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In South Korea’s struggling Kia Town, ‘bad jobs’ better than no jobs

FILE PHOTO: Members of Kia Motor's union chant a slogan during a protest against the Gwangju joint-venture project, in Gwangju
FILE PHOTO: Members of Kia Motor's union chant a slogan during a protest against the Gwangju joint-venture project, in Gwangju, South Korea, January 31, 2019. Hong Jae-kwan/Kia Motor's union/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo

April 15, 2019

By Hyunjoo Jin

GWANGJU, South Korea (Reuters) – Park Byung-kyu once led Kia Motor’s union in the city of Gwangju, fighting for labor protections against the powerful, family-run chaebol that dominated the economy during South Korea’s rapid industrialization.

But about 20 years ago, Park was assaulted by unionized workers wielding steel clubs after he campaigned for the rights of temporary workers at another company, leaving him paralyzed on the right side of his body.

The attack also left him disillusioned with the approach of South Korea’s forceful and often militant unions, which have faced increasing criticism for protecting their interests at the expense of other workers.

Now, Park is working for the city of Gwangju on a proposed joint venture with Hyundai Motor Co to build a new low-wage car factory, Hyundai’s first new factory in South Korea in 25 years.

The $616 million plant would create 1,000 jobs, but at less than half the wages of Hyundai’s unionized workers and without many of the privileges they currently enjoy.

“The labor unions with vested interests should change. If not, their interests will be taken away,” said the 53-year-old Park. “Unionized labor should face up to the reality.”

The unions of Hyundai and affiliate Kia Motors, which together form the world’s fifth-largest automaker by volume, have staged strikes and rallies to protest the plant.

They say it will create “bad jobs” and take away production and employment from existing factories.

But in a city that has seen a steady exodus of manufacturing jobs move to low-cost countries, many job seekers say they would work for the plant in a heartbeat.

Employment is a key focus for President Moon Jae-in’s administration as Asia’s fourth-largest economy struggles to create jobs in the face of a slowing China economy, U.S. trade protectionism and increased minimum wages.

The Moon government plans to provide financial assistance to the Gwangju plant, and also introduce similar government-business ventures in two other cities by June.

Officials hope it will lead to a “U-turn” of Korean companies which would otherwise build factories overseas.

“This is a bold experiment to resolve jobs and labor relations problems,” said Park Myung-joon, a senior research fellow at state-funded Korea Labour Institute, who has been involved in the project since its beginning in 2014.

The carmaking venture, the first of its kind in South Korea, is the biggest threat to date for legacy unionized auto workers, who have largely maintained high wages and benefits even with youth unemployment near a record high and the economy sluggish, Park said.

“The expensive union jobs will gradually disappear.”

POOR CITY

The proposed Hyundai factory will offer annual wages of 35 million won ($31,492) – just over a third of the average 92 million won that existing Hyundai workers earn, but higher than the average 33 million won salaried workers make in Gwangju.

Home to Kia Motor’s largest domestic production facility, Gwangju is South Korea’s No.2 motor city after the southeastern city of Ulsan, generating over 40 percent of its manufacturing output from the auto sector.

Like Ulsan, which has declined as Hyundai production has retreated, Gwangju’s fortunes have waned as Kia’s output fell to its lowest level in eight years last year.

Gwangju is now South Korea’s second-poorest metropolitan city, with average monthly wages some 13 percent below the nationwide average in 2017, according to labor ministry data.

Kim Jae-seung, who studied business management in college, said he is willing to apply for a blue-collar job at the planned plant. “Its wage is still above the average worker’s wage. In that sense, it is not a bad job. It is a good job,” the 32-year-old Kim said at a recent job fair held at the city hall.

Other job seekers in Gwangju interviewed by Reuters said they too were interested given high levels of unemployment among the city’s younger workers.

“There are not many quality jobs out there. Given the current economic situation, I will be thankful for the 35 million won wage,” said Goh Chang-hoon, a 27-year-old law major.

DEFUNCT GERMAN MODEL

Park, the former union leader, first proposed the low-wage factory in 2014 and later took a leave of absence from Kia to work full-time for the city government.

Park said he borrowed the idea from Volkswagen’s now-defunct low-cost division Auto 5000, which was created in 2001 to keep jobs from moving out of Germany. The project came to end in 2009, after the automaker won wage concessions from its powerful and highly paid legacy workers.

The new factory would have an annual capacity of 100,000 mini, gasoline-powered SUVs starting 2021.

Gwangju also hopes to make electric vehicles at the plant in the future, although it has yet to be agreed with Hyundai.

James P. Rooney, an international finance professor at Sogang University in Seoul, said to be successful, the plant should make electric cars.

“The joint venture shouldn’t be thought of a place of getting away from union and high labor cost. It should be based on the product of the future, not product of the past.”

Hyundai said it has decided to participate in the project, because the city, local community and the joint venture pledged to “build collaborative labor relations and maintain proper wage levels”.

“Under such conditions, we believed that we would be able to secure competitiveness when we outsource mini-vehicle production to the newly created corporation,” Hyundai said in a statement to Reuters.

Kim Yong-gu, chief executive of Hyundai Hitech, a Gwangju-based parts supplier for Kia, is hoping the new Hyundai factory will help make up for reduced output at Kia.

Kia’s Gwangju plant produced 455,252 vehicles last year, well short of its production capacity of 620,000.

“Kia can’t make the car with current labor costs,” Kim said.

In addition to lower wages, the joint venture will break away from the union’s tradition of striking almost every year during annual wage talks.

South Korea’s reputation for militant unions and rigid labor practices has long been cited as contributing to high labor costs and a persistent discount for corporate Korea.

To make up for lower pay, Gwangju plans to build 1,100 homes as well as daycare and gym facilities in the factory complex, with the central government’s help.

WHITE ELEPHANT?

The plan is not without its critics, who question the wisdom of adding another plant at a time when automakers are grappling with excess capacity amid sluggish domestic demand, falling exports to the United States and weak sales in China.

Auto production in South Korea is expected to fall to 3.65 million vehicles this year, just three quarters of total capacity of 4.66 million vehicles, auto unions say.

They also argue the project is politically motivated, with Gwangju long a political stronghold of Moon’s liberal government.

“We have been agonizing over how to create jobs at a time when low growth and low employment have become structural issues,” Jung Tae-ho, the presidential job secretary, said at a recent briefing.

“The project will be key to revitalizing the struggling local economy.”

Local officials acknowledge the plan is not the panacea to all the problems Korea’s manufacturing industry faces, but say it can show one path forward.

“This is not just about creating jobs in Gwangju, but about addressing Korean Inc’s structural problems of low growth, low employment and high cost,” Gwangju Mayor Lee Yong-sup told Reuters. “Korea Inc needs a breakthrough.”

(Reporting by Hyunjoo Jin; Additional reporting by Edward Taylor in FRANKFURT; Editing by Soyoung Kim and Lincoln Feast.)

Source: OANN

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School threat system fields thousands of tips in first month

Pennsylvania's new mandatory threat reporting system for schools is drawing thousands of tips in its first month.

Officials say this week the Safe 2 Say Something program run by the attorney general's office fielded more than 4,900 reports since it was launched in early January.

The program passed the Legislature with near unanimity last year, mandating participation by all K-12 students in Pennsylvania. That includes charter, private and vocational-technical schools.

The reports come in through the phone, by email and via an app. They're fielded by a team at the attorney general's office in downtown Harrisburg.

Callers are assured of anonymity.

Similar programs are mandated in four other states. Officials say Pennsylvania is the first state to do a comprehensive launch of the program.

Source: Fox News National

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Clashes break out in Yemen's key port city after cease-fire

Yemeni security officials and eyewitnesses say that fighting has erupted in the key port city of Hodeida, the first significant clashes since warring sides agreed to a U.N.-brokered cease-fire deal in December.

They say the combat began overnight into Sunday, leaving fires burning on the main front lines in the city's east and south, while exchanges of artillery fire shook the beleaguered city.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity as they weren't authorized to brief journalists, while witnesses did so for fear of their safety.

The fighting comes days after the internationally recognized Yemeni government, along with allies Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, accused the Houthi rebel foes of breaking the cease-fire and refusing to withdraw their forces from the city in line with the December agreement.

Source: Fox News World

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Lawrence Jones responds to critics who mocked him for wearing bulletproof vest at US-Mexico border

Fox News contributor Lawrence Jones recently took some flak from critics on social media after posting a photo of himself wearing a bulletproof vest while reporting from the U.S.-Mexico border.

On Thursday night, Jones responded to those critics during an appearance on Fox News' "Hannity."

“They don’t know that the Border Patrol agent that’s standing right here and keeping us safe told me to put it on to keep us safe here,” Jones told host Sean Hannity, referring to the critics. “What people don’t understand is we control this side of the border, but the cartel controls the other side of the border. So there’s been gunfights. I’m going in danger with these Border Patrol agents to report on this story.

"What people don’t understand is we control this side of the border, but the cartel controls the other side of the border. So there’s been gunfights."

— Lawrence Jones, Fox News contributor

"The public doesn’t know," Jones continued, "that over the last two-and-a-half years, there has been an uptick, over 200 percent of violence against these agents. And so in order to do my job, in order for the border agents to do their jobs, I have to come with this vest that they supply.”

TRUMP GIVES MEXICO A 'ONE-YEAR WARNING' TO STOP DRUGS, MIGRANTS OR HE WILL TAX CARS AND CLOSE BORDER

Jones reported that the Border Patrol agents he followed caught two Chinese nationals who allegedly paid a drug cartel $15,000 to $20,000 to make the trip toward the border. He added that the agents typically work without backup support, potentially placing themselves at risk if a gunfight breaks out.

“This is why we need the border wall system," Jones said, referring to President Trump's security proposal. "Not only the wall but funding for the technology as well as more boots on the ground in order to help these guys."

Also part of the panel discussion on "Hannity" was U.S. Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas, who called on Congress to reform the nation's asylum laws, through which foreign nationals can request entry to the U.S. by claiming political persecution or another form of hardship.

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“We should not be accepting asylum in between ports of entry because it’s clearly being taken advantage of," Crenshaw said. "This is the step we have to take on this.

"This would have dramatic effect, by the way," Crenshaw continued. "Drug cartels have complete operational control of the Mexican side of the southern border. They’re making a killing off of this. They ask that people running across pay them money. Those people should not have to pay them money. They should go to the port of entry and actually claim [asylum].”

Crenshaw also told Hannity that he’s willing to support emergency funding for extra detention facilities and immigration judges to process asylum cases quickly.

Source: Fox News Politics

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4-year-old who wandered off still missing on Navajo Nation

The police search for a 4-year-old girl missing since last week on the Utah portion of the Navajo Nation remains on hold but volunteers and family members are still looking.

Navajo Police Department spokeswoman Christina Tsosie said Monday that authorities are determining what resources they need before resuming a search that was temporarily halted Saturday.

Tsosie says Anndine Jones wandered off Thursday afternoon from her home near a creek that connects to the San Juan River, a tributary of the Colorado River that flows into Lake Powell.

Crews searched 24 miles (39 kilometers) of river.

Police said there are no indications the girl was abducted. Tsosie says everyone is trying to hold out hope Anndine is alive.

She says she doesn't know how many volunteers were searching on Monday.

Source: Fox News National

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Woman crashes car and injures leg after spotting spider in driver’s area, police say

A woman in New York totaled her car and injured her leg — all over a spider.

An unidentified woman let her arachnophobia get the best of her on Wednesday when she spotted a spider inside the car while she was driving and panicked, Cairo police said. She lost control of the vehicle, crashed into stone barrier and injured her leg.

Photos showed the front of the vehicle wrecked. Cairo fire and ambulance, Green County medics and sheriffs all responded to the scene on Silver Spur Road.

WOMAN STEALS ELECTRIC SCOOTER FROM WALMART, DRIVES IT TO WAFFLE HOUSE TO GET COFFEE, POLICE SAY

Cairo fire and ambulance, Green County medics and sheriffs all responded to the scene on Silver Spur Road in Cairo, N.Y.

Cairo fire and ambulance, Green County medics and sheriffs all responded to the scene on Silver Spur Road in Cairo, N.Y. (Cairo, New York, Police Department)

Police said they were posting about the crash to “bring up a contributing factor [of collisions] that is not covered too often.”

“We know that it is easier for some drivers than others but PLEASE, try to teach new drivers and yourselves to overcome the fear and pull over to a safe place. Lives depend on it,” police wrote in the post.

Cairo is about 42 miles south of Poughkeepsie.

Source: Fox News National

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WhatsApp bug lets users bypass new privacy controls

FILE PHOTO: The WhatsApp messaging application is seen on a phone screen
FILE PHOTO: The WhatsApp messaging application is seen on a phone screen August 3, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas White/File Photo

February 20, 2019

(Reuters) – A security bug is allowing users to bypass new privacy controls introduced by Facebook-owned messaging service WhatsApp on iPhones this month, the service said on Wednesday after users posted about the problem on social media.

The disclosure comes as messaging and other applications race to improve security and privacy and as Facebook Inc is addressing criticism for not safeguarding privacy.

WhatsApp’s new privacy feature allows iPhone users to require Touch ID or Face ID — fingerprint or facial recognition — to open the app but users were able to bypass those log-in methods by using the iPhone’s “share” function to send files over WhatsApp.

Users can set verification to be required immediately upon log-in, meaning they would need to supply Touch ID or Face ID each time they open WhatsApp, or at intervals of up to an hour, allowing them to toggle between apps on the iPhone for that time period.

The security system fails when users select any interval option other than “immediately.”

A user named “u/de_X_ter” wrote a Reddit post https://www.reddit.com/r/apple/comments/ase63o/the_latest_faceid_and_touchid_integration_with detailing the problem on Tuesday. Reuters verified the bug.

“We are aware of the issue and a fix will be available shortly. In the meantime, we recommend that people set the screen lock option to ‘immediately,'” a WhatsApp spokesperson said by email.

Last month a user discovered a privacy flaw with Apple’s FaceTime group video chat software, which allowed iPhone users to see and hear others before they accept a video call. Apple rolled out an iOS update to fix the issue.

Apple did not immediately respond to questions on whether a similar fix would be required for the WhatsApp glitch.

(Reporting by Arjun Panchadar in Bengaluru, Writing by Katie Paul; Editing by Bill Trott)

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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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.

WARREN’S $1.25T EDUCATION PLAN ‘SWEEPING’ GIVEAWAY TO THE WEALTHY AT EXPENSE OF THE POOR, WAPO EDITORIAL BOARD SAYS

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

CHARLIE KIRK: WARREN AND OTHER DEMS OFFER FREE MONEY – BUT DON’T TELL YOU PRICE WILL BE YOUR FREEDOM

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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