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German lawmakers ready to block public cash for Deutsche-Commerzbank

FILE PHOTO: FILE PHOTO: Banners of Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank are pictured in front of the German share price index, DAX in Frankfurt
FILE PHOTO: Banners of Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank are pictured in front of the German share price index, DAX board, at the stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, September 30, 2016. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach/File Photo

April 3, 2019

By John O’Donnell

BERLIN (Reuters) – Lawmakers are warning Germany’s finance minister that they will block any attempt to invest public money into a merged Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank, a deal which could require up to 10 billion euros ($11.2 billion) of fresh capital.

They intend to deliver this message at a closed-door meeting next week with Olaf Scholz, although it is unclear whether the Social Democrat finance minister still plans to attend.

“The merged bank will probably need fresh capital. One thing that we will not stand for is that the state gives more money,” said Bettina Stark-Watzinger, who chairs the Bundestag’s finance committee, emphasizing a hurdle to any deal.

Deutsche Bank’s exploratory merger talks with state-backed Commerzbank come after prodding by Germany’s finance ministry, which is worried about the future of the country’s biggest bank.

A deal would see Berlin become a shareholder in the combined group, which one German official said will need up to 10 billion euros of fresh capital because of restructuring costs and the fact that losses on investments could be triggered by a tie-up.

While German parliamentarians cannot stop the merger itself, they are warning that the Bundestag can block any fresh money to fill a capital shortfall, a crucial pillar to any deal.

“This goes contrary to one of the lessons of the financial crisis – that the taxpayer should not foot the bill for troubled banks,” Stark-Watzinger said.

A spokesman for Scholz, who was the first to publicly reveal the merger talks but has since sought to distance himself from the process, insisting it is up to the banks to decide on their future, declined to comment, as did Deutsche Bank.

“UNTHINKABLE”

Lothar Binding, a leading Social Democrat on the committee, also said the government needed approval from the Bundestag if it wanted to back the merged group with fresh funds.

This would not be triggered if Germany’s 15 percent Commerzbank stake automatically translates into a roughly 5 percent stake in the merged group, but approval is needed if the bank asks investors for fresh money, as expected.

“As things stand, it is unthinkable that the Bundestag would agree,” said Binding. “Any synergies in this deal would come at an immensely high price: huge unemployment. 25,000 to 30,000 jobs could go. I’m against a merger.”

Some conservatives are similarly opposed to the deal.

“We need competition in the banking market, not mega mergers,” said Hans Michelbach, a lawmaker from the Christian Social Union, the Bavarian sister party of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union.

“How on earth can we sell a merger with this bank to our voters? I won’t support it under any circumstances.”

Frustration has been growing in parliament because lawmakers believe Scholz is ignoring their concerns.

Through its stake in Commerzbank, the German government would become a top shareholder in a merged group, playing a central role in any fusion. Lawmakers fear this puts it on the hook to shoulder losses if the bank later runs into trouble.

Berlin could yet pull the plug if it believes a deal would be politically unpalatable.

“This merger is rubbish. It will cost not only jobs but hard cash as well,” said Lisa Paus, a Green party member of parliament, adding that she would reject any government participation in a capital hike.

“It is a running joke in parliament: ‘Where is Scholz?’, she said, adding that his failure to explain the merits of a merger had infuriated many lawmakers. “He doesn’t speak to us.”

(Additional reporting by Tom Sims in Frankfurt; Editing by Alexander Smith)

Source: OANN

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Gregg Jarrett: Investigation into Trump-Russia hoax collusion will lead to criminal investigation

Fox News legal analyst Gregg Jarrett said Tuesday on “Hannity” that Attorney General William Barr's review of the Trump-Russia collusion investigation will lead to a criminal investigation.

“A headline today is that William Barr's personally reviewing the conduct of the FBI in launching the Trump Russia collusion hoax. He knows and there is a plethora of evidence that the process by the FBI was corrupted by political bias and personal animus,” Jarrett told Sean Hannity.

GOHMERT UNLOADS ON 'SMIRKING' STRZOK, ASKS IF HE LIED TO HIS WIFE WHILE CHEATING ON HER
 
According to an administration official who briefed Fox News, Barr has assembled a "team" to investigate the origins of the FBI's counterintelligence investigation into the Trump campaign.

Republicans have called for an investigation of the FBI's intelligence practices and the basis of the since-discredited Russian collusion narrative following the conclusion of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's probe -- and they now appear to have assurances that a comprehensive review was underway.

Jarrett laid out a case for a criminal investigation by Barr.

FBI BLAMES SYSTEM-WIDE SOFTWARE FAILURE FOR MISSING STRZOK TEXTS; STRZOK'S MUELLER PHONE TOTALLY WIPED

“There was never any credible evidence to launch the investigation and Lisa Page verified that in her own testimony, Comey grudgingly admitted it. And then they made matters worse, they lie to FISA judges to obtain a wiretap warrant. So all of this I think William Barr is going to investigate,” Jarrett said.

“And when he receives, sometime this week from members of Congress, a criminal referral he will read what they are laying out the facts, the evidence and the law which will initiate, I believe, a criminal investigation by Barr.”

Fox News' Gregg Re and Jake Gibson contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News Politics

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Western Balkan countries agree to cut, then abolish roaming prices

FILE PHOTO: Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic attends a conference in Minsk, Belarus
FILE PHOTO: Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic attends a conference in Minsk, Belarus, October 31, 2018. REUTERS/Vasily Fedosenko/File Photo

April 4, 2019

BELGRADE (Reuters) – The six Western Balkan countries agreed on Thursday to lower and ultimately abolish roaming costs for mobile telephony and internet users by 2021 to try to harmonize the regional telecoms market.

The agreement envisions a 27 percent cut starting from July 1 this year and the abolition of all roaming costs from July 2021.

It was signed by the representatives of Serbia, Albania, Bosnia, Montenegro, Kosovo and Macedonia during a regional conference in Belgrade. The six countries have over 20 million cell phone users combined.

Serbia’s Prime Minister Ana Brnabic hailed the decision of Serbia and Kosovo, which both agreed to sign the deal, despite their tense relations.

“We will do everything possible to give region a chance to be prosperous,” she said at the signing ceremony.

Under the deal, the cost for a minute of a cell phone call and a unit of data transfer should not be more than around $0.2 indexed in national currencies, without VAT sales tax.

(Reporting by Aleksandar Vasovic; Editing by Keith Weir)

Source: OANN

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Barclays may cut costs in ‘challenging’ economy

London-based Barclays bank says it may cut costs if "challenging" economic conditions persists throughout the year.

The warning came as the bank said Thursday that revenue dropped 2% to 5.25 billion pounds ($6.77 billion) in the first quarter of 2019. Pre-tax profit from Barclays' corporate and investment banking business fell 30%.

Barclays says the "income environment in the quarter was challenging" and it will reduce spending "if this were to persist for the remainder of the year."

The bank says it has already cut bonus and compensation payouts across the corporate and investment bank to reflect the division's poor performance.

Barclays reported quarterly net income of 1.04 billion pounds, compared with a year-earlier loss of 764 million pounds, when the bank set aside 2 billion pounds to cover misconduct.

Source: Fox News World

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Lawyer says defendants were tortured by Houthi captors

A Yemeni lawyer says 36 defendants charged with espionage by the Houthi rebels are alleging they have been tortured.

Abdel-Majeed Sabra, a Yemeni lawyer representing one of the detainees, made the claim to The Associated Press on Tuesday.

He said his client appeared in court Tuesday but the hearing was adjourned until Saturday.

Sabra says the detainees have been subjected to beatings and other physical abuses since their detentions, which have ranged from two to four years. He said they are held in underground cells and deprived of food and medicine.

Thousands have been imprisoned by the Houthi militia during Yemen's civil war. An AP investigation found some detainees were scorched with acid, forced to hang from their wrists for weeks at a time or were beaten with batons.

Source: Fox News World

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White House Reacts To Mueller Report Release

Saagar Enjeti | White House Correspondent

The White House will defer the review of special counsel Robert Mueller’s report to Attorney General Bill Barr, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a Friday afternoon statement.

“The next steps are up to Attorney General Barr, and we look forward to the process taking its course. The White House has not received or been briefed on the Special Counsel’s report,” Sanders said minutes after Barr revealed that he had received the report. (RELATED: The Mueller Investigation Is Over) 

FBI Director Robert Mueller speaks during a news conference at the FBI headquarters June 25, 2008 in Washington, DC. The news conference was to mark the 5th anniversary of Innocence Lost initiative. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

FBI Director Robert Mueller speaks during a news conference at the FBI headquarters June 25, 2008 in Washington, DC. The news conference was to mark the 5th anniversary of Innocence Lost initiative. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Mueller delivered his final report to Barr after 675 extraordinary days of appointment, during which he sought to review any potential contact between Russia and the Trump 2016 campaign. The investigation became a sprawling review and led to the indictment of many of those in Trump’s orbit. It dominated headlines in the first two years of Trump’s presidency and became a major foil for the president who decried it as a “WITCH HUNT” throughout the process.

William Barr, nominee to be US Attorney General, testifies during a Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, January 15, 2019. (SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images)

William Barr, nominee to be US Attorney General, testifies during a Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, January 15, 2019. (SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images)

Mueller’s appointment came in May 2017 after Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein appointed him. Rosenstein appointed Mueller after a period of turmoil during which Trump fired former FBI Director James Comey, prompting questions of whether he did so to curtail the Russia investigation.

Barr will now review Mueller’s report and told lawmakers Friday afternoon that he hopes to share the top findings of the report with them as soon as this weekend. Barr’s letter noted that at no point did the Department of Justice curtail any of Mueller’s activities.

Source: The Daily Caller

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Kentucky woman arrested after allegedly faking cancer diagnosis, raising $10G in donations: report

A woman in Northern Kentucky is facing felony charges after she allegedly faked a cancer diagnosis and ultimately swindled thousands of dollars from coworkers and other sympathizers in donations.

Jessica Marie Krecskay, 25, was arrested on Feb. 14 on felony theft charges, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported. If convicted, she could face up to 10 years in jail.

OHIO NURSE WHO LIED ABOUT TERMINAL CANCER DIAGNOSIS GETS PRISON TIME

Between 2013 and 2017, Krecskay reportedly amassed roughly $10,000 in donations from coworkers and others after telling them she had ovarian cancer that had spread throughout her body, Fox 19 reported.

A former coworker told the news station that some of Krecskay’s colleagues would clean her house or give their vacation time to her when they believed she was ill.

“The other girls at work would clean her house for her, take her out to eat all the time," Jessica Lunsford said, adding the 25-year-old also shaved her head as a way to sell her story. "Gave their own sick time and vacation time hours to go towards her.”

Rob Sanders, the attorney for the 16th Judicial Circuit in Kenton County, told the Cincinnati Enquirer that police began investigating Krecskay after people called expressing concerns her cancer story was not true.

"Publicity from another fake cancer case prompted those same people to report their suspicions about this defendant to police," Sanders said, referring to when a Northern Kentucky University student in 2017 also allegedly faked a cancer diagnosis for money.

MASSACHUSETTS GIRL'S FLU-RELATED DEATH DEVASTATES DAD 

"Anytime someone uses a false claim of such a dreaded disease for fraudulent purposes, it evokes understandably angry and emotional responses from the many people who actually battle cancer or love someone battling cancer," Sanders added.

Krecskay was released from jail on $2,500 bond. Her arraignment in Kenton County Circuit Court is slated for March 4.

Source: Fox News National

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FILE PHOTO: Supporters of the Spain's far-right party VOX wave Spanish flags as they attend an electoral rally ahead of general elections in the Andalusian capital of Seville
FILE PHOTO: Supporters of the Spain’s far-right party VOX wave Spanish flags as they attend an electoral rally ahead of general elections in the Andalusian capital of Seville, Spain April 24, 2019. REUTERS/Marcelo del Pozo/File Photo

April 26, 2019

By John Stonestreet and Belén Carreño

MADRID (Reuters) – Spain’s Vox party, aligned to a broader far-right movement emerging across Europe, has become the focus of speculation about last minute shifts in voting intentions since official polling for Sunday’s national election ended four days ago.

No single party is anywhere near securing a majority, and chances of a deadlocked parliament and a second election are high.

Leaders of the five parties vying for a role in government get final chances to pitch for power at rallies on Friday evening, before a campaign characterized by appeals to voters’ hearts rather than wallets ends at midnight.

By tradition, the final day before a Spanish election is politics-free.

Two main prizes are still up for grabs in the home straight. One concerns which of the two rival left and right multi-party blocs gets more votes.

The other is whether Vox could challenge the mainstream conservative PP for leadership of the latter bloc, which media outlets with access to unofficial soundings taken since Monday suggest could be starting to happen.

The right’s loose three-party alliance is led by the PP, the traditional conservative party that has alternated in office with outgoing Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s Socialists since Spain’s return to democracy in the 1970s.

The PP stands at around 20 percent, with center-right Ciudadanos near 14 percent and Vox around 11 percent, according to a final poll of polls in daily El Pais published on Monday.

Since then, however, interest in Vox – which will become the first far-right party to sit in parliament since 1982 – has snowballed.

It was founded in 2013, part of a broader anti-establishment, far-right movement that has also spread across – among others – Italy, France and Germany.

While it is careful to distance itself from the ideology of late dictator Francisco Franco, Vox’s signature policies include repealing laws banning Franco-era symbols and on gender-based violence, and shifting power away from Spain’s regional governments.

TRENDING

According to a Google trends graphic, Vox has generated more than three times more search inquiries than any other Spanish political party in the past week.

Reasons could include a groundswell of vocal activist support at Vox rallies in Madrid and Valencia, and its exclusion from two televised debates between the main party leaders, on the grounds of it having no deputies yet in parliament.

Conservative daily La Vanguardia called its enforced absence from Monday’s and Tuesday’s debates “a gift from heaven”, while left-wing Eldiario.es suggested the PP was haemorrhaging votes to Vox in rural areas.

Ignacio Jurado, politics lecturer at the University of York, agreed the main source of additional Vox votes would be disaffected PP supporters, and called the debate ban – whose impact he said was unclear – wrong.

“This is a party polling over 10 percent and there are people interested in what it says. So we lose more than we win in not having them (in the debates),” he said

For Jose Fernandez-Albertos, political scientist at Spanish National Research Council CSIC, Vox is enjoying the novelty effect that propelled then new, left-wing arrival Podemos to 20 percent of the vote in 2015.

“While it’s unclear how to interpret the (Google) data, what we do know is that it’s better to be popular and to be a newcomer, and that Vox will benefit in some form,” he said.

For now, the chances of Vox taking a major role in government remain slim, however.

The El Pais survey put the Socialists on around 30 percent, making them the frontrunners and likely to form a leftist bloc with Podemos, back down at around 14 percent.

The unofficial soundings suggest little change in the two parties’ combined vote, or the total vote of the rightist bloc.

That makes it unlikely that either bloc will win a majority on Sunday, triggering horse-trading with smaller parties favoring Catalan independence – the single most polarizing issues during campaigning – that could easily collapse into fresh elections.

(Election graphic: https://tmsnrt.rs/2ENugtw)

(Reporting by John Stonestreet and Belen Carreno, Editing by William Maclean)

Source: OANN

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FILE PHOTO: The logo of the OPEC is seen at OPEC's headquarters in Vienna
FILE PHOTO: The logo of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries at OPEC’s headquarters in Vienna, Austria December 5, 2018. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger/File Photo

April 26, 2019

JOINT BASE ANDREWS, Md. (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday he called the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and told the cartel to lower oil prices.

“Gasoline prices are coming down. I called up OPEC, I said you’ve got to bring them down. You’ve got to bring them down,” Trump told reporters.

(Reporting by Roberta Rampton; Writing by Makini Brice; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

Source: OANN

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Sonia Bompastor, director of the Olympique Lyonnais womenÕs Youth Academy, leads a training at the OL Academy near Lyon
Sonia Bompastor, director of the Olympique Lyonnais womenÕs Youth Academy, leads a training at the OL Academy in Meyzieu near Lyon, France, April 16, 2019. REUTERS/Emmanuel Foudrot

April 26, 2019

By Julien Pretot

MEYZIEU, France (Reuters) – Olympique Lyonnais president Jean-Michel Aulas was wringing out his women’s team shirts in the locker room on a rainy London day eight years ago when he decided it was time to take gender equality more seriously.

It was halftime in their Champions League semi-final second leg against Arsenal at Meadow Park with 507 fans watching and Aulas realized that his players did not have a another kit for the second half.

“Next time, there will be a second set just like for the men, that’s how it’s going to work from now on,” he said.

Lyon have since won five Champions League titles to become the most successful women’s team in Europe and recently claimed a 13th consecutive domestic crown.

They visit Chelsea on Sunday in the second leg of their Champions League semi-final, with a fourth straight title in their sights.

At the heart of their achievements is a pervasive ethos that promotes gender equality throughout the club, starting in the youth academy.

In 2013, Aulas appointed former Lyon and France player Sonia Bompastor as head of the Women’s Academy — the female equivalent of one of France’s top youth set-ups that has produced players such as Karim Benzema, Alexandre Lacazette and Hatem Ben Arfa.

At the Youth Academy, girls and boys share the same facilities.

“Pitches, physiotherapy rooms are the same for all,” the 38-year-old Bompastor told Reuters.

As the girls train under the watch of former Lyon and France international Camille Abily, the screams of the boys practicing can be heard nearby.

The boys and girls also benefit from the same psychological support that includes hypnosis sessions and yoga.

“We have a ‘mental ability’ cell and the hypnotist acts on the girls’ subconscious, on their deeply held beliefs after observing them on and off the pitch,” Bompastor added.

SAME TREATMENT

One message the Academy staff are trying to convey is that girls are as good as boys.

“Women’s nature is such that we have low self-esteem. So self-esteem is a big topic for our girls,” said Bompastor.

This is not the case with the boys, she added.

“Some 14, 15-year-old boys still think they would beat our professional players, we tell them this would not be happening. We still need to work on those beliefs,” she said.

Female players also have to face questions that their male counterparts do not, Bompastor explained.

“In France there is a problem with the way women are considered, there are high aesthetic expectations. So we get heavy questions on femininity, intimate questions that men don’t get,” she said.

OL’s Academy has been held up as a shining example for others to follow, even in the U.S., where women’s soccer has a wider audience than in Europe.

“About one third of the (senior women’s) squad comes from the Academy, we have a good balance,” said Bompastor.

“I’m getting tons of requests from American universities and foreign clubs, who want to come and visit our facilities.”

‘ONE CLUB’

The salaries of the senior players is one area where there remains a large discrepancy between Lyon’s men’s and women’s teams.

While the three best-paid women players in the world are at Lyon with Ballon d’Or winner Ada Hegerberg earning 400,000 euros ($445,520) a year, this figure is dwarfed by the around 4 million euros earned annually by men’s player Memphis Depay.

There is, however, a level of interaction between the men’s and women’s players that is not present at many other clubs.

“When you talk about OL you talk about women and men, you talk about one club and you feel it when you are here or outside in the city,” Germany defender Carolin Simon told Reuters.

“We see it when we play in the big stadium. It’s not ‘normal’ for women’s football,” the 26-year-old, who joined the club last year, added.

Lyon’s female players also enjoy respect from their male counterparts, Simon said.

“It’s very cool, it’s a big honor to feel that it doesn’t matter if you are a professional man or woman. We talk with the men, there are handshakes, it’s a good atmosphere and it’s also why we are successful,” said Simon.

“The men respect us and it’s not just for the cameras.”

Her team mate, England’s Lucy Bronze, sees the men’s respect as key to improving women’s football.

“We might not be paid the same but they are just normal with us, they see us as footballers the same as they are,” Bronze told Reuters.

“Being at Lyon has really opened my eyes. To improve women’s football, it starts with having the respect of your male counterparts. It’s the biggest thing because they can influence so many people.”

(Reporting by Julien Pretot; Editing by Toby Davis)

Source: OANN

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FILE PHOTO: Ethiopian migrants, stranded in war-torn Yemen, sit on the ground of a detention site pending repatriation to their home country, in Aden, Yemen
FILE PHOTO: Ethiopian migrants, stranded in war-torn Yemen, sit on the ground of a detention site pending repatriation to their home country, in Aden, Yemen April 24, 2019. REUTERS/Fawaz Salman/File Photo

April 26, 2019

GENEVA (Reuters) – Yemeni authorities have rounded up about 3,000 irregular migrants, predominantly Ethiopians, in the south of the country, “creating an acute humanitarian situation,” the U.N. migration agency said on Friday.

“IOM is deeply concerned about the conditions in which the migrants are being held and is engaging with the authorities to ensure access to the detained migrants,” the International Organization for Migration said.

The migrants are held in open-air football stadiums and in a military camp, it said in a statement.

The detentions began on Sunday in the city of Aden and the neighboring province of Lahj, which are under the control of the internationally recognized government backed by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Iran-aligned Houthi rebels control Sanaa, the capital, and other major urban centers.

Both sides are under international diplomatic pressure to implement a United Nations-sponsored ceasefire deal agreed last year in Sweden and to prepare for a wider political dialogue that would end the four-year-old war.

Thousands of migrants arrive in Yemen every year, mostly from the Horn of Africa, driven by drought and unemployment at home and lured by the wages available in the Gulf.

(Writing by Maher Chmaytelli, Editing by William Maclean)

Source: OANN

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U.S. dollar notes are seen in this picture illustration
U.S. dollar notes are seen in this November 7, 2016 picture illustration. Picture taken November 7. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

April 26, 2019

(Reuters) – Following are five big themes likely to dominate thinking of investors and traders in the coming week and the Reuters stories related to them.

1/DOLLAR JUGGERNAUT

The dollar has zipped to near two-year highs, leaving many scratching their heads. To many, it’s down to signs the U.S. economy is chugging ahead while the rest of the world loses steam. After all, Wall Street is busily scaling new peaks day after day.

Never mind the cause, the effect is stark. The euro has tumbled to 22-month lows against the dollar and investors are preparing for more, buying options to shield against further downside. Emerging-market currencies are also in pain, with Turkish lira and Argentine peso both sharply weaker.

Now U.S. data need to keep surprising on the upside or even just meet expectations. The International Monetary Fund sees U.S. growth at 2.3 percent this year. For Germany, the forecast is 0.8 percent. The U.S. economy’s rude health has given rise to speculation the Fed might resume raising interest rates. Unlikely. But as other countries — Canada, Sweden and Australia are the latest — hint at more policy easing, there seems to be one way the dollar can go. Up.

(GRAPHIC: Dollar outperforms G10 FX – https://tmsnrt.rs/2Dz17S5)

2/FED: UP OR DOWN?

Wall Street is near record highs and recession worries are receding, so as we mentioned above, investors might wonder if the Federal Reserve will start raising rates again.

Such a pivot is unlikely after the Fed killed off rate-rise expectations at its March meeting. And the latest Reuters poll all but puts to bed any risk of rates will go up this economic cycle, given inflation remains below the Fed’s alarm threshold and unemployment is the lowest in generations.

Before the March rate-pause announcement, a preponderance of economists penciled in one or more increases this year. But that has flipped. A majority of those surveyed April 22-24 see no further tightening through December and more are leaning toward a cut by the end of next year.

Indeed, interest rate futures imply Fed Funds will be below the current 2.25-2.50 percent target range by this December.

Recent positive consumer spending and exports data have eased market concerns of a sharp economic slowdown. But inflation probably needs to run hot for a long period to panic policymakers off their wait-and-see course.     

(GRAPHIC: Federal funds and the economy – https://tmsnrt.rs/2DzjTZz)

3/HEISEI TO REIWA

Next week ends three decades of Japan’s Heisei era. Heisei, or Achieving Peace, began in 1989 near the peak of a massive stock market bubble and closes with the country trapped in low growth, no inflation, and negative interest rates.

The new era that dawns on May 1 is called Reiwa, meaning Beautiful Harmony. It begins when Crown Prince Naruhito ascends the Chrysanthemum Throne. But do investors really want harmony? What they want to see is a bit of economic growth and inflation to shake up the status quo.

The Bank of Japan’s stimulus toolkit to revive a long-suffering economy is anything but harmonious and yet it’s set to stay. The central bank confirmed recently rates will stay near zero for a long time. But the coming days may not be harmonious or peaceful for currency markets. A 10-day Golden Week holiday kicks off on April 29 and investors are fretting over the risk of a “flash crash” – a violent currency spasm that can occur in times of thin trading turnover.

The year has already seen two yen spikes and many, including Japan’s housewife-trader brigade – so-called Mrs Watanabes – appear to have bought yen as the holiday approaches. Their short dollar/long yen positions recently reached record highs, stock exchange data showed.

(GRAPHIC: Japan stocks: from Hensei to Reiwa – https://tmsnrt.rs/2W6a7Fe)

4/EARNING TURNING

Quarterly earnings were supposed to be the worst in Europe in almost three years, but with a third of results in, things are looking a little rosier.

Two-thirds of companies’ results have beat expectations, and they point to earnings growth of 4.5 percent year-on-year. Financials have delivered the biggest surprises, according to analysis by Barclays.

That might just show how low expectations were. In fact, analysts are still taking a red pen to their estimates.

The latest I/B/E/S data from Refinitiv shows analysts on average expect first-quarter earnings-per-share for STOXX 600-listed companies to fall 4.2 percent. That would be their worst quarter since 2016 and down sharply from an estimated 3.4 percent just a week earlier.

Those estimates may end up being a little too bearish as earnings season goes on, quelling worries that Europe is heading toward a corporate recession.

GSK and Reckitt Benckiser will give the market a glimpse of the health of the consumer products market and spending on everything from toothpaste, washing powder and paracetamol.

(GRAPHIC: Earnings forecasts – https://tmsnrt.rs/2DuO2ZF)

5/WAITING FOR THE OLD LADY

Sterling has gone into the doldrums amid the Brexit delay and unproductive talks between the UK government and the opposition Labour party on a EU withdrawal deal. The resurgent dollar, meanwhile, has taken 2 percent off the pound in April. It is unlikely the Bank of England will be able to rouse it at its May 2 meeting.

Despite robust retail and jobs data of late, the economic picture is gloomy – 2019 growth is likely to be around 1.2 percent, the weakest since 2009, investment is down and Governor Mark Carney says business uncertainty is “through the roof”.

Indeed, expectations for an interest rate increase have been whittled down; Reuters polls forecast rates will not move until early 2020, a calendar quarter later than was forecast a month ago. The hunt for a new governor to replace Carney in October adds more uncertainty to the mix.

The recent run of UK data has fueled hopes of economic rebound. That’s put net hedge fund positions in the pound into positive territory for the first time in nearly a year. The Old Lady of Threadneedle Street might temper some of that optimism.

(GRAPHIC: Sterling positions – https://tmsnrt.rs/2XJwUXX)

(Reporting by Alden Bentley in New York, Vidya Ranganathan in Singapore; Karin Strohecker, Josephine Mason and Saikat Chatterjee in London; compiled by Sujata Rao; edited by Larry King)

Source: OANN

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