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Trump expected to sign memorandum on federal housing finance reform

U.S. President Trump arrives for a closed Senate Republican policy lunch on Capitol Hill in Washington
U.S. President Donald Trump takes questions from reporters as the president arrives for a closed Senate Republican policy lunch on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., March 26, 2019. REUTERS/Leah Millis

March 27, 2019

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Donald Trump is expected to sign a memorandum on federal housing finance reform on Wednesday, according to a White House official.

In January, the White House said it was preparing a framework for an overhaul that “fully addresses the risks to taxpayers presented by the current housing finance system.”

Congress is debating its own housing finance reform options, but has struggled in recent years to advance a plan.

The Trump administration has identified reforming mortgage guarantors Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as a top priority. The two government-sponsored enterprises have remained under a government conservatorship since 2008, when the two faced collapse during the subprime mortgage crisis.

(Reporting by Pete Schroeder; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

Source: OANN

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US-backed Syrian force declares victory over Islamic State

A U.S.-backed Syrian force said Saturday that it has liberated the last area held by the Islamic State group in the eastern Syrian village of Baghouz, declaring victory over the extremists and the end of their self-declared caliphate.

Mustafa Bali, a spokesman for the Syrian Democratic Forces, tweeted that "Baghouz is free and the military victory against Daesh has been achieved," referring to the group by its Arabic acronym.

Bali said the so-called caliphate, which once sprawled across much of Syria and neighboring Iraq, is gone, and pledged to continue the fight against remnants of the extremist group until they are completely eradicated.

The announcement marks the end of a 4 ½-year campaign by an array of forces against the extremist group, which at its height in 2014 ruled an area the size of the United Kingdom, including several major cities and towns.

The group no longer controls any territory in Syria or Iraq, but continues to carry out insurgent attacks in both countries. It also maintains affiliates in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, Afghanistan and elsewhere.

Source: Fox News World

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Confederate monument in North Carolina vandalized again

A Confederate monument in a North Carolina city has been splashed with paint for the second time in seven months.

News outlets report the "Fame" monument was vandalized with yellow paint sometime between Tuesday night and Wednesday morning.

Salisbury city crews told the Salisbury Post they're not responsible for removing the paint, as the statue is on private property and owned by a chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy. When the statue depicting an angel cradling a soldier was vandalized in August, residents and a pressure washing company cleaned it.

The downtown site of the monument was designated in 1908, but no formal deed or transfer of ownership for the property exists.

The United Daughters of the Confederacy also owned the monument on private property that was recently removed in Winston-Salem.

Source: Fox News National

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Democrats face a 2020 choice problem


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On the roster: Democrats face a 2020 choice problem - Beto, Warren call abolish the Electoral College - Report: Deutsche Bank loaned Trump over $2 billion - Keep an eye on Andrew Yang - Better late than never?

DEMOCRATS FACE A 2020 CHOICE PROBLEM
Boston Globe: “With the party’s first national debates less than three months away, and the New Hampshire primary less than 11 months away, the big challenge for … [candidates:] how to stand out in such a crowded pack, without doing anything so bold it could backfire. …  A big field without an obvious front-runner could shake out in any number of ways, but history suggests it will most likely end up following one of two paths. The first is the long, (mostly) collegial search for a consensus candidate. That’s what we saw with the relatively large Democratic field in 1988 (11 candidates, plus a few fringe). In that race, the big names either sat out or flamed out early, and the campaign turned into a slow-moving grind… The 2004 campaign started out in similar fashion… The model for the second possible path is a lot more recent: The Republicans in the 2016 campaign. … After all, what an effective primary campaign does is put the candidates through a punishing stress test that toughens and strengthens them, giving everyone confidence that they have identified the strongest possible contender for the general election. … So this is the tightrope that Democratic contenders will have to walk: They’ll need to be unfiltered and distinctive enough to break out of the pack, but not so candid that they get disqualified by the wrath of summary judgment on social media.”

California’s early primary poised to pull 2020 Democrats further left - Fox News: “Unlike past elections, California will hold its primary early in the season – on March 3, 2020. That means the West Coast state, and its famously liberal voters, will hold extra influence this cycle. And while the 2020 candidates still have to connect with supporters in earliest-voting Iowa and New Hampshire – with their more moderate-leaning electorates – California’s combination of an early primary and massive delegate count could motivate the field to run decisively in the progressive lane from the start. … In another sign of California’s emerging influence this cycle, putative front-runner Sen. Bernie Sanders plans to visit the state this week. … Not only is California’s primary now slated for Super Tuesday in March, but early voting is set to start around the time of the Iowa caucuses. With that in mind, Sanders’ visit this week is likely the start of a political gold rush of sorts, as the 2020 candidates look west for electoral gold.”

THE RULEBOOK: MORE THE MERRIER
“The choice of SEVERAL, to form an intermediate body of electors, will be much less apt to convulse the community with any extraordinary or violent movements, than the choice of ONE who was himself to be the final object of the public wishes.” – Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 68

TIME OUT: HOUSTON, WE HAVE A GOOD BOY PROBLEM
Atlantic: “To be clear, NASA’s ambitious plans for missions to the moon and Mars do not include dogs. … But dogs have been to space. In the 1950s and 1960s, the Soviet Union strapped dogs into capsules and launched them into the sky. … But [NASA] suggests that, unlike the Soviet dogs, a canine on Mars would not be a lab animal, but a valued companion on the journey to a distant land. … Designing a spacesuit for a dog wouldn’t be the hard part… NASA has decades’ worth of experience in manufacturing spacesuits, which are like little spacecraft of their own… The problem is the dog’s experience inside that spacesuit, which would circulate the same air over and over. … The enclosed environment of a spacesuit would be stifling. … There’s also the question of the dog relieving itself. Astronauts wear adult diapers during spacewalks; Mars explorers would have to train their canine companions to become comfortable with a similar arrangement.”

Flag on the play? - Email us at HALFTIMEREPORT@FOXNEWS.COM with your tips, comments or questions.

SCOREBOARD
Trump job performance 
Average approval: 
41 percent
Average disapproval: 53.6 percent
Net Score: -12.6 points
Change from one week ago: down 1.8 points 
[Average includes: CNN: 43% approve - 51% disapprove; Gallup: 39% approve - 57% disapprove; Monmouth University: 44% approve - 52% disapprove; Quinnipiac University: 38% approve - 55% disapprove; IBD: 41% approve - 53% disapprove.]

BETO, WARREN CALL ABOLISH THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE
Fox News: “Another 2020 Democrat has come out against the Electoral College. After addressing students at Penn State University on Tuesday afternoon, Beto O’Rourke lamented Hillary Clinton’s failure to take the White House despite winning the popular vote, adding there is ‘a lot of wisdom’ in calls for change. ‘I think there’s a lot to that. Because you had an election in 2016 where the loser got 3 million more votes than the victor,’ O’Rourke said in a video posted online. ... ‘If we really want everyone to vote, to give them every reason to vote, we have to make sure their votes count and go to the candidate of their choosing. So I think there’s a lot of wisdom in that.’ O’Rourke’s support for potentially abolishing the Electoral College came one day after Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., pushed a similar proposal. ‘Every vote matters and the way we can make that happen is that we can have national voting, and that means get rid of the Electoral College,’ Warren told an audience at the historically black Jackson State University in Mississippi.”

History shows Dems’ call isn’t all that surprising - WaPo: “Defenders of the electoral college system argue that it mandates visits to states like those above which might otherwise be overlooked. … That debate aside, there’s certainly no reason to be surprised that Warren would call for the electoral college system to be thrown out. There have been four elections since 1860 in which the electoral vote has given the presidency to the candidate who lost the popular vote: 1876, 1888, 2000 and 2016. As Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) has pointed out, Republicans have won the popular vote only once in her lifetime, but have held the White House for 10 years. In each of those four elections where the popular vote winner lost the electoral vote, the losing candidate was a Democrat.”

Court-packing is another test on the left - The Hill: “Whether or not to expand the Supreme Court is emerging as a key litmus test in the crowded 2020 Democratic presidential primary field. Once dismissed as a fringe idea, reforming the nation’s highest court is gaining traction with a growing number of Democratic 2020 candidates as progressive outside groups and high-profile officials, including former Attorney General Eric Holder, have vaulted the idea into the national spotlight. The courts have emerged as a lightning rod during the Trump administration for the Democratic Party’s resurgent base, which remains deeply bitter over Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s (R-Ky.) decision to block Merrick Garland, President Obama’s final Supreme Court nominee. Supporters argue that sweeping reforms, including expanding the number of justices, are needed to counteract Trump and McConnell, who they say have 'packed' the judicial system with conservative judges — including two Supreme Court justices and a record number of influential appeals court picks.”

REPORT: DEUTSCHE BANK LOANED TRUMP OVER $2 BILLION
NYT: “Mr. [Donald] Trump and Deutsche Bank were deeply entwined, their symbiotic bond born of necessity and ambition on both sides… Then Mr. Trump won the 2016 election, and the German bank shifted into damage-control mode, bracing for an onslaught of public scrutiny, according to several people involved in the internal response. … More than two years later, Mr. Trump’s financial ties with Deutsche Bank are the subject of investigations by two congressional committees and the New York attorney general. Investigators hope to use Deutsche Bank as a window into Mr. Trump’s personal and business finances. Deutsche Bank officials have quietly argued to regulators, lawmakers and journalists that Mr. Trump was not a priority for the bank or its senior leaders and that the lending was the work of a single, obscure division. But interviews with more than 20 current and former Deutsche Bank executives and board members, most of them with direct knowledge of the Trump relationship, contradict the bank’s narrative.”

FOX TO HOST HOWARD SCHULTZ TOWN HALL
Politico: “He may not yet be a 2020 presidential candidate, but Fox News is already treating former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz like one, complete with his own town hall event scheduled for next month. Fox News anchors Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum will host the event, which is scheduled for for April 4 in Kansas City, Missouri, the network announced Tuesday. The town hall event will focus on ‘Schultz’s potential candidacy and the issues he plans to tackle,’ Fox News said. Schultz sparked a wave of criticism from the left earlier this year when he announced he would explore a possible run for president as a centrist, independent candidate. In touting his potential bid, Schultz trashed the Democratic Party, of which he was previously a member, criticizing its lurch to the left in recent years. He argued that he could garner the votes of centrist Democratic and Republican voters unhappy with President Donald Trump but uncomfortable with voting for a liberal Democrat.”

Keep an eye on Andrew Yang - FiveThirtyEight: “[Andrew] Yang is the only 2020 candidate thus far to put a universal income front and center, and his campaign says it’s been key to attracting support. But it’s probably not a strong enough issue to propel Yang to victory on its own. A Gallup poll from 2017 found the concept to be divisive — 48 percent supported a universal basic income, while 52 percent opposed it. … That said, if Yang does indeed make the debate stage, he could succeed in making the issue a part of the national conversation. … We’d expect Yang to get a good deal of support from The Left; most Americans think providing a universal income is a socialist position (though it has conservative adherents as well), and Yang has taken progressive views on a host of other issues. But he may not speak the language of The Left: He’s frank in saying ‘I’m a capitalist,’ and his campaign manager, Zach Graumann, says that the campaign doesn’t subscribe to the ‘capitalist/socialist dichotomy.’ Yang’s strongest constituencies might be Millennials and Hispanic and Asian voters.”

Klobuchar lists accomplishments while facing obstacles - NPR: “Minnesotans like Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar. … She's hoping that strong support in her home state… But on the way, Klobuchar faces some obstacles: her moderate politics (at least, relative to many of her competitors for the nomination) may turn off some Democratic primary voters, as may some of the reports that she has mistreated her staff. … Her route to ‘universal health care’ doesn't mean putting everyone on a government-administered insurance plan. Rather, she first supports a … bill, which ultimately failed, would have stabilized the Obamacare exchanges. In addition, Klobuchar has said that she wants to allow people to buy into Medicaid via a bill sponsored by Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii — a ‘public option’ plan. That said, Klobuchar explains that she's not exactly against Medicare for All.”

Booker swipes at candidates for bragging about marijuana use - WaPo: “Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) appeared to take a swipe at two of his fellow 2020 presidential hopefuls during an MSNBC interview Monday night in which he criticized ‘senators bragging about their pot use.’ Booker did not mention anyone by name during the ‘Hardball’ interview with host Chris Matthews. But he suggested that it was inappropriate for lawmakers to make light of the issue when some in society face legal repercussions for similar actions. ‘We have presidential candidates — senators — bragging about their pot use while there are kids who can’t get a job because they have a nonviolent offense,’ Booker said. In a radio interview last month, Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) … laughingly acknowledged that she has used marijuana in the past… Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), another 2020 candidate, has also recently spoken about having used marijuana, although his comments were not as widely reported as Harris’s. … Booker’s remarks in the MSNBC interview come one day after he made a similar statement during a campaign event in Davenport, Iowa.”

Bernie announces top staffers in wake of shakeup - Fox News: “One month after Sen. Bernie Sanders launched his second straight bid for the Democratic presidential nomination, his campaign is announcing major staffing decisions. The independent senator from Vermont on Tuesday formally announced a slate of national staffers. The move comes just four days after Sanders highlighted that his presidential campaign would be the first in history to unionize. And the announcements come three weeks after a major shakeup at the campaign, with several top advisers from Sanders’ 2016 White House bid heading for the exits. … Regardless of the shakeup, Sanders came out of the gate in strong position. He drew large crowds to his first two rallies in New York City and Chicago and along with former Vice President Joe Biden, who’s likely to announce his bid next month, is near the top of the public opinion polls.”

Give this a read: ‘The politics of Beto and Amy O’Rourke’s marriage’ - WaPo: “Then, there’s Amy and Beto. They are at once the most modern and most conventional of the families running for president in 2020. They are pioneers of social media, broadcasting much of their lives in real time; affluent, white and traditional — the political equivalent of ‘The Truman Show.’ They captured the hearts and minds of the left in their 2018 run for the Senate, but now, Beto won’t call himself a progressive. Amy, before putting her career on the back burner for her husband, ran a charter school. … In truth, even though Amy is fully on board, this isn’t the life she would have chosen. She recently finished Michelle Obama’s ‘Becoming.’ Like Michelle, Amy says of being first lady, ‘I wouldn’t put it on the list of things that I’ve ever aspired to.’”

PLAY-BY-PLAY
Trump 2020 looks like another Facebook election - Axios

Nadler ‘encouraged’ by documents provided in Trump obstruction probe - Politico

Pergram: ‘Border wall standoff could lead to another government shutdown this fall’ - Fox News

SupCo rules in favor of Trump’s immigration detention - Reuters

Cornyn prepares for 2020 fight - Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Former House Speaker Paul Ryan joins board of new Fox Corp. - Bloomberg

Trump admin proposes news limits on student loans - AP

AUDIBLE: BUT HAVE YOU TRIED A CHAI TEA LATTE?  
“I broke up with sleep last night and I’m dating coffee this morning. . . I appreciate her warmth and stimulating company.” – A series of old tweets from Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., from over the years have resurfaced about his on and off again relationship with sleep.

Share your color commentary: Email us at HALFTIMEREPORT@FOXNEWS.COM and please make sure to include your name and hometown.

BETTER LATE THAN NEVER?
Fox News: “A New Jersey man has finally returned a school library book he checked out 53 years ago. Harry Krame, of Fair Lawn, said he recently discovered ‘The Family Book Of Verse’ by Lewis Gannet while cleaning the basement of his home. ‘When he asked my name I told him I can’t give it to him because I was in the witness protection program,’ Krame, 65, told WCBS-TV. ‘I took it out to read and never brought it back.’ Krame checked out the novel when he was 13 years old in 1966. When he realized he still had the book all these years later, he said he felt guilty for ‘a few seconds. ... It was like, I still have (it), sorry about that.’ Dominick Tarquinio, the vice principal of Memorial Middle School, told the news outlet he was shocked when a former student returned his late book. He said that at today's rate, Krame would owe around $2,000 in late fees. However, he said: ‘We’re not looking to collect.’”

AND NOW, A WORD FROM CHARLES…
“Regarding terrorism, we’ve developed a fairly reasonable balance. But it took time. With Ebola, we don’t have time. Viruses don’t wait. The sooner we reset the balance — the sooner we get serious — the safer we will be.” – Charles Krauthammer (1950-2018) writing for the Washington Post on Oct. 16, 2014.

Brianna McClelland contributed to this report. Want FOX News Halftime Report in your inbox every day? Sign up here.

Source: Fox News Politics

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Man accused of killing teens to be extradited to Virginia

A Florida man accused of killing his teenage daughter and niece will be extradited to Virginia from New York, where he's been in custody since December.

The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports a New York City judge on Monday ordered 39-year-old Abdool Zaman to be turned over to Henrico County authorities. A deputy commonwealth's attorney in Henrico, Matt Ackley, confirmed the extradition was granted Monday.

Zaman is charged with second-degree murder in the Virginia deaths of Vanessa Zaman and her cousin Leona Samlall. The 18-year-olds were fatally shot on Dec. 13 and Zaman was arrested days later in Queens, New York.

Zaman is scheduled to be picked up from New York on March 28. It's unclear when he'll appear in court in Virginia.

___

Information from: Richmond Times-Dispatch, http://www.richmond.com

Source: Fox News National

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Sen. Blumenthal: Barr Must 'Stand Up, Speak Out' for DOJ

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., on Thursday said Attorney General William Barr has to "stand up" for the Justice Department when special counsel Robert Mueller finishes his report.

Blumenthal told CNN's "New Day" that Barr is in for a "wild ride" once Mueller completes his report on Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

"That means [Barr] has to make a decision: Is he going to be the people's lawyer or is he going to be the president's lawyer?" the senator said. "Clearly, this president regards the attorney general as one of his minions.


"He has no respect for the law, in fact, utter contempt for judges and the judicial process and he has denounced relentlessly the FBI and other law enforcement," Blumenthal continued. "Absolutely unprecedented, shattering all the norms."



"William Barr is a professional, at least he should be," he said. "And he's going to have to stand up and speak out for the Department of Justice and the rule of law. And that will make his ride pretty wild."

Source: NewsMax America

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Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan says China is America’s biggest threat, and southern border situation an ’emergency’

Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan said China is the No. 1 threat to U.S. security. He also spoke about America's immigration situation, saying that sending troops to the southern border is not an unprecedented mission.

In an exclusive interview with Fox News’ Bret Baier on Tuesday, Shanahan seemed to echo President Trump's sentiment that the biggest threat America faces is the modernization of China.

“China is a threat economically and diplomatically. I think it's time we address some of these issues -- militarization of the South China Sea, the Communist Chinese Party launching cyberattacks against the U.S., theft of intellectual property, and a significant expansion of military capability.”

WHO IS PATRICK SHANAHAN? A LOOK AT TRUMP’S NEW ACTING SECRETARY OF DEFENSE

“It’s a world we need to confront.”

On another subject, Shanahan addressed the escalating tensions at the southern border, which Trump visited last week.it. He disputed reports of a tense confrontation between Trump and Kirstjen Nielsen, who resigned from her position as Homeland Security secretary over the weekend.

He also called circumstances at the border -- scene of surging numbers of asylum seekers and migrants -- as an “emergency” that calls for some focused conversation.

“I saw a lot of intensity to solve a problem, that's not tension," he said. "This is a very focused effort. The border is a serious situation.”

Shanahan said it isn’t unusual that the president would ask for troops to be sent to the southern border. He noted that the two previous administrations had similar arrangements: “This isn’t a new one.”

KIRSTJEN NIELSEN MAKES FIRST PUBLIC COMMENTS AFTER RESIGNATION AS DHS BOSS

Shanahan also spoke about military strategy in the Middle East and suggested that while the U.S. is still actively “at war,” peace talks are underway. This, in spite of a Taliban attack that killed three Army soldiers on Monday.

“They gave the ultimate sacrifice for which we can never repay,” he said, offering his condolences. “We’re at war. What you see are the casualties of war. In parallel, there is a peace negotiation process, and probably the best possibility of peace in 40 years is at hand.”

Shanahan said that the DOD is exercising the “South Asia Strategy,” which requires peace talks with the Taliban to work.

“I'm hopeful, this is a real possibility for peace.”

He did not comment on the potential for future deployments, saying he and the president “don’t talk troop movements and we don’t talk troop levels.”

Shanahan, who was a Boeing executive, was asked whether his experience with the company affected his work as acting secretary.

FINAL MOMENTS OF ETHIOPIAN AIRLINES BOEING 737 MAX REVEALTED: PILOT RECORDED SAYING ‘PITCH UP, PITCH UP’

“I'm biased towards performance. ... I’m an equal opportunity critic," he maintained. "If I see underperformance, I call it the way I see.”

Shanahan said he has been fully cooperative with an ongoing investigation into Boeing. “I have never favored Boeing in my current job and I never will.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

The Washington state native said that he has had “big shoes to fill” in succeeding Secretary of Defense James Mattis, but that he does best with zero expectations.

“It's an honor and a privilege to serve our country, and I will serve in any capacity the president sees fit," he said. "I don't wake up in the morning and think about whether I'm going to be nominated, I do the job.”

Source: Fox News Politics

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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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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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Sudan’s military, which ousted President Omar al-Bashir after months of protests against his 30-year rule, says it intends to keep the upper hand during the country’s transitional period to civilian rule.

The announcement is expected to raise tensions with the protesters, who demand immediate handover of power.

The Sudanese Professionals Association, which is spearheading the protests, said Friday the crowds will stay in the streets until all their demands are met.

Shams al-Deen al-Kabashi, the spokesman for the military council, said late Thursday that the military will “maintain sovereign powers” while the Cabinet would be in the hands of civilians.

The protesters insist the country should be led by a “civilian sovereign” council with “limited military representation” during the transitional period.

The army toppled and arrested al-Bashir on April 11.

Source: Fox News World

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FILE PHOTO: Small toy figures are seen in front of a displayed Huawei and 5G network logo in this illustration picture
FILE PHOTO: Small toy figures are seen in front of a displayed Huawei and 5G network logo in this illustration picture, March 30, 2019. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic

April 26, 2019

By Charlotte Greenfield

WELLINGTON (Reuters) – China’s Huawei Technologies said Britain’s decision to allow the firm a restricted role in building parts of its next-generation telecoms network was the kind of solution it was hoping for in New Zealand, where it has been blocked from 5G plans.

Britain will ban Huawei from all core parts of 5G network but give it some access to non-core parts, sources have told Reuters, as it seeks a middle way in a bitter U.S.-China dispute stemming from American allegations that Huawei’s equipment could be used by Beijing for espionage.

Washington has also urged its allies to ban Huawei from building 5G networks, even as the Chinese company, the world’s top producer of telecoms equipment, has repeatedly said the spying concerns are unfounded.

In New Zealand, a member of the Five Eyes intelligence sharing network that includes the United States, the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) in November turned down an initial request from local telecommunication firm Spark to include Huawei equipment in its 5G network, but later gave the operator options to mitigate national security concerns.

“The proposed solution in the UK to restrict Huawei from bidding for the core is exactly the type of solution we have been looking at in New Zealand,” Andrew Bowater, deputy CEO of Huawei’s New Zealand arm, said in an emailed statement.

Spark said it has noted the developments in Britain and would raise it with the GCSB.

The reports “suggest the UK is following other European jurisdictions in taking a considered and balanced approach to managing supplier-related security risks in 5G”, Andrew Pirie, Spark’s corporate relations lead, said in an email.

“Our discussions with the GCSB are ongoing and we expect that the UK developments will be a further item of discussion between us,” Pirie added.

New Zealand’s minister for intelligence services, Andrew Little, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

British culture minister Jeremy Wright said on Thursday that he would report to parliament the conclusions of a government review of the 5G supply chain once they had been taken.

He added that the disclosure of confidential discussions on the role of Huawei was “unacceptable” and that he could not rule out a criminal investigation into the leak.

The decisions by Britain and Germany to use Huawei gear in non-core parts of 5G network makes it harder to prove Huawei should be kept out of New Zealand telecommunication networks, said Syed Faraz Hasan, an expert in communication engineering and networks at New Zealand’s Massey University

He pointed out Huawei gear was already part of the non-core 4G networks that 5G infrastructure would be built on.

“Unless there is a convincing argument against the Huawei devices … it is difficult to keep them away,” Hasan said.

(Reporting by Charlotte Greenfield; Editing by Himani Sarkar)

Source: OANN

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FILE PHOTO: The logo commodities trader Glencore is pictured in Baar
FILE PHOTO: The logo of commodities trader Glencore is pictured in front of the company’s headquarters in Baar, Switzerland, July 18, 2017. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann

April 26, 2019

(Reuters) – Glencore shares plunged the most in nearly four months on Friday after news overnight that U.S. regulators were investigating whether the miner broke some rules through “corrupt practices”.

Shares of the FTSE 100 company fell as much as 4.2 percent in early deals, and were down 3.5 percent at 310.25 pence by 0728 GMT.

On Thursday, Glencore said the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission is investigating whether the company and its units have violated some provisions of the Commodity ExchangeAct and/or CFTC Regulations.

(Reporting by Muvija M in Bengaluru)

Source: OANN

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