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With ‘pop-ups’ and menswear, Vuitton aims to keep luxury crown

FILE PHOTO: Woman with a Louis Vuitton-branded shopping bag looks towards the entrance of a branch store by LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton in Vienna
FILE PHOTO: A woman with a Louis Vuitton-branded shopping bag looks towards the entrance of a branch store by LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton in Vienna, Austria October 4, 2018. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner

April 11, 2019

By Sarah White and Pascale Denis

PARIS (Reuters) – From New York’s Fifth Avenue to Paris’ Place Vendome, Louis Vuitton sells its handbags at some of the world’s swankiest locations – but the brand is increasingly betting on “pop-ups” in off-beat spots as one way to keep shoppers hooked.

The label, which drives the bulk of sales and profits at French luxury group LVMH, plans to hold 100 temporary events to sell its wares this year, up from 80 last year, the conglomerate’s financial director said on Thursday.

“This is the privileged way and the main way to drive innovation,” Jean-Jacques Guiony told analysts after the conglomerate posted a pick-up in first-quarter sales, beating analyst forecasts.

“This trend in pop-up stores is extremely important, and we will continue to develop that because it enables us to be talking in a different way to our clients … important and it adds flexibility with our network.”

Vuitton’s retail shake-up comes as luxury brands experiment with ways to attract younger shoppers, who are increasingly propelling sales growth in a sector that has long been notoriously rigid in its approach, and slow to move into selling online for instance.

At the lower-end of the fashion scale, high street labels like H&M are grappling with shifting shopping habits, albeit often taking a different tack, such as sprucing up cluttered stores with a more luxurious feel.

At Vuitton, recent “pop-ups” include one in London’s exclusive Mayfair neighborhood to highlight its menswear line, with a Wizard of Oz themed space featuring a yellow brick road staircase, and which shoppers had to book tickets to attend.

With revenues of over 10 billion euros ($11.27 billion), Louis Vuitton is the world’s biggest luxury brand by sales, with privately-owned Chanel clipping at its heels, and Kering’s star brand Gucci on a mission to overtake it.

In its bid to stay ahead, Vuitton has also invested in new designers, betting on Virgil Abloh, a DJ and founder of high-end streetwear label Off-White, to help jazz up its mens’ clothing lines.

LVMH, which is notoriously tight-lipped about Vuitton’s performance, said on Thursday that the sales’ growth rate in men’s and womenswear was at a “very, very high level” in the first quarter.

“It’s a small part of Vuitton’s total business but it creates a lot of buzz and is important to drive store traffic and to help Vuitton sell more accessories,” RBC Capital Markets analyst Rogerio Fujimori said of the men’s collections.

Clothing only represents around 5 percent of the brand’s sales, the brokerage estimates, with three quarters of revenues coming from high-margin handbags and luggage. ($1 = 0.8875 euros)

(Reporting by Sarah White and Pascale Denis)

Source: OANN

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Kudlow: Despite Comments, White House Backs Stephen Moore for Fed Post

The White House is standing behind Federal Reserve Board of Governors pick Stephen Moore despite his past comments about women.

According to CNN, Economic Council director Larry Kudlow spoke with reporters Wednesday and conveyed the Trump administration's belief that Moore is still a solid choice to serve on the fed.

"We continue to back Stephen Moore, continue to back him. He's in the process of being vetted by the FBI and so forth, and if he gets through that, we will nominate him formally and then he'll go to the Senate Banking Committee and they'll vet him also," Kudlow said.

Moore was found to have made remarks about women that questioned their ability to work as men's college basketball referees or beer vendors at games, and also said female athletes do "inferior work" to men.

Moore pushed back and said the comments were a joke.

"This was a spoof. I have a sense of humor," he told CNN.

On Wednesday, Kudlow acknowledged Moore's explanation.

"He says it was a spoof. That's what he's told me — I do buy it," Kudlow said. "I know him; he's kind of a great sense of humor, wiseass kind of guy, what can I tell ya? I don't think it's germane. I don't think he was making a statement. I think he was making a spoof. Our support is still there, still there."

Source: NewsMax Politics

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Malaysia to sell 1MDB-linked superyacht for $126 million

Seized luxury yacht Equanimity, belonging to fugitive Malaysian financier Low Taek Jho, is brought to Boustead Cruise Terminal in Port Klang
Seized luxury yacht Equanimity, belonging to fugitive Malaysian financier Low Taek Jho, is brought to Boustead Cruise Terminal in Port Klang, Malaysia August 7, 2018. REUTERS/Lai Seng Sin

April 3, 2019

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – Malaysia has agreed to sell a superyacht linked to a multi-billion dollar scandal at state fund 1MDB to casino operator Genting Malaysia Bhd for $126 million, the country’s attorney general said on Wednesday.

The superyacht Equanimity is among assets allegedly bought by fugitive financier Low Taek Jho and his associates with money taken from the fund, the U.S. and Malaysian officials have said.

Low allegedly paid $250 million for the yacht, which has an interior clad in marble and gold leaf, a spa and sauna, a 20-meter (66-ft) swimming pool, a movie theater and helipad.

(Reporting by A. Ananthalakshmi; Editing by Paul Tait)

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Doctor: Tennessee church shooting suspect has mental illness

A psychiatrist has identified mental illnesses in the man accused of fatally shooting a woman and wounding seven people at a Tennessee church in 2017.

According to The Tennessean , a defense attorney read report excerpts about 27-year-old Emanuel Kidega Samson in a Nashville court Wednesday.

The psychiatrist diagnosed Samson with "schizoaffective disorder bipolar type" and post-traumatic stress disorder after an abusive, violent upbringing.

He found Samson heard voices, hallucinated and had intense mood swings, with "delusional beliefs" about predicting the future and controlling people with his mind.

He determined Samson's mental disease drove his actions in the Nashville shooting at Burnette Chapel Church of Christ. He couldn't say if the insanity defense legal standard was met.

Prosecutors have said they're seeking life without parole for Samson, who faces first-degree murder and other charges.

Source: Fox News National

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Thailand’s king revokes royal decorations of ousted ex-PM Thaksin Shinawatra

File Photo: Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra speaks to Reuters during an interview in Singapore
File Photo: Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra looks on as he speaks to Reuters during an interview in Singapore February 23, 2016. REUTERS/Edgar Su/File Photo

March 30, 2019

BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thailand’s King Maha Vajiralongkorn has revoked royal decorations that had been awarded to ousted former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, a document published on Saturday in the royal gazette showed.

The king’s order came less then a week after a disputed election in which a pro-Thaksin political party is seeking to form a “democratic front” against a party that wants to keep the leader of a 2014 military coup in power.

The royal gazette document said the king’s action was due to Thaksin’s guilty sentence in a corruption case in 2008 and his fleeing the country, which was “a highly inappropriate behavior”, the document said.

Last Saturday, the king also made an unexpected and cryptic statement on the eve of the March 24 election, recalling a comment made by his late father on the need to put “good people” in power and to prevent “bad people from … creating chaos”.

(Reporting by Patpicha Tanakasempipat; Editing by Catherine Evans)

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ECB looks for three bank supervisors to join depleted board

File photo of the headquarters of the European Central Bank (ECB) seen illuminated with a giant euro sign at the start of the
FILE PHOTO: The headquarters of the European Central Bank (ECB) is illuminated with a giant euro sign at the start of the "Luminale, light and building" event in Frankfurt, Germany, in this March 12, 2016 file photo. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach/Files

April 12, 2019

FRANKFURT (Reuters) – The European Central Bank is looking for three bank supervisors to join the depleted board of its supervisory arm after years of delay and recent criticism from a European lawmaker, the bank said on Friday.

ECB President Mario Draghi has put off replenishing the central bank’s delegation on the Single Supervisory Board since 2017, leaving it under-represented in an institution it shares with watchdogs from the euro zone’s 19 countries.

After being left with just two out of six board representatives, the ECB finally decided to act at this week’s meeting of its Governing Council.

“On 9 April 2019 the Governing Council approved the vacancy notice for the selection of up to three ECB representatives to the Supervisory Board,” the ECB said on Friday.

The job adverts will be posted on its website shortly and candidates would be given four weeks to submit applications.

A German member of the European Parliament, Markus Ferber, in February voiced fears for the quality and balance of the Single Supervisory Board due to the many empty ECB seats.

Andrea Enria, who chairs the board, and Pentti Hakkarainen currently occupy just two of the six seats allocated to the ECB, pending approval of Yves Mersch’s appointment as vice chair by the Council of the European Union.

Power-sharing between the ECB and national authorities has not always been easy, with the latter occasionally fighting to protect their domestic banking system.

Last year Italian authorities staged a concerted effort to push back against an initiative to rid banks of unpaid loans, with the ECB eventually coming up with a watered down proposal.

(Reporting By Francesco Canepa; Editing by Angus MacSwan)

Source: OANN

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Sanders pushes progressive agenda, targets Trump, as he thanks NH for making him a star

CONCORD, New Hampshire – Sen. Bernie Sanders on Sunday returned to the state that launched him into political orbit.

Making his first appearance in New Hampshire since announcing his second bid for the Democratic presidential nomination, the independent senator from neighboring Vermont pushed his populist agenda of progressive proposals to a crowd of 850 packed into a local conference center on a snowy late-winter day in northern New England.

Sanders’ crushing victory over Hillary Clinton in the first-in-the-nation primary state’s 2016 contest skyrocketed the one-time longshot into a marathon battle with the eventual Democratic Party nominee, which didn’t end until Sanders endorsed Clinton after the conclusion of the primary and caucus calendar.

BERNIE SANDERS SLAMS PRESIDENT TRUMP

“I want to offer a very special thanks to the people of New Hampshire. In 2016, this is where the political revolution took off,” he said to loud applause.

Bernie Sanders campaigning in Concord, N.H., on Sunday.

Bernie Sanders campaigning in Concord, N.H., on Sunday. (Fox News)

Sanders repeatedly targeted President Trump in his nearly hour-long speech, saying he “consistently lies.”

And, Sanders charged that “under President Trump, the very concept of democracy is under attack by a president who seems intent on emulating the authoritarian leaders in Russia, China, Saudi Arabia, North Korea and elsewhere that he seems to have so much affection for.”

OCASIO-CORTEZ OUTDRAWS WARREN, KLOBUCHAR, AT SXSW

The candidate pushed his progressive proposals, such as criminal justice reform, the “Medicare-for-all” single-payer health care plan and universal affordable childcare, and once again vowed “to make public colleges and universities tuition free.”

He also said “that climate change is not a hoax but is an existential threat to the future of our country and the entire planet... We will transform our energy system away from fossil fuel and into energy efficiency and sustainable energy.”

However, Sanders made no mention of the Green New Deal, the sweeping proposal beloved by progressives but ridiculed by many Republicans that aims to transform the country’s economy to fight climate change -- while enacting a host of new health-care and welfare programs.

POTENTIAL 2020 CONTENDER SEN. BENNET CALLS OMAR COMMENTS 'HATEFUL'

As he was making his longstanding push for a $15-per-hour federal minimum wage, Sanders said, “Today, we say to Walmart, the fast food industry,” before being interrupted by a supporter who yelled, “f--- you.”

The outburst brought cheers from the crowd and Sanders quickly remarked, “well, that’s one way to say it.”

Sanders didn’t take any questions from the audience or from local and national reporters. After he posed for selfies and shook hands with some of his supporters, he met briefly with a small group of his top Granite State supporters before heading to a second campaign event in the southwestern New Hampshire city of Keene.

The Republican National Committee took aim at Sanders, saying his “radical push for socialism is supercharging the Democratic primary to the left.”

“With calls for government control of healthcare, education and a takeover of nearly every aspect of our lives with the Green New Deal, Sanders' socialist platform will rob Granite Staters of their freedoms while bankrupting America at a cost of trillions of dollars,” added RNC spokeswoman Mandi Merritt.

2020 LONGSHOT BUTTIGIEG CALLS FOR PACKING SCOTUS

Sanders arrived in the Granite State on a roll in his campaign – he’s near the top of nearly every national and early voting state public opinion poll in the Democratic nomination race and he raked in a whopping $6 million in the first 24 hours following his February launch.

But, he also has faced competition from a large field of rivals – many of them younger and pushing the same progressive proposals Sanders moved from the extreme to the mainstream of the party in the 2016 campaign.

While many of Sanders’ 2016 supporters are backing him once again, some have said they’re shopping around.

Adam Martson of Dover said “I’d definitely be open to” a younger Democratic contender advocating the same progressive proposals who may have a better shot at winning the general election.

“I’m really interested in who can beat Trump,” he added.

Kendall Rasmussen, who drove up from Medford, Mass., said she backed Sanders in 2016.

“I’m probably leaning towards Bernie but I’m not actually prepared to make a commitment yet. I just can’t say yet,” she explained. “Who’s going to win against Trump. That’s a huge factor.”

And, Melissa Fisk of Concord – one of the few 2016 Clinton supporters to attend the rally – said she’s checking out all the Democratic 2020 contenders and is far from deciding.

“It’s anybody but Trump,” she emphasized.

But, Lorna Wakefield of Sanborton said she’s sticking with Sanders 100 percent.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“Bernie’s the one who started this all. We’re with Bernie,” she emphasized.

And, Chris Liquori of Portsmouth – a member of the Sanders steering committee in New Hampshire – argued, “why settle for the imitation when you’ve got somebody who’s been doing this for 40 years, who brought the party to its knees and brought them where they are now. Why would you go with anyone else?”

Source: Fox News Politics

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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)

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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)

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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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