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Ferrer stuns Zverev, Federer fights back in Miami

Tennis: Miami Open
Mar 23, 2019; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; David Ferrer of Spain salutes the crowd after his match against Alexander Zverev of Germany (not pictured) in the second round of the Miami Open at Miami Open Tennis Complex. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

March 24, 2019

(Reuters) – David Ferrer is set to retire from professional tennis in May but the Spaniard showed he still has the tools to bring down the biggest names in the game after a stunning 2-6 7-5 6-3 win over world No. 3 Alexander Zverev at the Miami Open on Saturday.

The victory clearly meant a lot to the 36-year-old, who will bring the curtain down on his career at the Madrid Open.

“It’s a special day because it’s the last year of professional tennis for me. Winning these type of matches against a top 10 player like ‘Sascha’ is a gift,” he said.

“I’m very happy and I’m trying to enjoy every point and every moment.”

Ferrer will next face 21-year-old American Frances Tiafoe who fought past Miomir Kecmanovic 7-6(6) 7-6(5).

Roger Federer, a year older than Ferrer but enjoying a career renaissance, rallied from a set down to beat Moldovan surprise package Radu Albot 4-6 7-5 6-3 in a stuttering start to the 20-times Grand Slam champion’s Miami Open campaign.

Federer, beaten by Dominic Thiem in last week’s BNP Paribas Open final, smashed 14 aces and broke Albot twice to advance to the third round but it was far from plain sailing for the 37-year-old against the world number 46.

“I expected a player with a great attitude, which he showed,” Federer said. “I have a lot of respect for those types of players who don’t have the size, have to find a different way to win. He’s a great, great player. I was impressed.”

Federer was stunned by Thanasi Kokkinakis in his opening match of the Miami Open last year and another early exit was beckoning when he dropped the first set on Saturday.

However, the Swiss battled back to break Albot while leading 6-5 in the second with a backhand volley winner to square the match. Albot could not convert a break point in the deciding set when tied a 3-3, and Federer took command from there to wrap up a match that lasted two hours and 10 minutes. Three-times Miami champion Federer finished with 38 winners but had to overcame 41 unforced errors to defeat Albot, who earned an ovation from the crowd for his efforts.

Federer will next face Serbia’s Filip Krajinovic on Monday.

ANDERSON FEELING GOOD

Earlier on Saturday, South Africa’s Kevin Anderson made a winning return to competition with a 6-4 3-6 6-3 victory over rising Spaniard Jaume Munar. After more than two months away from the court with an elbow injury, the world number seven smashed 17 aces en route to the second round win over the 21-year-old Munar.

It was Anderson’s first tournament appearance since the Australian Open in January and he said he was happy with the way his elbow felt.

“To get through in three sets, it felt really good to be back out there. I’m happy with how the elbow responded. I feel like I’m hitting the ball great,” the sixth seed added. Two Russian prospects, Karen Khachanov and Daniil Medvedev, had different fates on Saturday. The 10th seed Khachanov was beaten by Australian Jordan Thompson 6-2 6-3 while his friend Medvedev, the 13th seed, toppled France’s Adrian Mannarino 6-2 6-1.

Eighth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas beat Mackenzie McDonald 7-6(4) 6-1. In other early action, Belgian David Goffin, the 18th seed, defeated Spaniard Pablo Andujar 6-4 6-1, while Canadian 20th seed Denis Shapovalov came from a set down to beat Britain’s Dan Evans 4-6 6-1 6-3.

(Reporting by Gene Cherry in Raleigh, North Carolina, Jahmal Corner in Los Angeles; Editing by Ian Chadband/Peter Rutherford)

Source: OANN

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Firefighters rescue fisherman whose wheelchair got stuck

Firefighters in the Kansas City area came to the rescue when a fisherman's electric wheelchair got stuck in the mud.

The Raytown Fire District tweeted a video on Friday showing three firefighters pushing the man seven blocks to his home. A fourth firefighter drove a pumper truck behind the crew to protect them from passing vehicles.

Deputy Chief Mike Hunley tells The Kansas City Star that helping people is "what we do for a living."

Hunley says the fisherman had decided to go to a pond in his neighborhood. Everything went fine until he got off the concrete path and got stuck in the soft ground. Bystanders tried to help before calling the fire department.

Source: Fox News National

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Players comfortable in Augusta National’s cloak of secrecy

Security guards watch over the clubhouse during the second day of practice for the 2019 Masters golf tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia, U.S.
Security guards watch over the clubhouse during the second day of practice for the 2019 Masters golf tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia, U.S., April 9, 2019. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

April 10, 2019

By Frank Pingue

AUGUSTA, Ga. (Reuters) – Augusta National opens its hallowed grounds to the public for the Masters each year but anyone trying to learn about the finer details of the exclusive club can expect to be met with a CIA-level of secrecy.

Everything from revenue at the club’s massive merchandise store, where a seemingly never-ending line snakes through the doors all week, to the attendance figures at the year’s first major are considered classified information at Augusta National.

Even seemingly unobtrusive requests to interview the head groundskeeper of the immaculate course or the person who dry cleans the coveted Green Jackets worn by all Masters champions and club members are all politely declined.

“It’s Augusta, you just don’t ask too many questions,” former world number one Dustin Johnson, who is a favorite to win a maiden Green Jacket this week, told Reuters when asked about the club’s impenetrable cloak of secrecy.

Affectionately regarded as the ‘Cathedral of Pines’, the 7,475-yard Augusta National layout is one of the most famous golf courses in the world and the only permanent venue for any of the sport’s four majors.

From Magnolia Lane, a tree-lined drive that members use to enter the grounds, to Amen Corner, which may just be golf’s most famous stretch of holes, Augusta National has become a place all golfers dream of seeing once before they die.

Patrons at the Masters can easily find themselves walking the course alongside a member but they will be hard-pressed to get any of those wearing Green Jackets to open up about one of the more exclusive clubs on the planet.

“It’s just the way it’s always been,” said South Africa’s 2008 Masters champion Trevor Immelman.

“I think it’s the way (club founders) Bobby Jones and Clifford Roberts wanted it and they had an idea in mind and they created it and they were very proud of it and that’s the way it stayed.

“That adds to the mystique of it and the fact that also the world’s best players throughout history absolutely love coming back here and with this event and this week in particular that’s what makes it a lot of fun.”

‘IT’S PRIVATE’

The club’s level of secrecy also extends to any plans it may or may not have to amend its grounds or the surrounding areas.

One local news station, which cited plans filed with the city, reported in February that Augusta National has begun a project to tunnel under a road that runs alongside the course, but for what purpose is anyone’s guess.

“This is Augusta National, the Masters is a tournament they host and give us the privilege to play,” said 2007 Masters champion Zach Johnson. “This is a private institution. It’s private and they can do whatever the heck they want.”

When it comes to the Masters tradition is everything, and with that comes a strict list of rules that, if violated, could result in the offender being escorted from the course.

As much as Augusta National is renowned for its beauty, it is also known as a place where patrons are not allowed to run or take photos during the tournament. Perhaps the biggest no-no, one that is strictly enforced, is the use of mobile phones.

Spain’s twice Masters champion Jose Maria Olazabal was very clear when asked about the club’s strict policies and desire to keep its dealings private from outsiders.

“I can say I feel comfortable with that. Period.”

Like all Masters champions, fellow Spaniard Sergio Garcia became an honorary member with his triumph in 2017, a win that perhaps afforded him a sneak peak behind the mystique spawned by the secrecy that surrounds the club.

For Garcia, Augusta National’s combination of exclusivity and secrecy are easily part of what makes it so special.

“If you say or you show everything that you have obviously it’s not quite the same,” said Garcia. “But it’s amazing to be a part of this amazing family and this iconic club and I’m very thankful for it.”

(Reporting by Frank Pingue; editing by Ken Ferris)

Source: OANN

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Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh takes indefinite leave of absence amid book controversy

Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh announced on Monday that she's taking an indefinite leave of absence from office after it was revealed she received $500,000 from the University of Maryland Medical System in critics have called a "self-dealing" book sale.

Pugh's office in a statement said the mayor, a Democrat, has been "advised by her physicians that she needs to take time to recover and focus on her health," and said she felt as though she was unable to fulfill her obligations as mayor due to deteriorating health brought on by a recent case of pneumonia.

City Council President Jack Young will take over Pugh's day-to-day responsibilities, according to the statement.

BALTIMORE MAYOR'S $500G DEAL FOR 'HEALTHY HOLLY' CHILDREN'S BOOKS DRAWS SCRUTINY

In a letter released earlier Monday, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican, called on the state prosecutor to investigate allegations of self-dealing by Pugh. State Comptroller Peter Franchot, a Democrat, urged the mayor to step down immediately.

Hogan and Franchot's calls came hours after health care firm Kaiser Permanente disclosed to The Baltimore Sun that between 2015 and 2018, it paid $114,000 for roughly 20,000 copies of Pugh's self-published "Healthy Holly" children's book series.

Since 2011, Pugh has received $500,000 for selling the books to the University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS), The Associated Press reported. The $4 billion hospital network, one of the largest private employers in the state, reportedly paid Pugh for 100,000 copies of her books between 2011 and 2018.

Pugh, who sat on the system's board since 2001, became Baltimore's mayor in 2016. The next year, Baltimore's spending board, which is controlled by the mayor, awarded a $48 million contract to the Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of the Mid-Atlantic States Inc. Kaiser previously held that contract.

JUSTIN TRUDEAU DENIES WRONGDOING, REFUSES TO APOLOGIZE IN RARE ADDRESS OF CORRUPTION SCANDAL THREATENING HIS POLITICAL LIFE

Kaiser Permanente spokesman Scott Lusk told the AP his company "purchased the books from Healthy Holly, LLC" — Pugh's firm, which she has said was meant to encourage healthy lifestyles for youngsters and their families.

Additionally, The Sun reported that CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, another city health provider, effectively bought Pugh's roughly 20-page illustrated books for $14,500 in 2011 and 2014. In an email, CareFirst said it made contributions to Associated Black Charities, a nonprofit that manages the city's Children and Youth Fund, to fund its purchase and distribution of books.

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The firm Pugh identified as her books' printer said it produced only 60,000 copies and did not have any more orders from Pugh. She had acknowledged sales of her book to UMMS and said they were meant to be distributed to city schools and daycares.

Pugh, at a news conference last week, described the book deal with the university-based health care system as a "regrettable mistake," and apologized for "any lack of confidence or disappointment" citizens and colleagues may have felt.

Fox News' Brie Stimson and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News Politics

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U.S. looking at responses to unilateral digital taxes: Treasury official

FILE PHOTO: Apple company logos are reflected on the glass window outside an Apple store in Shanghai
FILE PHOTO: Apple company logos are reflected on the glass window outside an Apple store in Shanghai, China January 3, 2019. REUTERS/Aly Song/File Photo

March 12, 2019

PARIS (Reuters) – The U.S. government is looking at how to respond to plans by governments such as France and Britain for taxes specifically targeting digital companies, a senior U.S. Treasury official said on Tuesday.

France and Britain as well as Italy and Spain are pushing ahead with plans for such taxes at the national level after EU countries failed to reach an agreement for the bloc as a whole.

Other countries outside the EU such as Australia are also planning such taxes in the absence of a broader reform of international tax rules to account for the rise of big digital companies such as Apple, Google and Facebook.

Chip Harter, the U.S. Treasury’s top international tax official, said such unilateral taxes were “ill conceived” and that it was better to pursue broader international tax reform at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation & Development (OECD).

“The challenges facing the international tax system are just far broader than how to tax social media and search engines,” Harter told journalists in Paris before talks at the OECD, a club of mostly wealthy nations, later this week.

The emergence of digital giants has pushed international tax rules to the limit because they can book profits in countries with the lowest taxes no matter where the customer is, which some countries like France say is unfair.

“The United States opposes any digital services tax proposals whether they be French or UK,” Harter said.

“What we have seen of the most recent French proposals, we view them as highly discriminatory against U.S. businesses … Various parts of our government are studying whether that discriminatory impact would give us rights under trade agreements, WTO, treaties,” he added.

Global reform of international tax rules have been debated for years but progress has been slow in the face of widely varying national interests.

A new push is under way at the Paris-based OECD after nearly 127 countries and territories agreed in January that any revision of global tax rules should tackle some of the most vexed issues, such as how to divide up the right to tax digital firms’ cross-border income between countries.

Speaking in a public session of a meeting of EU finance ministers, Romania’s Eugen Teodorovici said EU governments will focus on trying to reach a common position over the OECD-led overhaul.

If that reform were delayed beyond 2020, the EU could restart talks for its own tax, after they foundered because of the opposition of some governments in the 28-nation bloc.

(Reporting by Leigh Thomas; Additional reporting by Francesco Guarascio; Editing by Alison Williams)

Source: OANN

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From Israel, Pompeo arrives in Beirut for two-day meetings

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has arrived in Lebanon, the last leg of a Mideast tour that took him to Kuwait and Israel.

Pompeo is scheduled to meet with a host of Lebanese officials, including allies of the Iran-backed Hezbollah during the two-day visit, his first as secretary of state.

Pompeo hopes to step up pressure on the Shiite militant group, but could face resistance even from America's local allies, who fear that pushing too hard could spark a backlash and endanger the tiny country's fragile peace.

Pompeo's plane arrived on Friday travelling through the Cypriot airspace, as Lebanon, which is technically in a state of war with Israel, bans direct flights from Israel.

Source: Fox News World

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Russia Intensifies Gold Hoarding

This has become a monthly feature here a SchiffGold News – Russia buys more gold.

The Central Bank of Russia added another 18.7 tons of gold to its stash in March according to a press release last week. This boosts the country’s gold reserves to 2, 167.9 tons or 69,700,000 ounces. Gold now makes up about 18% of the Russian central bank’s reserves.

Through the first quarter of this year, Russia has increased its gold hoard by 56 tons. This continued a trend we saw throughout 2018. As Bloomberg article earlier this month put it, “Vladimir Putin’s quest to break Russia’s reliance on the US dollar has set off a literal gold rush.”

Russia has been endeavoring to reduce its exposure to the dollar over the last several years by buying gold and selling off US Treasurys. Russian gold reserves increased 274.3 tons in 2018, marking the fourth consecutive year of plus-200 ton growth. In February 2018, Russia passed China to become the world’s fifth-largest gold-holding country. Over the last decade, Russia has quadrupled its bullion reserves, according to Bloomberg.


Special report on gold’s activity around the world.

Russia has also been divesting itself of US debt. In the spring of 2018, the Russians sold off nearly all of its US Treasury holdings. According to Bank of America analysts,  the amount of US dollars in Russian reserves fell from 46% to 22% in 2018.

The pace of Russian gold accumulation has begun to outstrip the country’s domestic production. Russia ranks third in the world in gold production, and the central bank is the biggest buyer. Renaissance Capital chief economist Oleg Kouzmin told Bloomberg that given the geopolitical risks, the central bank will likely keep increasing gold’s share of reserves.

“Should it reach the limit for domestic purchases, I think the central bank will start to import gold.”

(Photo by Kremlin)

Russia is not the only country on a gold-buying spree.

China bought gold for the fourth straight month in March, adding another 11.2 tons of the yellow metal to its reserves, and other central banks have also been adding to their gold holdings. In total, the world’s central banks accumulated 651.5 tons of gold last year. The World Gold Council noted that 2018 marked the highest level of annual net central bank gold purchases since the suspension of dollar convertibility into gold in 1971, and the second highest annual total on record. Russia was the leading purchaser of the yellow metal in 2018. Central banks in Turkey and Kazakhstan were also big buyers. We even saw increases in gold reserves from two EU banks – Hungary and Poland.

There is a growing concern in many countries about over-dependence on the greenback. In a CNN interview last fall, French President Emmanuel Macron said European corporations and entities are too dependent on the dollar, calling it “an issue of sovereignty.” The EU even took steps to minimize the ability of the US to use the dollar as a foreign policy weapon. In September 2018, the EU announced plans to develop a special payment channel to circumvent US economic sanctions and facilitate trade with Iran.


Leo Zagami joins Owen via Skype to expose those that seek to control the world from the shadows.

Source: InfoWars

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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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Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren suggested that doctors and nurses don’t treat African American women the same way they do white women.

Warren appeared on Wednesday together with a number of other 2020 Democratic candidates at the She The People Forum in Houston, discussing issues concerning women of color.

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The Massachusetts senator announced on stage a plan to decrease the childbirth mortality rate among black women while identifying a systematic problem with how they are treated.

“And there is a specific problem, as you rightly identified, for women of color who are three, four times more likely to die in childbirth,” Warren said.

“And here’s the thing, even after we do the adjustments for income, for education, this is true across the board. This is true for well-educated African American women, for wealthy African American women, and the best studies that I’m seeing put it down to just one thing, prejudice,” she added.

“That doctors and nurses don’t hear African American women’s medical issues the same way that they hear the same things from white women.”

“That doctors and nurses don’t hear African American women’s medical issues the same way that they hear the same things from white women.”

— Elizabeth Warren

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Warren went on to get into details of her plan, noting that hospitals will be given bonuses if they manage to reduce the childbirth mortality rate among black women in an effort to give financial incentives for those doctors and nurses to provide better care.

“And if they don’t, then they’re going to have money taken away from them,” Warren added.

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“I want to see the hospitals see it as their responsibility to address this problem head-on and make it a first priority. The best way to do that is to use the money to make it happen because we gotta have change, and we gotta have change now.”

Source: Fox News Politics

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