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European shares ease from eight-month high as miners weigh

The German share price index DAX graph at the stock exchange in Frankfurt
FILE PHOTO: The German share price index DAX graph is pictured at the stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, April 16, 2019. REUTERS/Staff

April 17, 2019

By Medha Singh and Susan Mathew

(Reuters) – European shares eased from eight-month highs on Wednesday, weighed down by healthcare and mining stocks while investors looked past better-than-expected first-quarter economic growth in China.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index was down 0.2 percent by 0930 GMT after five straight days of gains. All country indexes were flat to higher except London FTSE 100.

China’s economy unexpectedly steadied in the first quarter, defying expectations for a further slowdown, as industrial production jumped sharply and consumer demand showed signs of improvement.

Analysts said it was too early to call a sustainable turnaround there, and further policy support would be needed to maintain momentum.

“The reaction in equity markets was muted after the data release, probably because much of the positivity has already been priced in,” said Hussein Sayed, chief market strategist at FXTM.

The positive China data spurred demand for auto stocks, the most among European sectors, as concerns over global growth eased. The data also pushed Germany’s 10-year government bond yield to a four-week high.

Banks rallied 0.6 percent and drove a 0.3 percent gain in Italy’s bank-heavy.

However, losses in basic resources and healthcare stocks outweighed.

BHP Group PLC fell 3 percent, bringing down London’s FTSE and the STOXX 600 as the world’s biggest miner cut its forecast for iron ore output, a day after rival Rio Tinto slashed its output guidance.

The healthcare sector also dropped 1.3 percent as Novartis fell after Jefferies reduced price target on its shares.

Danone slipped 1 percent after the French food group’s first-quarter sales slowed on weaker demand for infant formula products in China and a consumer boycott in Morocco.

Its peer Nestle SA dropped about a percent ahead of its quarterly report on Thursday.

Bunzl was the worst performer on the pan-European index, down nearly 9 percent after the business supplies distributor said first-quarter growth slowed as the grocery and retail business in its biggest market – North America – remained sluggish.

Also capping losses was the tech sector, helped by a climb in chip stocks and Mobile telecom equipment maker Ericsson.

ASML Holding rose more than 2 percent after the semiconductor equipment maker reported better-than-expected first quarter earnings and repeated it expects growth to accelerate through the year.

European chip stocks – AMS, STMicro, Siltronic, Infineon Technologies – were up between 1.5 percent and 5 percent as U.S. peer Qualcomm Inc surged on Tuesday on an iPhone modem chips deal with Apple Inc.

Ericsson ticked about 3 percent higher after beating first-quarter result forecasts and raising full-year outlook for the global networks market.

Commerzbank shares rose 3 percent after a media report that Dutch bank ING added its name to a list of merger suitors. That followed approaches by Deutsche Bank and Italy’s UniCredit

(Reporting by Medha Singh and Susan Mathew in Bengaluru; editing by John Stonestreet and Angus MacSwan)

Source: OANN

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Foxconn says it remains committed to Wisconsin investment project

FILE PHOTO: The logo of Foxconn, the trading name of Hon Hai Precision Industry, is seen on top of the company's building in Taipei
FILE PHOTO: The logo of Foxconn, the trading name of Hon Hai Precision Industry, is seen on top of the company's building in Taipei, Taiwan, March 30, 2018. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu

April 19, 2019

TAIPEI (Reuters) – Taiwan’s Foxconn said on Friday it remains committed to its contract to build a display plant and tech research facilities in Wisconsin, days after the U.S. state’s governor said he wanted to renegotiate the deal.

Democratic Governor Tony Evers, who inherited a deal to give Foxconn $4 billion in tax breaks and other incentives when he took office in January, said on Wednesday he wanted renegotiation because the firm is not expected to reach its job creation goals for the state.

Foxconn’s proposed 20-million-square-foot Wisconsin campus, announced at a White House ceremony in 2017, marks the largest greenfield investment by a foreign-based company in U.S. history and was praised by President Donald Trump as proof of his ability to revive American manufacturing.

Foxconn, a major supplier to Apple Inc, has pledged to eventually create 13,000 jobs in Wisconsin, but said earlier this year it had slowed its pace of hiring.

“Foxconn remains committed to our contract,” the company said in a statement on Friday.

“Foxconn’s commitment to job creation in Wisconsin remains long term and will span over the length of the WEDC (Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation) contract and beyond,” it said, adding the construction on the LCD display manufacturing facility will commence in the summer.

To qualify for tax credits, Foxconn must meet certain hiring and capital investment goals under the current contract.

It fell short of the employment goal in 2018, hiring 178 full-time workers rather than the 260 targeted, and failed to earn a tax credit of up to $9.5 million.

(Reporting by Yimou Lee, writing by Miyoung Kim; Editing by Himani Sarkar)

Source: OANN

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Iran Hopes for a Return of a Democratic President

Iran Hopes for a Return of a Democratic President

Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP

Observing America's politics from Tehran must feel like sitting court-side at the U.S. Open: Your head pivots side to side as you cheer your favorite player, hoping he'll win the next set. And that's dangerous. America's hyper-partisan politics ha

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Athletics: Free spirit Lyles hip-hopping along medal trail

American track and field sprinter Noah Lyles trains at the National Training Center in Clermont, Florida
American track and field sprinter Noah Lyles trains at the National Training Center in Clermont, Florida, U.S., February 19, 2019. Photo taken February 19, 2019. REUTERS/Phelan Ebenhack

February 21, 2019

By Gene Cherry

CLERMONT, Fla. (Reuters) – The rain buffets the training camp tent as Noah Lyles offers up a hip-hop song that has been on his mind.

The steady rhythm of the rain and the American sprinter’s rapping travel to a different beat, as does Lyles, who, with Usain Bolt’s retirement, has become one of the most talked-about athletes in track and field.

Just 21 years old, he relishes running and a multitude of other activities, too many some have told him.

But this is Lyles, the free spirit who in the past few months has strolled down the runway at a Paris fashion show, painted his own special touch on a pair of shoes for his mother’s birthday and offered up designs for Boston Marathon T-shirts.

He has also cut extended play versions of his favorite hip-hop music and found time to become the man experts predict will be the next 200m gold medalist at September’s world championships in Doha and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

“I am really just being me,” Lyles, who has never competed in a world championships or Olympics, told Reuters after a long workout.

“I have always been into art, I have always been into clothes and recently it (music) has become one of my favorite hobbies,” he said.

“I have always liked things that had to do with sound and making something beautiful in any form of art.

“Running has just come naturally and now that I have a great coach and amazing staff and a great mom, it has come easier and easier and more fun.”

There is no doubt about the fun part and his success in the 200m in which he has not lost since 2016.

And victory usually means a show, maybe a few back flips or special dance moves.

“Too many people go out and they are just here to get business done,” the twice Diamond League 200m champion said.

“When you put on a show, you are expressing your inner emotion, you are expressing what you love, the love you have for the sport, the love you have for your life, the love you have for the people who helped you get there,” he added.

“Just running, that’s boring.”

But boring would never be a word to describe this former high jumper who forsook the family tradition of being 400m runners to learn the short sprints.

ANOTHER BOLT?

Always animated and outgoing, the combination, along with his speed, brings out comparisons with Bolt, especially since their events are the 100 and 200m and Bolt and Lyles are the only two sprinters to run four 200m in 19.7 seconds or less in the same season.

Yet Lance Brauman, Lyles’s coach, frowns at such comparisons.

“There might be some similarities,” the coach told Reuters. “But there are similarities in different ways with a lot of different guys. I want him to be the first Noah Lyles.”

That would suit Lyles just fine.

“They (the media) are always going to be looking for the next something,” said the sprinter who has personal bests of 19.65 in the 200m and 9.88 in the 100m.

“I say wait, somebody is going to pull it out,” he said, predicting Bolt’s seemingly invincible 100 meters world record of 9.58 and 200m mark of 19.19 would eventually fall.

“If I didn’t think that, I wouldn’t be here right now. I have dreams where I run 9.41. I have ideas where I run 18 seconds. But truthfully you are just going to wait.”

The Jamaican and the American have met only once.

“We were both in the doctor’s office in 2017,” Lyles said. “He looked more beat up than me so I just decided I was going to go say ‘Hey, you are an amazing athlete’. I just left it at that.”

BROTHERLY DREAM

Lyles and his younger brother Josephus, a talented 400m runner, live together in a new home in Clermont.

Josephus is the cook and enforcer.

“If it was up to him we would probably eating cereal every night,” Josephus said.

Boxes of running shoes occupy one closet and upstairs there is what Noah calls his creative room.

A full array of paints sit beside a table and Noah the rapper records his hip-hop in his own little studio.

“I loved music since I was little,” Lyles said. “I always listen to different things, find different artists, songs that express emotion.”

Banter flies between the brothers and their mother as visitors share a meal and view Noah’s Lego collection.

Since they were children, the brothers have dreamed of competing in an Olympics together.

Noah came close in 2016, missing by one spot making the U.S. team for Rio in the 200m, and his mum sees the dream becoming a reality in Tokyo.

“I predict Noah will win the 200 and Josephus will medal in the 400,” Keshia Bishop said.

Noah wants more.

“Three golds,” he said, convinced that by 2020 he will be ready to claim the 100, 200 and 4x100m relay titles, a feat Bolt achieved three times and Carl Lewis was the last American to accomplish in 1984.

(Reporting by Gene Cherry in Clermont, Florida, editing by Ed Osmond)

Source: OANN

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Spring training roundup: Wainwright sharp in ’19 debut

MLB: Spring Training-St. Louis Cardinals at Washington Nationals
Feb 26, 2019; West Palm Beach, FL, USA; St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Adam Wainwright (50) delivers a pitch against the Washington Nationals at FITTEAM Ballpark of the Palm Beaches. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

February 27, 2019

Right-hander Adam Wainwright pitched two perfect innings in his first start of the spring as the St. Louis Cardinals defeated the host Washington Nationals 6-1 on Tuesday at West Palm Beach, Fla.

The 37-year-old Wainwright was limited to just eight starts last season due to elbow troubles. He is trying to regain the form that saw him win 19 or more games four times during 13 big league seasons.

“The difference today was that I was focused on command and trusting my stuff, and last year I was focused on surviving,” Wainwright told reporters. “Making a pitch and trying to make it to the next pitch. My focus today was on pitching instead of on health.”

Marlins 3, Astros 0

Right-hander Dan Straily struck out three in two perfect innings as Miami blanked visiting Houston at Jupiter, Fla. Houston right-hander Gerrit Cole pitched a perfect inning in his spring debut.

Tigers 14, Mets (ss) 4

Harold Castro and Pete Kozma each clubbed three-run homers as visiting Detroit routed New York at Port Fort Lucie, Fla. Rajai Davis went deep for the Mets.

Rays (ss) 11, Orioles 5 (8 innings)

Jesus Sanchez hit a go-ahead, three-run homer during a 10-run eighth-inning splurge as Tampa Bay rallied to knocked off host Baltimore at Sarasota, Fla. Chris Davis smacked a two-run blast for the Orioles in a game that was stopped due to rain.

Braves 4, Mets (ss) 3

William Contreras hit a tiebreaking two-run homer in the sixth inning as Atlanta defeated visiting New York at Kissimmee, Fla. Sebastian Espino hit an inside-the-park homer for the Mets.

Twins 6, Pirates 5

Ryan Jeffers delivered the go-ahead pinch-hit, two-run single during a four-run fifth-inning uprising as visiting Pittsburgh edged Minnesota at Fort Myers, Fla. Patrick Kivlehan homered for the Twins.

Angels 17, Athletics 5

Jose Rosas hit a three-run homer and Peter Bourjos had a solo shot as Los Angeles routed Oakland at Mesa, Ariz. The Angels’ Roberto Baldoquin also knocked in three runs. Oakland reliever Fernando Rodney gave up four runs on four hits, two walks and a wild pitch in one-third of an inning.

White Sox 9, Royals (ss) 7

Tim Anderson drove in runs with a triple and a single, and Yonder Alonso added a two-run homer as Chicago beat Kansas City at Phoenix. MJ Melendez, Hunter Dozier and Taylor Jones hit two-run shots for the Royals, and Jecksson Flores added a solo homer.

Padres 3, Brewers 1

Fernando Tatis Jr. belted a two-run homer and Austin Hedges added a solo shot as San Diego defeated Milwaukee at Phoenix. Zach Davies threw two hitless, scoreless innings for the Brewers.

Giants 4, Reds 3

Jose Lopez struck out three in two scoreless innings, and San Francisco beat Cincinnati at Goodyear, Ariz. Jesus Reyes tossed two shutout innings for the Reds.

Diamondbacks 5, Cubs 4

Wilmer Flores hit a three-run double to lead Arizona to a win over Chicago at Mesa, Ariz. Chicago’s Yu Darvish walked four in 1 1/3 hitless innings, and he was charged with two runs (one earned).

Royals (ss) 8, Dodgers 2

Kansas City exploded for seven runs in the eighth inning, two on a single by Humberto Arteaga, in a victory over Los Angeles at Surprise, Ariz. The Dodgers’ Shane Peterson homered.

Indians 5, Rockies 3

Carlos Santana homered and knocked in three runs as Cleveland topped Colorado at Scottsdale, Ariz. The Rockies’ Brian Mundell hit a two-run double.

Rangers 4, Mariners 4

Jake Fraley and Chris Mariscal hit ninth-inning home runs to lift Seattle into a tie with Texas at Peoria, Ariz. The Mariners’ Marco Gonzales struck out five in three scoreless innings.

Phillies-Yankees, canceled

New York right-hander Masahiro Tanaka’s spring debut was washed out by rain as the host Yankees and Philadelphia were unable to play at Tampa, Fla.

Red Sox-Blue Jays, canceled

Right-hander Matt Shoemaker was slated to make his first Toronto appearance before rain prevented the contest between the Blue Jays and visiting Boston at Dunedin, Fla.

–Field Level Media

Source: OANN

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No charges for workers who dragged, shoved immigrant kids

Authorities in Arizona say workers who were seen on video dragging and shoving immigrant children at a privately run shelter won't face charges.

The Maricopa County Attorney's Office said Friday that there's no reasonable likelihood of proving the workers at a Southwest Key facility near Phoenix committed a crime.

The incidents took place in September and were investigated by the county sheriff's office, which didn't suggest charges be filed until weeks later, when the Arizona Republic obtained the videos and they began to circulate widely, raising questions about its investigation.

Texas-based Southwest Key spent most of last year under criticism in Arizona after a series of investigations into abuse of children in its care. It was eventually forced to shut down two facilities, including the one where this incident happened.

Source: Fox News National

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Wells Fargo CEO’s pay raise draws rare Fed response

Wells Fargo CEO Sloan testifies before a House Financial Services Committee hearing
Wells Fargo CEO Tim Sloan testifies before a House Financial Services Committee hearing titled: "Holding Megabanks Accountable: An Examination of Wells Fargo's Pattern of Consumer Abuses" in Washington, U.S. March 12, 2019. REUTERS/Erin Scott

March 13, 2019

By Imani Moise and Pete Schroeder

(Reuters) – Wells Fargo & Co gave Chief Executive Tim Sloan a 5 percent pay raise for 2018, prompting the Federal Reserve to release a statement saying that it does not sign off on executive pay.

Sloan’s base salary remained flat at $2.4 million, he earned $14 million stock awards and the board awarded him a $2 million bonus based on the bank’s financial performance and other factors, according to a company filing. In 2017, Sloan did not receive a bonus and his total compensation was $17.4 million.

“The Federal Reserve does not approve pay packages. We expect boards of directors to hold management accountable,” said a Fed spokesperson in an emailed statement when asked about the bank’s new executive compensation numbers.

The Fed typically has been tight lipped about the institutions it regulates and rarely comments beyond pre-scheduled regulatory events.

Wells Fargo is currently prohibited from growing in size, after the Federal Reserve issued an unprecedented asset cap on it in February, citing “widespread consumer abuses and compliance breakdowns.”

The 2016 revelation that Wells Fargo created millions of fake customer accounts prompted regulatory probes into mortgage foreclosures, auto insurance sales and its wealth management businesses, resulting in billions of dollars in fines.

Wells Fargo released its compensation one day after Sloan appeared before the House Financial Services Committee to prove to lawmakers that the bank was reformed since 2016 revelations that it created millions of unauthorized customer accounts.

At Tuesday’s hearing, Sloan was peppered with bipartisan criticism for four hours but he navigated a hostile committee without a major stumble. [L1N20Z0NY]

During 2018 Wells Fargo shares tumbled 22 percent as the bank continued to rack up fines and disclose new issues.

Earlier this year, Bank of America Corp disclosed CEO Brian Moynihan’s annual compensation rose 15 percent to $27 million, Morgan Stanley said CEO James Gorman’s overall pay rose 7 percent to $29 million, and JPMorgan Chase & Co CEO Jamie Dimon’s compensation rose 5 percent to $31 million, according to filings.

(Reporting by Imani Moise; editing by Diane Craft)

Source: OANN

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Cambodian authorities have ordered a one-hour reduction in the length of school days because of concerns that students and teachers may fall ill from a prolonged heat wave.

Education Minister Hang Chuon Naron said in an announcement seen Friday that the shortened hours will remain in effect until the rainy season starts, which usually occurs in May. The current heat wave, in which temperatures are regularly reaching as high as 41 Celsius (106 Fahrenheit), is one of the longest in memory.

Most schools in Cambodia lack air conditioning, prompting concern that temperatures inside classrooms could rise to unhealthy levels.

School authorities were instructed to watch for symptoms of heat stroke and urge pupils to drink more water.

The new hours cut 30 minutes off the beginning of the school day and 30 minutes off the end.

School authorities instituted a similar measure in 2016.

Source: Fox News World

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Explosions have rocked Britain’s largest steel plant, injuring two people and shaking nearby homes.

South Wales Police say the incident at the Tata Steel plant in Port Talbot was reported at about 3:35 a.m. Friday (22:35 EDT Thursday). The explosions touched off small fires, which are under control. Two workers suffered minor injuries and all staff members have been accounted for.

Police say early indications are that the explosions were caused by a train used to carry molten metal into the plant. Tata Steel says its personnel are working with emergency services at the scene.

Local lawmaker Stephen Kinnock says the incident raises concerns about safety.

He tweeted: “It could have been a lot worse … @TataSteelEurope must conduct a full review, to improve safety.”

Source: Fox News World

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The Wider Image: China's start-ups go small in age of 'shoebox' satellites
LinkSpace’s reusable rocket RLV-T5, also known as NewLine Baby, is carried to a vacant plot of land for a test launch in Longkou, Shandong province, China, April 19, 2019. REUTERS/Jason Lee

April 26, 2019

By Ryan Woo

LONGKOU, China (Reuters) – During initial tests of their 8.1-metre (27-foot) tall reusable rocket, Chinese engineers from LinkSpace, a start-up led by China’s youngest space entrepreneur, used a Kevlar tether to ensure its safe return. Just in case.

But when the Beijing-based company’s prototype, called NewLine Baby, successfully took off and landed last week for the second time in two months, no tether was needed.

The 1.5-tonne rocket hovered 40 meters above the ground before descending back to its concrete launch pad after 30 seconds, to the relief of 26-year-old chief executive Hu Zhenyu and his engineers – one of whom cartwheeled his way to the launch pad in delight.

LinkSpace, one of China’s 15-plus private rocket manufacturers, sees these short hops as the first steps towards a new business model: sending tiny, inexpensive satellites into orbit at affordable prices.

Demand for these so-called nanosatellites – which weigh less than 10 kilograms (22 pounds) and are in some cases as small as a shoebox – is expected to explode in the next few years. And China’s rocket entrepreneurs reckon there is no better place to develop inexpensive launch vehicles than their home country.

“For suborbital clients, their focus will be on scientific research and some commercial uses. After entering orbit, the near-term focus (of clients) will certainly be on satellites,” Hu said.

In the near term, China envisions massive constellations of commercial satellites that can offer services ranging from high-speed internet for aircraft to tracking coal shipments. Universities conducting experiments and companies looking to offer remote-sensing and communication services are among the potential domestic customers for nanosatellites.

A handful of U.S. small-rocket companies are also developing launchers ahead of the expected boom. One of the biggest, Rocket Lab, has already put 25 satellites in orbit.

No private company in China has done that yet. Since October, two – LandSpace and OneSpace – have tried but failed, illustrating the difficulties facing space start-ups everywhere.

The Chinese companies are approaching inexpensive launches in different ways. Some, like OneSpace, are designing cheap, disposable boosters. LinkSpace’s Hu aspires to build reusable rockets that return to Earth after delivering their payload, much like the Falcon 9 rockets of Elon Musk’s SpaceX.

“If you’re a small company and you can only build a very, very small rocket because that’s all you have money for, then your profit margins are going to be narrower,” said Macro Caceres, analyst at U.S. aerospace consultancy Teal Group.

“But if you can take that small rocket and make it reusable, and you can launch it once a week, four times a month, 50 times a year, then with more volume, your profit increases,” Caceres added.

Eventually LinkSpace hopes to charge no more than 30 million yuan ($4.48 million) per launch, Hu told Reuters.

That is a fraction of the $25 million to $30 million needed for a launch on a Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems Pegasus, a commonly used small rocket. The Pegasus is launched from a high-flying aircraft and is not reusable.

(Click https://reut.rs/2UVBjKs to see a picture package of China’s rocket start-ups. Click https://tmsnrt.rs/2GIy9Bc for an interactive look at the nascent industry.)

NEED FOR CASH

LinkSpace plans to conduct suborbital launch tests using a bigger recoverable rocket in the first half of 2020, reaching altitudes of at least 100 kilometers, then an orbital launch in 2021, Hu told Reuters.

The company is in its third round of fundraising and wants to raise up to 100 million yuan, Hu said. It had secured tens of millions of yuan in previous rounds.

After a surge in fresh funding in 2018, firms like LinkSpace are pushing out prototypes, planning more tests and even proposing operational launches this year.

Last year, equity investment in China’s space start-ups reached 3.57 billion yuan ($533 million), a report by Beijing-based investor FutureAerospace shows, with a burst of financing in late 2018.

That accounted for about 18 percent of global space start-up investments in 2018, a historic high, according to Reuters calculations based on a global estimate by Space Angels. The New York-based venture capital firm said global space start-up investments totaled $2.97 billion last year.

“Costs for rocket companies are relatively high, but as to how much funding they need, be it in the hundreds of millions, or tens of millions, or even just a few million yuan, depends on the company’s stage of development,” said Niu Min, founder of FutureAerospace.

FutureAerospace has invested tens of millions of yuan in LandSpace, based in Beijing.

Like space-launch startups elsewhere in the world, the immediate challenge for Chinese entrepreneurs is developing a safe and reliable rocket.

Proven talent to develop such hardware can be found in China’s state research institutes or the military; the government directly supports private firms by allowing them to launch from military-controlled facilities.

But it’s still a high-risk business, and one unsuccessful launch might kill a company.

“The biggest problem facing all commercial space companies, especially early-stage entrepreneurs, is failure” of an attempted flight, Liang Jianjun, chief executive of rocket company Space Trek, told Reuters. That can affect financing, research, manufacturing and the team’s morale, he added.

Space Trek is planning its first suborbital launch by the end of June and an orbital launch next year, said Liang, who founded the company in late 2017 with three other former military technical officers.

Despite LandSpace’s failed Zhuque-1 orbital launch in October, the Beijing-based firm secured 300 million yuan in additional funding for the development of its Zhuque-2 rocket a month later.

In December, the company started operating China’s first private rocket production facility in Zhejiang province, in anticipation of large-scale manufacturing of its Zhuque-2, which it expects to unveil next year.

STATE COMPETITION

China’s state defense contractors are also trying to get into the low-cost market.

In December, the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corp (CASIC) successfully launched a low-orbit communication satellite, the first of 156 that CASIC aims to deploy by 2022 to provide more stable broadband connectivity to rural China and eventually developing countries.

The satellite, Hongyun-1, was launched on a rocket supplied by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp (CASC), the nation’s main space contractor.

In early April, the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALVT), a subsidiary of CASC, completed engine tests for its Dragon, China’s first rocket meant solely for commercial use, clearing the path for a maiden flight before July.

The Dragon, much bigger than the rockets being developed by private firms, is designed to carry multiple commercial satellites.

At least 35 private Chinese companies are working to produce more satellites.

Spacety, a satellite maker based in southern Hunan province, plans to put 20 satellites in orbit this year, including its first for a foreign client, chief executive Yang Feng told Reuters.

The company has only launched 12 on state-produced rockets since the company started operating in early 2016.

“When it comes to rocket launches, what we care about would be cost, reliability and time,” Yang said.

(Reporting by Ryan Woo; Additional reporting by Beijing newsroom; Editing by Gerry Doyle)

Source: OANN

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At least one person is reported dead and homes have been destroyed by a powerful cyclone that struck northern Mozambique and continues to dump rain on the region, with the United Nations warning of “massive flooding.”

Cyclone Kenneth arrived just six weeks after Cyclone Idai tore into central Mozambique, killing more than 600 people and displacing scores of thousands. The U.N. says this is the first time in known history that the southern African nation has been hit by two cyclones in one season.

Forecasters say the new cyclone made landfall Thursday night in a part of Mozambique that has not seen such a storm in at least 60 years.

Mozambique’s local emergency operations center says a woman in the city of Pemba was killed by a falling tree.

Source: Fox News World

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German drug and crop chemical maker Bayer holds annual general meeting
Werner Baumann, CEO of German pharmaceutical and chemical maker Bayer AG, attends the annual general shareholders meeting in Bonn, Germany, April 26, 2019. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay

April 26, 2019

By Patricia Weiss and Ludwig Burger

BONN (Reuters) – Bayer shareholders vented their anger over its stock price slump on Friday as litigation risks mount from the German drugmaker’s $63 billion takeover of seed maker Monsanto.

Several large investors said they will not support aspirin investor Bayer’s management in a key vote scheduled for the end of its annual general meeting.

Bayer’s management, led by chief executive Werner Baumann, could see an embarrassing plunge in approval ratings, down from 97 percent at last year’s AGM, which was held shortly before the Monsanto takeover closed in June.

A vote to ratify the board’s actions features prominently at every German AGM. Although it has no bearing on management’s liability, it is seen as a key gauge of shareholder sentiment.

“Due to the continued negative development at Bayer, high legal risks and a massive share price slump, we refuse to ratify the management board and supervisory board’s actions during the business year,” Janne Werning, representing Germany’s Union Investment, a top-20 shareholder, said in prepared remarks.

About 30 billion euros ($34 billion) have been wiped off Bayer’s market value since August, when a U.S. jury found the pesticide and drugs group liable because Monsanto had not warned of alleged cancer risks linked to its weedkiller Roundup.

Bayer suffered a similar defeat last month and more than 13,000 plaintiffs are claiming damages.

Bayer is appealing or plans to appeal the verdicts.

Deutsche Bank’s asset managing arm DWS said shareholders should have been consulted before the takeover, which was agreed in 2016 and closed in June last year.

“You are pointing out that the lawsuits have not been lost yet. We and our customers, however, have already lost something – money and trust,” Nicolas Huber, head of corporate governance at DWS, said in prepared remarks for the AGM.

He said DWS would abstain from the shareholder vote of confidence in the executive and non-executive boards.

Two people familiar with the situation told Reuters this week that Bayer’s largest shareholder, BlackRock, plans to either abstain from or vote against ratifying the management board’s actions.

Asset management firm Deka, among Bayer’s largest German investors, has also said it would cast a no vote.

Baumann said Bayer’s true value was not reflected in the current share price.

“There’s no way to make this look good. The lawsuits and the first verdicts weigh heavily on our company and it’s a concern for many people,” he said, adding it was the right decision to buy Monsanto and that Bayer was vigorously defending itself.

This month, shareholder advisory firms Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) and Glass Lewis recommended investors not to give the executive board their seal of approval.

(Reporting by Patricia Weiss and Ludwig Burger; Editing by Alexander Smith)

Source: OANN

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