “But after he consulted with his family and friends, he decided that he preferred to stay at home in New York City and be ‘personal attorney to the president.’”

MICHAEL COHEN ASKS HOUSE DEMOCRATS TO HELP KEEP HIM OUT OF PRISON

Another inconsistency is related to the Trump Tower project in Moscow. Cohen is going to jail, in part, for lying to Congress during a closed-door hearing with the Senate Intelligence Committee in 2017 about the timeline of communications with Russia about the project. Cohen initially told the committee communications ended before the first contest in the 2016 primary season but later admitted they continued through June 2016, after Trump had become the Republican nominee.

During the February hearing, Cohen told the committee that Trump’s attorneys, including Jay Sekulow, reviewed and edited the statement he provided to Congress in 2017 about the project, including concerning the timeline of discussions. But Sekulow said in a statement after the hearing that the “testimony by Michael Cohen that attorneys for the President edited or changed his statement to Congress to alter the duration of the Trump Tower Moscow negotiations is completely false.”

Fox News' Gregg Re contributed to this report. 

Source: Fox News Politics

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Strong quake hits Alaska’s remote Aleutians

A strong earthquake has struck a remote section of Alaska's western Aleutian Islands, but seismologists say it didn't generate a tsunami.

The Alaska Earthquake Center says the 6.5 magnitude quake occurred at 1:36 p.m. Tuesday. It was centered about 55 miles (89 kilometers) northwest of Amchitka, in the Rat Islands.

Seismologist Natalia Rupert says there are no immediate reports the quake was felt.

Source: Fox News National

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Japan Feb industrial output rises 1.4 percent month-on-month

FILE PHOTO: Worker walks near a factory at the Keihin industrial zone in Kawasaki
FILE PHOTO: A worker walks near a factory at the Keihin industrial zone in Kawasaki, Japan, March 8, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai/

March 29, 2019

TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s industrial output rose 1.4 percent in February from the previous month, up for the first time in four months, government data showed on Friday.

That compared with a 1.0 percent increase seen in a Reuters poll of economists, and followed a revised 3.4 percent drop in the previous month.

Manufacturers surveyed by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry expect output to rise 1.3 percent in March and increase 1.1 percent in April, the data showed.

(Reporting by Tetsushi Kajimoto; Editing by Chang-Ran Kim)

Source: OANN

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Pivotal New Hampshire primary may come down to Sanders versus Warren

Democratic 2020 U.S. presidential candidate Warren speaks at Plymouth State University in Plymouth
FILE PHOTO: Democratic 2020 U.S. presidential candidate and U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) speaks at Plymouth State University in Plymouth, New Hampshire, U.S., February 23, 2019. REUTERS/Brian Snyder

February 25, 2019

By James Oliphant

PLYMOUTH, N.H. (Reuters) – Bernie Sanders’ entry into the 2020 presidential race has complicated fellow liberal Elizabeth Warren’s bid for the Democratic nomination, a path that runs straight through New Hampshire.

Sanders, a U.S. senator from neighboring Vermont, retains a strong following in the state where he trounced Hillary Clinton by more than 20 percentage points in the 2016 presidential contest.

An Emerson College opinion poll of New Hampshire voters released on Saturday showed Sanders to be the top choice of respondents with 27 percent of the vote. Warren, a senator from neighboring Massachusetts, was far behind at 9 percent – a worrisome number given many New Hampshire voters are familiar with her.

But as Warren, 69, returned to the early voting state over the weekend for the second time this month, there were signs she could be chipping away at Sanders’ support a year before the New Hampshire primary election.

Some New Hampshire residents who voted for Sanders last time told Reuters they now were leaning toward Warren. Some said the 77-year-old Sanders’ political window had closed. Others said they wanted to see a female nominee.

“Bernie lost his shine,” said Candace Moulton, 36, who attended Warren’s campaign event in Manchester, New Hampshire. “I think we’re really ready to have a woman president, to be frank.”

New Hampshire often has been where presidential aspirations are solidified. While the Iowa caucuses serve as the first test of a candidate’s strength, New Hampshire holds the first party primary, and has been a state where a contender can build momentum, salvage a campaign or reach the end of the road.

Ten Democrats have already declared their candidacy for the party’s nomination, and more are expected to join the contest. The winner will likely face Republican President Donald Trump in the general election in November 2020. [nL1N20E0EH]

New Hampshire’s primary traditionally has favored candidates with ties to the region, making it important for Sanders and Warren to target. Both are progressives with similar policy platforms that include providing universal health care coverage and raising the minimum wage.

Dante Scala, a professor of political science at the University of New Hampshire, said he expects the presidential field to narrow significantly by the time the primary comes.

“There’s a good likelihood that New Hampshire will be framed as a Sanders-Warren competition with one ticket out,” he said.

Should Warren fail to win Iowa, New Hampshire becomes a “must-win,” Scala said. “It’s hard to see her lasting if she can’t win here.”

Former Vice President Joe Biden could muddy things further if he mounts a bid. Biden placed second in the Emerson poll, and his high name recognition with voters could give him a boost.

FRIENDLY TERRITORY

Warren campaigned in New Hampshire as if she were a local.

“You guys know me,” she told a gathering of 1,000 state party leaders and activists in Manchester on Friday. She followed up by speaking to a full hall in Plymouth on Saturday.

On this swing, Warren played up her personal story over policy, talking about her family’s struggles growing up in Oklahoma and the challenges she faced as a young mother.

After the Plymouth event, Nancy Chandler, 84, said Warren won her support with a fiery speech where she talked about wanting “big, systemic change” and fighting for the middle class.

“I think the bus has passed,” Chandler of Warren, New Hampshire, said of Sanders.

Liz Alcauskas, 74, of Manchester, said many of Sanders’ ideas were important, but she planned to vote for a different Democrat in next year’s election.

“I would like to not have an old, white man be president,” she said. “It’s someone else’s turn now.”

Even some of Sanders’ most loyal supporters are unsure of him this time. Andru Volinsky, a member of Sanders’ 2016 steering committee in the state, said “my first inclination is towards Bernie, but I haven’t ruled out a handful of others.” 

The home-field advantage enjoyed by Sanders and Warren has sparked speculation that other candidates may compete less intensely in New Hampshire, focusing instead on other early states.

Senator Kamala Harris of California made her first campaign trip to the state earlier this month and insisted she would be an active presence there. But she had made a point of visiting South Carolina, with its large swath of African-American voters, before New Hampshire.

Harris likely will also concentrate on gaining the majority of support from the millions of voters in her home state, which has its primary in early March but will allow early voting to begin around the time of the New Hampshire contest.

Raymond Buckley, chairman of the New Hampshire Democratic Party, said other candidates cannot afford to write the state off.

“In 2020, we have such an immensely diverse group of candidates, in every sense of the word, that it’s dangerous to make any assumptions about how the primary will turn out,” Buckley said.

There remains room in the state for Warren’s support to grow. Her Plymouth event was filled with undecided voters.

“I feel very wide open right now. I feel like I could support anyone,” said A.J. Coppola, 32, from Thornton, New Hampshire. “I’m inclined to the person who is really passionate, who feels like they have energy behind them.”

(Reporting by James Oliphant; Editing by Colleen Jenkins and Grant McCool)

Source: OANN

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FILE PHOTO - A worker sits on a ship carrying containers at Mundra Port in the western Indian state of Gujarat
FILE PHOTO: A worker sits on a ship carrying containers at Mundra Port in the western Indian state of Gujarat April 1, 2014. REUTERS/Amit Dave/File Photo

April 26, 2019

(Reuters) – India has once again delayed the implementation of higher tariffs on some goods imported from the United States to May 15, a government official said on Friday.

The new tariff structure was to come into force from May 2, the spokeswoman said without citing reasons for the delay.

Angered by Washington’s refusal to exempt it from new steel and aluminum tariffs, New Delhi decided in June last year to raise the import tax from Aug. 4 on some U.S. products including almonds, walnuts and apples.

But since then, New Delhi has repeatedly delayed the implementation of the new tariff.

Trade friction between India and the U.S. has escalated after U.S. President Donald Trump announced plans earlier this year to end preferential trade treatment for India that allows duty-free entry for up to $5.6 billion worth of its exports to the United States.

In a further blow, U.S. on Monday demanded buyers of Iranian oil stop purchases by May or face sanctions, ending six months of waivers which allowed Iran’s eight biggest buyers including India to continue importing limited volumes.

(Reporting by Manoj Kumar in New Delhi and Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D’Silva and Raissa Kasolowsky)

Source: OANN

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One of Joe Biden’s newly-hired senior advisers has seemingly had a very recent change of heart.

Symone Sanders, a prominent Democratic strategist and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., staffer in 2016, was announced as one of the big-name members of Team Biden on Thursday.

But Sanders, who has also served as a CNN contributor, is seen in resurfaced footage from November 2016 expressing her opposition to a white person leading her party after Donald Trump’s election.

“In my opinion, we don’t need white people leading the Democratic party right now,” Sanders told host Brianna Keilar during a discussion on Howard Dean potentially becoming DNC chairman.

BIDEN HIRES FORMER BERNIE SANDERS’ SPOKESPERSON AS SENIOR ADVISER

“The Democratic party is diverse, and it should be reflected as so in leadership and throughout the staff, at the highest levels. From the vice chairs to the secretaries all the way down to the people working in the offices at the DNC,” she said.

Sanders wrapped up her remarks by saying: “I want to hear more from everybody. I want to hear from the millennials and the brown folks.”

Footage of the interview was resurfaced by RealClearPolitics.

After news of her hiring broke on Thursday, Sanders backed her new boss on Twitter.

TRUMP ASSESSES 2020 DEMS; TAKES SWIPES AT BIDEN, SANDERS; DISMISSES HARRIS, O’ROURKE; SAYS HE’S ROOTING FOR BUTTIGIEG

“@JoeBiden & @DrBiden are a class act. Over the course of this campaign, Vice President Biden is going to make his case to the American ppl. He won’t always be perfect, but I believe he will get it right,” she wrote.

The hiring of Sanders has been viewed as another indication of the expected tough fight that Biden and Sanders are in for as the two frontrunners battle a deep Democratic field.

While Sanders himself didn’t torch Biden as he jumped into the race, it’s clear that many of his progressive supporters view the former vice president as a threat.

Biden’s entry into the race – at least in the early going – sets up a battle between himself and Sanders, who thanks to his fierce fight with eventual nominee Hillary Clinton for the 2016 Democratic nomination, enjoys name ID on the level of the former vice president.

BIDEN VOWS THAT ‘AMERICA IS COMING BACK,’ SPARKING ‘MAGA’ COMPARISONS

Justice Democrats — who also called Biden “out-of-touch” – is an increasingly influential group among the left of the party. They’ve championed progressive Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York as well as Sanders. The group was founded by members of Sanders 2016 presidential campaign.

Biden has pushed back against the perception that he’s a moderate in a party that’s increasingly moving to the left. Earlier this month he described himself as an “Obama-Biden Democrat.”

And Biden said he’d stack his record against “anybody who has run or who is running now or who will run.”

Former Democratic National Committee chair Donna Brazile – a Fox News contributor – highlighted that “Joe Biden can occupy his own lane in large part because he’s earned it. He’s earned the right to call himself whatever.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

But she emphasized that “elections are not about the past, they’re about the future…I do believe he has the right ingredients. The question is can he find enough people to help him stir the pot.”

Fox News Andrew O’Reilly contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News Politics

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Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh, who is facing increased calls for her immediate resignation, remains in poor health and is not “lucid” enough to decide whether to step down, her attorney told reporters late Thursday.

Steve Silverman, speaking outside one of Pugh’s residences which was raided by the FBI and IRS earlier in the day, said the embattled city leader could make a decision as early as next week.

“She is leaning toward making the best decision in the best interest in the citizens of Baltimore City,” he said, adding that Pugh has “several options” to consider.

“She just needs to be physically and mentally sound and lucid enough to make appropriate decisions.”

BALTIMORE MAYOR CATHERINE PUGH, ON LEAVE AMID BOOK PROBE, HAS HOMES AND CITY HALL OFFICE RAIDED BY FEDS

Silverman said Pugh met with a doctor at home Thursday and plans to do so again Friday, the Baltimore Sun reported.

In the latest image-tarnishing scandal for struggling Baltimore, the first-term Democratic mayor faces accusations that she used children’s book deals to cover up kickbacks for favorable treatment as a state lawmaker and city leader that earned her roughly $800,000 over several years.

BALTIMORE’S ACTING MAYOR SAYS HE ‘WOULD HATE TO SEE’ EMBATTLED MAYOR RETURN AFTER BOOK SCANDALS

As a state senator, 69-year-old Pugh sold $500,000 worth of her self-published “Healthy Holly” illustrated paperbacks to the University of Maryland Medical System, a major state employer whose board she sat on for nearly 20 years.

Baltimore police officers stand outside the house of Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh in Baltimore, MD., Thursday, April 25, 2019. Agents with the FBI and IRS are gathering evidence inside the two homes of Pugh and also in City Hall. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Baltimore police officers stand outside the house of Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh in Baltimore, MD., Thursday, April 25, 2019. Agents with the FBI and IRS are gathering evidence inside the two homes of Pugh and also in City Hall. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

UMMS reportedly paid Pugh for 100,000 copies of her books between 2011 and 2018 with the stated intention of distributing the books to schools and day care centers. But some 50,000 copies remain unaccounted for and officials are probing if they were even printed.

Pugh also made $300,000 in bulk sales to other customers including health carriers that did business with the city of Baltimore.

BALTIMORE CITY COUNCIL CALLS ON EMBATTLED MAYOR CATHERINE PUGH TO RESIGN IMMEDIATELY

The politically isolated Pugh slipped out of sight on April 1 after a hastily organized press conference where she called her no-contract book deals a “regrettable mistake.” That same day, Maryland’s governor called on the state prosecutor to investigate allegations of “self-dealing.”

Pugh took an indefinite leave of absence, citing her health deteriorating intensely after a bout with pneumonia.

Federal agents arrive at the Maryland Center for Adult Training in Baltimore. MD, Thursday, April 25, 2019. Agents with the FBI and IRS are gathering evidence inside the two homes of Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh and in City Hall, as well as the office of her lawyer and the home of a top aide.

Federal agents arrive at the Maryland Center for Adult Training in Baltimore. MD, Thursday, April 25, 2019. Agents with the FBI and IRS are gathering evidence inside the two homes of Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh and in City Hall, as well as the office of her lawyer and the home of a top aide. (Loyd Fox/Baltimore Sun via AP)

On Thursday morning, agents with the FBI and IRS searched her two Baltimore homes, her City Hall offices, and a nonprofit organization she once led. The home of at least one of Pugh’s aides was also scoured.

Silverman said federal agents also served a subpoena at his law firm, retrieving Pugh’s original financial records. They did not seek any attorney-client privileged communications, he said.

Pugh’s attorney said she was “emotionally extremely distraught” following the searches by FBI and IRS agents.

“There was nothing incriminating that came out of her home,” Silverman said.

UMMS spokesman Michael Schwartzberg told reporters that the medical system received a grand jury witness subpoena seeking documents and information related to Pugh.

Other probes against Pugh include a review by the city ethics board and the Maryland Insurance Administration.

BALTIMORE MAYOR’S $500G DEAL FOR ‘HEALTHY HOLLY’ CHILDREN’S BOOKS DRAWS SCRUTINY

In recent weeks, the calls for Pugh’s resignation have intensified with the strongest voice coming from Republican Gov. Larry Hogan, who did not mince words after Thursday’s early morning raids.

“Now more than ever, Baltimore City needs strong and responsible leadership. Mayor Pugh has lost the public trust,” he said. “She is clearly not fit to lead. For the good of the city, Mayor Pugh must resign.”

Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Internal Revenue Service agents search the home of Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh in Baltimore, MD., Thursday, April 25, 2019. Agents with the FBI and IRS are gathering evidence inside the two homes of Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh and in City Hall.

Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Internal Revenue Service agents search the home of Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh in Baltimore, MD., Thursday, April 25, 2019. Agents with the FBI and IRS are gathering evidence inside the two homes of Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh and in City Hall. (Jerry Jackson/Baltimore Sun via AP)

Many of her fellow Democrats, including those on Baltimore’s demoralized City Council and state lawmakers, are also insisting that Pugh put the citizens’ interests above any attempt to preserve her political career.

City Council member Brandon Scott called the Thursday raids “an embarrassment to the city.”

However, only a conviction can trigger a mayor’s removal from office, according to the city solicitor. Baltimore’s mayor-friendly City Charter currently provides no options for ousting its executive.

Six of Pugh’s staffers joined her on paid leave earlier this month; three of them were fired this week by the acting mayor.

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Pugh came to office in late 2016 after edging out ex-Mayor Sheila Dixon, who had spent much of her tenure fighting corruption charges before being forced to depart office in 2010 as part of a plea deal connected to the misappropriation of about $500 in gift cards meant for needy families.

She would certainly face a bruising 2020 Democratic primary if she were to return and run for reelection. Veteran City Council leader Bernard “Jack” Young, who is serving as acting mayor, said as she went on leave that he would merely be a placeholder. But this week, before the raids, he said “it could be devastating for her” if she tried to return.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News National

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FILE PHOTO: Cases of Pepsi are shown for sale at a store in Carlsbad
FILE PHOTO: Cases of Pepsi are shown for sale at a store in Carlsbad, California, U.S., April 22, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo

April 26, 2019

By Amit Dave and Mayank Bhardwaj

AHMEDABAD/NEW DELHI (Reuters) – PepsiCo Inc has sued four Indian farmers for cultivating a potato variety that the snack food and drinks maker claims infringes its patent, the company and the growers said on Friday.

Pepsi has sued the farmers for cultivating the FC5 potato variety, exclusively grown for its popular Lay’s potato chips. The FC5 variety has a lower moisture content required to make snacks such as potato chips.

PepsiCo is seeking more than 10 million rupees ($142,840.82) each for alleged patent infringement.

The farmers grow potatoes in the western state of Gujarat, a leading producer of India’s most consumed vegetable.

“We have been growing potatoes for a long time and we didn’t face this problem ever, as we’ve mostly been using the seeds saved from one harvest to plant the next year’s crop,” said Bipin Patel, one of the four farmers sued by Pepsi.

Patel did not say how he came by the PepsiCo variety.

A court in Ahmedabad, the business hub of Gujarat, on Friday agreed to hear the case on June 12, said Anand Yagnik, the lawyer for the farmers.

“In this instance, we took judicial recourse against people who were illegally dealing in our registered variety,” A PepsiCo India spokesman said. “This was done to protect our rights and safeguard the larger interest of farmers that are engaged with us and who are using and benefiting from seeds of our registered variety.”

PepsiCo, which set up its first potato chips plant in India in 1989, supplies the FC5 potato variety to a group of farmers who in turn sell their produce to the company at a fixed price.

The All India Kisan Sabha, or All India Farmers’ Forum, has asked the Indian government to protect the farmers.

The farmers’ forum has also called for a boycott of PepsiCo’s Lay’s chips and the company’s other products.

The Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

PepsiCo is the second major U.S. company in India to face issues over patent infringement.

Stung by a long-standing intellectual property dispute, seed maker Monsanto, which is now owned by German drugmaker Bayer AG, withdrew from some businesses in India over a cotton-seed dispute with farmers, Reuters reported in 2017. (reut.rs/2ncBknn)

(Reporting by Amit Dave in AHMEDABAD and Mayank Bhardwaj in NEW DELHI; Editing by Martin Howell and Louise Heavens)

Source: OANN

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FILE PHOTO: The Archer Daniels Midland Co (ADM) logo is displayed on a screen on the floor of the NYSE in New York
FILE PHOTO: The Archer Daniels Midland Co (ADM) logo is displayed on a screen on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., May 3, 2018. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo

April 26, 2019

By P.J. Huffstutter and Shradha Singh

CHICAGO/BENGALURU (Reuters) – Archer Daniels Midland Co said on Friday it was considering spinning off its ethanol business after slim biofuel margins and Midwestern floods slammed the U.S. grains merchant’s profit, which tumbled 41 percent in the first quarter.

ADM said it was creating an ethanol subsidiary, which will include dry mills in Columbus, Nebraska; Cedar Rapids, Iowa; and Peoria, Illinois.

The ethanol subsidiary will report as an independent segment, the company said, allowing options “which may include, but are not limited to, a potential spin-off of the business to existing ADM shareholders.”

Results were hit by the “bomb cyclone” blizzards that devastated the Midwest and Great Plains this year, causing massive flooding across Nebraska, Iowa and Missouri, washing out rail lines and wreaking havoc in the moving and processing of corn, soybeans and wheat. One-sixth of U.S. ethanol production was halted.

In March, ADM warned Wall Street that flooding and severe winter weather in the U.S. Midwest would reduce its first-quarter operating profit by $50 million to $60 million.

“The first quarter proved more challenging than initially expected,” said Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Juan Luciano, with earnings down in its starches, sweeteners and bioproducts unit. Luciano said impacts of the severe weather ultimately “were on the high side of our initial estimates”.

Ongoing problems in the ethanol industry added to the problems and “limited margins and opportunities” for ADM, Luciano said.

The ethanol industry has been in the midst of a historic downswing due to the U.S.-China trade war, excess domestic supply and weak margins.

ADM, which had been an ethanol pioneer, signaled to Wall Street in 2016 that it was hunting for options and considering sales of its U.S. dry ethanol mills. Luciano told Reuters this year that offers ADM had received for the mills were too low.

In addition, ADM said it planned to repurpose its corn wet mill in Marshall, Minnesota, to produce higher volumes of food and industrial-grade starches.

Other major traders are alsy trying to distance themselves from struggling ethanol businesses. Louis Dreyfus Company BV spun off its Brazilian sugar and ethanol business Biosev in 2013. Rival Bunge sold its sugar book and has sought a buyer for its Brazilian mills since 2013.

ADM, which makes money trading, processing and transporting crops, such as corn, soybeans and wheat, has been looking to strengthen its core business. Last month it said it would seek voluntary early retirements of some North American employees and cut jobs as part of a restructuring effort.

The company expects to lower 2019 capital spending by 10 percent to between $800 million and $900 million.

Net earnings attributable to the company fell to $233 million, or 41 cents per share, in the three months ended March 31, from $393 million, or 70 cents per share, a year earlier.

Revenue fell to $15.30 billion from $15.53 billion. On an adjusted basis, the company earned 46 cents per share, while analysts on average had estimated 60 cents, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

(Reporting by Shradha Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta, Chizu Nomiyama and David Gregorio)

Source: OANN

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