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Trump Hails Economy as ‘the Talk of the World’

President Donald Trump called the country's thriving economy "the talk of the world" and potentially "stronger than it has ever been," wishing his Twitter followers "Happy Easter! . . . Have a great day!"

"Happy Easter! I have never been happier or more content because your Country is doing so well, with an Economy that is the talk of the World and may be stronger than it has ever been before. Have a great day!" Trump tweeted.

President Trump's 2016 campaign slogan was Make America Great Again and will be Keep America Great in 2020. His economy has featured a record low unemployment rate and roughly 3 percent GDP growth, coupled with job and wage growth.

President Trump and his family has spent most the holiday weekend at Mar-a-Lago, but they are returning to Washington, D.C., this afternoon, according to reports.

Source: NewsMax Politics

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China navy chief takes dig at U.S. freedom of navigation patrols

Vice Admiral Shen Jinlong, commander of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy, speaks at a welcome reception for the commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the founding of the China's navy in Qingdao
Vice Admiral Shen Jinlong, commander of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy, speaks at a welcome reception for the commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the founding of the China's navy in Qingdao, Shandong province, China, April 22, 2019. Mark Schiefelbein/Pool via REUTERS

April 24, 2019

By Ben Blanchard

QINGDAO, China (Reuters) – Freedom of navigation should not be used to infringe upon the rights of other countries, China’s navy chief Shen Jinlong said on Wednesday, taking a dig at the United States and its allies who have sailed close to disputed South China Sea islets.

The United States has frequently sent warships near to Chinese-occupied features in the South China Sea, where China has been reclaiming land for runways and ports. Some U.S. allies, including Britain, have followed suit.

China regards the patrols by the United States and its allies as a provocation, as it views almost all of the South China Sea as its territory, although Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan, Brunei and the Philippines all have competing claims.

Speaking at a forum in the eastern city of Qingdao, following a major naval parade marking 70 years since the founding of the Chinese navy, Shen said everyone needed to follow the rules and “safeguard good order”.

“Respect for the rules is the cornerstone of maritime good order,” said Shen, who is close to President Xi Jinping.

“Freedom of navigation is a concept widely recognized by the international community. However it should not be used as an excuse to infringe upon the legitimate rights and interests of littoral states,” he added, without naming the United States directly.

The United States has sent only a low level delegation to the Chinese navy anniversary events. And unlike its close allies Australia, Japan and South Korea, the United States did not send a ship to take part in Tuesday’s naval parade reviewed by Xi himself.

“The U.S. government seeks a bilateral relationship that is results-oriented and focused on risk reduction,” Lt. Col. Dave Eastburn, a Pentagon spokesman, said in comments sent to Reuters, responding to a question on U.S. participation at the event.

“The U.S. Navy will continue to pursue its primary goal of constructive, risk-reduction focused discourse with the PLAN,” he said, referring to the People’s Liberation Army Navy.

Shen said that China was continuing to advance talks on the Code of Conduct for the South China Sea, which Beijing has been having with Southeast Asian states for the past few years.

“We are committed to making the South China Sea a sea of peace, friendship and cooperation,” he added, speaking to an audience of both senior Chinese and foreign navy officers, but without giving details.

The navy has been a key beneficiary of Xi’s ambitious military modernization plan, which has seen China develop aircraft carriers, advanced new warships and nuclear submarines, and stealth jets for the air force.

“We adhere to non-conflict and non-confrontation and strive to be a stabilizer for maritime peace,” Shen said.

(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)

Source: OANN

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Top 25 roundup: St. John’s topples No. 13 Villanova

NCAA Basketball: Villanova at St. John
Feb 17, 2019; New York, NY, USA; St. JohnÕs Red Storm forward LJ Figueroa (30) celebrates after hitting a three point shot in the second half against the Villanova Wildcats at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports

February 18, 2019

LJ Figueroa scored a game-high 22 points and added 12 rebounds Sunday as St. John’s rallied from a 19-point first-half deficit to upset No. 13 Villanova 71-65 at sold-out Madison Square Garden, boosting the Red Storm’s quest for an NCAA at-large berth.

Figueroa also added four steals for St. John’s (19-7, 7-6 Big East), which also got 19 points from Mustapha Heron and 13 from Justin Simon. Star guard Shamorie Ponds, who entered the day averaging 28.7 points per game over the last two seasons against the Wildcats, made only 2 of 14 shots from the field and was held to 11 points.

However, the Red Storm also kept both of Villanova’s senior stars in check. Phil Booth hit just 2 of 11 shots from the floor and scored 13 points, while Eric Paschall converted only 2 of 11 attempts and finished with 11, although he added 14 rebounds and four assists. Joe Cremo led the Wildcats with 14 points, and Saddiq Bey tallied 11.

Figueroa’s 3-pointer with 3:52 left in the game gave St. John’s a 58-57 lead. The Wildcats (20-6, 11-2) went scoreless for 3:50 while the Red Storm rattled off eight straight points. St. John’s canned 12 consecutive foul shots in the last 1:24 to seal it.

No. 9 Houston 85, Tulane 50

Corey Davis Jr. tied a career high with 26 points, and the Cougars opened the second half with a 39-10 blitz and routed Tulane in an American Athletic Conference mismatch at New Orleans.

Davis went 8 of 11 from the 3-point line for the Cougars (25-1, 12-1 American), who sank 17 of 35 attempts from behind the 3-point arc, including 9 of their first 11 in the second half. Armoni Brooks scored 24, sinking 6 of 8 treys.

Caleb Daniels paced the Green Wave (4-20, 0-12), who have lost 14 consecutive games, with 13 points. Samir Sehic was good for 12. Tulane converted only 32.1 percent from the field and allowed a whopping 26 fast-break points while scoring just two.

No. 11 Michigan State 62, Ohio State 44

The Spartans, short-handed because of foul trouble and an injury, still closed the game with an 18-2 run over the final 7:40 to blow out Ohio State at East Lansing, Mich., and remain tied for first place in the Big Ten.

Nick Ward was on the bench in the second half with an injured left wrist, and Xavier Tillman and Cassius Winston had four and three fouls, respectively, but the Spartans (21-5, 12-3 Big 10) still made their run. Matt McQuaid, who led the team with 14 points, hit a 3-pointer to cap a 10-0 burst as Michigan took a 52-42 lead.

Winston added 13 points and eight assists, and Kenny Goins chipped in 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Spartans. Kaleb Wesson scored 12 points, the only player for the Buckeyes (16-9, 6-8) in double figures, and added nine rebounds. Andre Wesson added eight rebounds.

–Field Level Media

Source: OANN

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Watch Live: Covington Catholic Student Files $250 Million Lawsuit Against Washington Post

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Source: InfoWars

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Summitry Night Fever: Decoding the Brexit showdown

FILE PHOTO: Journalists work in the main media hall at the European Union summit in Brussels
FILE PHOTO: Journalists work in the main media hall at the European Union summit in Brussels October 27, 2011. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo

April 8, 2019

By Alastair Macdonald

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – European summits, jaded Englishmen have said, are like soccer: they go into extra-time, and the Germans always win.

For the journalists covering them, it is like commentating live on a match played behind closed doors: only partial information leaks out from self-promoting rival players, and even when it’s over, the final score is often far from clear.

Another high-stakes summit coming up on Wednesday is likely to be a replay of the same fixture 10 days ago, when British Prime Minister Theresa May sat in late-night talks with fellow EU leaders trying to delay Brexit until June.

Hundreds of journalists were gathered in the cavernous atrium of the Justus Lipsius Building, home to the European Council of EU national leaders.

For Reuters, the game starts days before such summits begin. Reporters tap their sources in capitals across Europe and EU institutions in Brussels, trying to work out who wants what from the meeting.

When the leaders file in, talking to cameras without translators in the 24 EU languages, our multilingual team relays their words instantly.

Once they’re in, the summit match starts in earnest.

Last month, May began the closed-door meeting by explaining her plans and taking questions from peers. She was looking for an extension to the Brexit deadline to give her more time to try to win backing from Britain’s parliament for her plan to exit the European Union.

The first sign of a story was that May’s presentation before she had to leave the room lasted well over an hour, much longer than previous such sessions. But was that good or bad for Theresa May?

One UK government source told us it had gone “OK”. But our sources among EU officials and national diplomats made clear in hushed conversations and text messages that it had gone “very badly” for her indeed.

A flurry of contradictory messages and rumors began to emerge. This is when reporters need to hold their nerve, when the urge to be quick can compete with the need to be right.

As the other 27 discussed May’s pitch among themselves, French President Emmanuel Macron was pushing to end the agony and get Britain out almost immediately. German Chancellor Angela Merkel urged caution. Europe’s power couple huddled with summit chair Donald Tusk, drafting and redrafting a response to Britain.

Outside the room, Bulgaria’s ambassador tweeted a picture, worthy of Caravaggio, of envoys crowding round one version on a screen. (https://twitter.com/DTzantchev/status/1108807850397261826)

Hours later, as reporters started preparing for yet another all-nighter, Reuters got word from upstairs of the breakthrough: a two-stage approach that might mean Brexit in May, or April. First word from one source a little after 10 p.m. meant rapid checks with others.

At nearly midnight, all was confirmed in a flurry of news conferences. By 2 a.m. our final stories were published, a much earlier finish than some EU summits.

The days that followed brought the after-match analysis. British lawmakers and others denounced the beleaguered prime minister’s performance. May had managed to take the summit into extra time. But it was the French who took the initiative early on and, again, the Germans who ran out winners.

(Reporting by Alastair Macdonald @macdonaldrtr; Editing by Andrew Heavens)

Source: OANN

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Turkey’s Erdogan stands by Russian air defense purchase

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has reaffirmed his country's purchase of a Russian-made missile defense system.

In spite of repeated warnings from the United States, Erdogan said Friday that deliveries of the S-400 system will begin in July.

On Wednesday, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence said Turkey was risking its NATO membership and its participation in the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program.

The Turkish president said they had offered to also buy the U.S.-made Patriot system but that the U.S. offer was not as favorable as Russia's.

The U.S. and other NATO allies have said the S-400s cannot be operable alongside other allied systems and that their use in Turkey could jeapordize F-35s security.

Erdogan also said deliveries of F-35s were continuing and Turkish pilots were being trained.

Source: Fox News World

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NFL transactions: Chargers release Addae

NFL: Los Angeles Chargers at Denver Broncos
Dec 30, 2018; Denver, CO, USA; Los Angeles Chargers strong safety Jahleel Addae (37) makes an interception in the second quarter against the Denver Broncos at Broncos Stadium at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

March 9, 2019

The Los Angeles Chargers released starting safety Jahleel Addae, the team announced on Saturday.

Addae recorded 75 tackles while starting all 16 games last season. He started 59 of 80 games played in six seasons with the Chargers, recording two interceptions and 4.5 sacks.

–Tight end Dwayne Allen reportedly has agreed to a two-year, $7 million with the Miami Dolphins, according to the NFL Network.

Allen, who had 13 receptions for 113 yards in two seasons with New England, recently was cut by the Patriots. He will be playing for new coach Brian Flores, the former New England defensive coordinator.

–The New Orleans Saints agreed to a three-year, $9 million contract with safety Chris Banjo, according to the NFL Network. Banjo had two interceptions last season but primarily has worked on special teams during six NFL seasons with the Green Bay Packers (2013-16) and Saints (2016-18).

–Defensive tackle Michael Pierce and linebacker Patrick Onwuasor are expected to receive second-round tenders from the Baltimore Ravens, according to the NFL Network. Both players will be restricted free agents.

–Field Level Media

Source: OANN

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

April 26, 2019

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

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

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

(Reporting by Richard Leong)

Source: OANN

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

April 26, 2019

By Tom Sims

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“MARKET PLAY”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(Writing by Alexander Smith; Editing by Keith Weir)

Source: OANN

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

April 26, 2019

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

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

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

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

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

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

Source: OANN

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

April 26, 2019

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Source: OANN

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

April 26, 2019

By April Joyner

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Source: OANN

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