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Euro area budget no ‘bazooka’ but will expand bloc’s policy toolkit: Centeno

Eurogroup President Centeno attends a eurozone finance ministers meeting in Brussels
FILE PHOTO: Portugal's Finance Minister and Eurogroup President Mario Centeno attends a eurozone finance ministers meeting in Brussels, Belgium February 11, 2019. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir

April 16, 2019

LONDON (Reuters) – A future euro area budget will complement monetary policy, adding a new instrument to the bloc’s toolkit, the chairman of euro zone finance ministers Mario Centeno said on Tuesday, according to the text of a prepared speech.

European policymakers have so far given few details about the size of such a budget, where it will come from and what the money should be spent on.

“It will not start as a bazooka, but over time we will be able to adjust it to our needs as it proves its merits,” Eurogroup head Centeno was due to tell an audience at the London Business School.

He also said a common European deposit insurance system was an “essential” piece of a European monetary union.

“It will provide the system with a confidence boost, preventing bank runs,” he said, adding: “That the discussion is now at a political level is a signal of confidence.”

Centeno reiterated his previous stance that the euro must raise its profile internationally, saying recent developments have raised questions about the U.S. dollar’s dominance.

“Washington is openly using the dollar as a tool to complement economic sanctions. Central bank independence is under strain,” he said.

In the face of rising protectionism and populism, Centeno said the single currency would provide Europe with a way to shape the world financial order.

“If we want to continue to have a say… the euro is our best and only shot,” he said.

(Reporting by Helen Reid, Abhinav Ramnarayan, and Jan Strupczewski; Editing by Gareth Jones)

Source: OANN

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Kamala Harris admits ‘unintended consequences’ in anti-truancy law while she was California AG

Kamala Harris expressed regret this week over a 2011 anti-truancy law she supported that put some parents in jail while she was California’s attorney general.

Speaking on the podcast “Pod Save America,” Sen. Harris said the law was never intended to punish parents for their child’s chronic truancy, but rather to get students on the right track in the classroom. She admitted, however, that it had “unintended consequences.”

KAMALA HARRIS, WHO DEFENDED DEATH PENALTY AS CALIFORNIA AG, NOW CHEERS NEWSOM'S DECISION TO END IT

“My regret is that I have now heard stories where in some jurisdictions, DAs have criminalized the parents. And I regret that that has happened,” she said, which aired Wednesday. It marks the first time Harris has shown remorse over the law, The Los Angeles Times reported.

The law is an example of difficult questions Harris may face from progressive voters concerned with prison reform.

It’s not the first time Harris’ prosecutorial past has come under the microscope. Earlier this month, a New York Times op-ed writer claimed Harris has fought to uphold wrongful convictions as attorney general. She has also been criticized for her defense of the death penalty as attorney general only to say she would call for a federal moratorium of the death penalty if she were elected president.

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Harris made it clear that no parents were arrested while she was district attorney in San Francisco and the arrests were in jurisdictions outside of hers.

Source: Fox News Politics

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U.S. effective fed funds rate rises above interest on reserves

A man passes by the corner stone on the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in the financial district in New York
FILE PHOTO: A man passes by the corner stone on the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in the financial district in New York City, U.S., March 4, 2019. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

March 21, 2019

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The average borrowing cost for U.S. banks to borrow excess reserves from each other rose above what the Federal Reserve pays on excess reserves for the first time ever on Wednesday, New York Federal Reserve data released on Thursday showed.

The average or “effective” federal funds rate came in at 2.41 percent on Wednesday, higher than the 2.40 percent interest rate the U.S. central bank pays on the excess reserves that banks leave with it.

(Reporting by Richard Leong; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

Source: OANN

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On staff compliance with orders raised in Mueller report, Trump says: ‘Nobody disobeys me’

A person in an Easter Bunny costume looks on as U.S. President Trump attends the 2019 White House Easter Egg Roll in Washington
A person in an Easter Bunny costume looks on as U.S. President Donald Trump attends the 2019 White House Easter Egg Roll in Washington, U.S., April 22, 2019. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

April 22, 2019

By David Alexander and Alexandra Alper

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Donald Trump dismissed questions from reporters on Monday about his staff’s willingness to carry out his orders and the chances of impeachment proceedings in the U.S. Congress, days after the Mueller report highlighted both issues.

The 448-page report from U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller on his investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election revealed staff and associates sometimes ignored requests from Trump to deliver messages to third parties, including one to fire Mueller.

“Nobody disobeys me,” Republican Trump said when asked if he was worried about his orders not being followed. He made the remark at the White House during an annual Easter celebration.

Mueller’s report said that the 22-month investigation did not establish that the Trump campaign coordinated with Russians during the 2016 election campaign, but Mueller did find “multiple acts by the president that were capable of exerting undue influence over law enforcement investigations.”

Asked whether he was concerned about the threat of impeachment on allegations of obstruction of justice as some Democrats have called for, Trump said, “Not even a little bit.”

U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren, who is running for the Democratic presidential nomination, on Friday said Congress should begin the process of removing Trump from office. Other Democratic leaders have played down talk of impeachment, just 18 months before the 2020 election.

Republicans have stood by Trump and while an impeachment effort might succeed in the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives, it was unlikely to do so in the Republican-led Senate.

Trump, speaking from the White House balcony on Monday, returned to favorite topics of his by touting the strong United States economy and saying his administration was rebuilding the military “to a level never seen before.”

“Our country is doing fantastically well, probably the best it has ever done economically,” he said.

(Reporting by David Alexander; Writing by Caroline Stauffer; Editing by Kevin Drawbaugh and Grant McCool)

Source: OANN

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Etihad Group CFO departs as carrier pursues turnaround plan

Etihad Airways Airbus A320 plane is seen at the National Airport Minsk
FILE PHOTO: Etihad Airways Airbus A320-200 is seen at the National Airport Minsk, Belarus April 19, 2018. REUTERS/Vasily Fedosenko

April 16, 2019

By Alexander Cornwell and Hadeel Al Sayegh

DUBAI (Reuters) – Etihad Airways Group Chief Financial Officer Mark Powers has stepped down after roughly a year in the job as the Abu Dhabi state-owned carrier overhauls its business after years of heavy losses.

Powers, who joined in January 2018, resigned for personal reasons and has decided to return to the United States, Etihad said in a statement confirming an earlier Reuters report.

He has been replaced in the interim by senior Etihad finance executive Adam Boukadida, the airline said on Tuesday. Etihad said it was searching for a permanent replacement.

Etihad did not say when Powers left the airline. Boukadida has served as interim Group CFO since March, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Powers was hired as the airline embarked on a five-year turnaround plan after a strategy of buying stakes in other airlines collapsed, contributing to billions of dollars in losses.

Group Chief Executive Tony Douglas said in 2018 Powers would “play a pivotal role in helping to guide Etihad onto the next stage of its development”.

Etihad reported a $1.28 billion loss for 2018, down from a $1.52 billion loss in 2018. It has lost $4.75 billion since 2016.

Powers, a former JetBlue CFO, was hired by Etihad following a major shake-up of management that included the departure of long-serving Group CEO James Hogan and Group CFO James Rigney.

The airline, which launched a five-year turnaround strategy in 2017, trimmed its ambitions and started reorganizing as a mid-sized carrier focused on point-to-point traffic in 2018.

This year, it canceled dozens of Airbus and Boeing aircraft orders worth tens of billions of dollars.

Powers headed the finances of Etihad Aviation Group (EAG) which oversees Etihad Airways, engineering, airport, travel services units, and its investments in other carriers.

(Reporting by Alexander Cornwell and Hadeel Al Sayegh; editing by Christian Schmollinger)

Source: OANN

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White House opposes Saudi Yemen war powers resolution

General view of the White House in Washington
General view of the White House in Washington, U.S., March 10, 2019. REUTERS/Mary F. Calvert

March 13, 2019

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – White House advisers recommended on Wednesday that U.S. President Donald Trump veto a resolution to end Washington’s support for the Saudi Arabia-led military campaign in Yemen.

The White House statement of administration policy came as the U.S. Senate prepared to vote on the matter, one of several efforts by lawmakers to push Trump to toughen his policy toward the kingdom.

Backers of the resolution, who include some of Trump’s fellow Republicans as well as Democrats, said they are optimistic about its chances of passing the Senate.

However, the Senate’s Republican majority leader, Mitch McConnell, denounced the war powers resolution on Wednesday as he opened the Senate, calling it “inappropriate and counterproductive.”

(Reporting by Doina Chiacu, Patricia Zengerle and Richard Cowan; Editing by Susan Thomas)

Source: OANN

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Financial Strategist “Shocked” by Degeneration of San Francisco

Société Générale financial strategist Albert Edwards says he was “shocked” by his recent visit to San Francisco, during which he was appalled to witness the “sheer quantities of men….off their heads on drugs (and drink) and putting both themselves and other road users at risk.”

“I have been a regular visitor to San Francisco for 30 years and maybe it is because I only visit once every couple of years that I notice the change,” wrote Edwards.

“Most surprising was the pungent smell of cannabis skunk that pervaded the streets almost everywhere – something that isn’t the case in somewhere like Amsterdam where legal consumption of marijuana is mainly confined to designated cafes,” he added. “But the smell doesn’t seem to bother everyone.”

Edwards blames open air marijuana smoking for the surge in pedestrian fatalities, which have been climbing for the last 10 years.

“It appears the US is gripped by an epidemic of stoned pedestrians stepping into traffic,” he writes.

As we previously reported, San Francisco’s drug addicts now outnumber its high school student population.

San Francisco’s junkie population – many of whom live on the streets and use sidewalks as outdoor toilets – now stands at 24,500, an increase of 2,000 drug users since 2012 and 8,500 more people than the city’s 16,000 high school students.

Despite this increase, the city handed out a record 5.8 million free syringes last year – about 500,000 more than in 2017. There were 9,659 calls complaining about needles littering the streets in 2018, an increase of a third on 2017 numbers.

The number of complaints about feces on the streets has also tripled since 2011 despite new Mayor London Breed’s promise to clean up the city.

Investor Bill Blain also expressed horror at what he witnessed during a recent trip to San Francisco, writing, “The squalor we saw in The City was frightful.”

“San Francisco has always been one of my favourite US cities, but the degree of homelessness, mental illness and drug abuse we saw on this trip was truly shocking,” wrote Blaine, adding that his liberal friends shrugged it off as always having been that way, ignorant of the fact that it is clearly getting worse.

“I found it quite shocking the number of folk sleeping rough on the sidewalks, the smell of weed and drug impedimenta everywhere, the filth, mental illness and degradation on view just a few meters from the financial centre driving Silicon Valley,” said Blaine.

“It’s a city where the destitute seem to have become invisible to the Uber hailing elites. We found ourselves hopping on one of the beautiful F-Route Trolley Buses to find nearly every seat occupied by someone lugging around their worldly possessions around in a plastic bag. It was desperately sad,” he lamented.

As the video above documents, San Francisco is the perfect example of what happens when a city fully embraces progressive globalism.

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Paul Joseph Watson is the editor at large of Infowars.com and Prison Planet.com.

Source: InfoWars

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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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