The former campaign manager for Obama’s 2012 campaign warned Democrats that socialist candidate Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) can’t beat President Trump in the 2020 election, especially on the economic issues.
In a radio interview on ABC’s Powerhouse Politics, Jim Messina outright dismissed Sanders as a serious contender for Trump.
“Can Bernie Sanders beat [President] Donald Trump?” host Jonathan Karl asked.
“No,” Messina replied.
(Start at 6:45)
“I think if you look at swing voters in this country they are incredibly focused on the economy,” Messina said. “The winner of the economic argument in the last five Presidential elections with swing voters has won the presidency.”
“I think today you look at it and say that Bernie Sanders is unlikely going to be able to stand up to the constant barrage that is Donald Trump on economic issues,” he added.
(Jim Messina. Photo: Douglas Graham/Roll Call/Getty Images)
However, Messina believes Sanders could still clinch the nomination in the Democratic primaries due to the far-left’s growing influence within the caucus.
“If nothing else, he will definitely be one of the final two or three candidates who has a shot at the nomination,” Messina said.
In a show of delight, Trump said Tuesday he believes “Crazy” Bernie will be one of the Democrat finalists.
“I believe it will be Crazy Bernie Sanders vs. Sleepy Joe Biden as the two finalists to run against maybe the best Economy in the history of our Country (and MANY other great things)! I look forward to facing whoever it may be. May God Rest Their Soul!” he tweeted.
I believe it will be Crazy Bernie Sanders vs. Sleepy Joe Biden as the two finalists to run against maybe the best Economy in the history of our Country (and MANY other great things)! I look forward to facing whoever it may be. May God Rest Their Soul!
Bernie Sanders appears to be ok with the possible physical attacks on Kaitlin Bennett due to his rhetoric and characterization of Kaitlin and Infowars. Alex exposes this false narrative smear from the left.
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee Friday called President Donald Trump "cowardly and pessimistic" on climate change while also challenging him to release his income tax returns.
"We need an inspirational leader, not a pessimistic leader," the governor and 2020 Democratic presidential candidate told Fox News' "Fox and Friends." "This is a can-do nation. We put a man on the moon; we defeated Fascism. We can use our smarts to build a clean energy economy right today."
Inslee posted tax return from 2007-2018 on his website, https://jayinslee.com/taxreturns this week, and said Friday that Trump must "show what he's been hiding. Americans deserve that truth."
Returning to the issue of climate change, Inslee said the flooding going on in Nebraska and other Midwest states is evidence the science is real, which show host Steve Doocy disputed.
"I grew up in Kansas which is right next to Nebraska," said Doocy. "I remember 50 years ago the flooding then. So I don't know that people are talking about climate change back then. "When your town is burning down and your town is burning down in Paradise, Calif., you're talking about climate change," said Inslee. "They deserve a president who will protect them, rather than the oil industries. I'm tired of putting out billions of dollars to the fossil fuel industry and lobbyists and he is put in charge of this nation. He wanted to drain the swamp. He put the swamp in charge of our tax policies. It is just wrong."
FILE PHOTO: Spain's Economy Minister Nadia Calvino speaks during a news conference after an extraordinary cabinet meeting at the Moncloa Palace in Madrid, Spain, October 15, 2018. REUTERS/Susana Vera/File Photo
March 27, 2019
By Belén Carreño
MADRID (Reuters) – Spain is studying the issuance of so-called “green bonds” to help businesses fund reforms necessary under the government’s environmental plan, Economy Minister Nadia Calvino told Reuters in an interview on Wednesday.
“Spain has a very ambitious approach to tackling climate change and we wish to be at the very vanguard of the ecological and energy transition. This requires large investment volumes and we are studying the possibility of issuing green bonds, among other means,” Calvino said from her office in Madrid.
Spain’s state run Official Credit Institute (ICO) would oversee the bonds’ issuance, she said.
The Spanish Socialist government said in February that it had earmarked 47 billion euros ($53 billion) in public investment over the next 10 years as part of its effort to become carbon neutral by 2050.
“These bonds would fund investment in areas such as renewable energy and energy efficiency, or sustainable water and land management, all elements of our National Energy and Climate plan, currently subject to public consultation,” she said.
The state-backed bonds would help companies leverage private investment, Calvino said, though she did not say how much would be invested or which companies could opt into the plan.
The economy minister also said that the government has asked the European Stability Mechanism for permission to repay early another part of the country’s 2012 bank-bailout rescue. Spain received nearly 42 billion euros in rescue funds and has around 24 billion euros left to pay back.
Spain plans to issue 35 billion euros in debt in 2019, and Calvino says it will reduce this figure if the economic situation allows.
UPCOMING ELECTIONS
Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez called a general election for April 28 after his minority government failed to garner support for its 2019 budget. Calvino is the only one of his 17 ministers who does not plan to run for reelection.
She stressed her commitment to reducing Spain’s budget deficit and debt levels in coming years if Sanchez is elected to form a government. Reforms in education and training are the top economic policy priorities for the next government, she said.
Spain has the second highest unemployment rate in Europe, which stood at 14.5 percent at the end of 2018. It has struggled to pass labor market reforms that address high levels of seasonal unemployment and low-paid, temporary work.
(Writing by Paul Day; Editing by Axel Bugge and Peter Graff)
President Donald Trump plans to nominate Jeffrey Rosen as the next deputy U.S. attorney general, a senior administration official said on Tuesday night.
Rosen, currently deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation, would succeed Rod Rosenstein, who appointed a special counsel to investigate possible ties between Russia and President Donald Trump's campaign.
Rosenstein is expected to step down by mid-March, a Justice Department official said on Monday.
Attorney General William Barr welcomed the choice of the new deputy, saying in a statement that Rosen had 35 years of experience at the highest levels of government and in the private sector.
"His years of outstanding legal and management experience make him an excellent choice to succeed Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who has served the Department of Justice over many years with dedication and distinction," Barr said.
Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao said Rosen had played a critical role in her department.
"I will be sorry to lose him, but I am confident that he is the right lawyer to help the new Attorney General succeed at the Justice Department, for the benefit of the American people," she said in a statement.
Rosen's nomination must be confirmed by the U.S. Senate.
The crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border has gotten so bad that smugglers are bragging to the media about how much money they are making by sneaking illegal aliens into America.
While speaking with The Guardian, Germán, a client recruiter for human smugglers in Guatemala, boasted about how he has been making tens of thousands of dollars by smuggling illegal aliens into the U.S.
“It’s never been easier for us to get families in,” Germán said. “People want to leave, and we help them. And I happen to make money in the process.”
With migrant apprehensions at the U.S.-Mexico border reaching unprecedented levels, Germán essentially detailed how he’s made a business out of getting “family units” into the U.S. as “package deals” because he can make more money that way.
In order to help his chances of lining his own pockets, Germán said he and the other human smugglers also educate illegal aliens on how to seek out border agents and immediately request asylum to increase their chances of getting into the U.S.
Germán, who has apparently created an entire business model out of this, explained that he offers his “clients” a range of travel options for getting across Mexico.
His packages range from $7,800 to $11,000, but he claims he can get the price down if migrants are willing to take routes that are far more dangerous and deadly.
Those cheaper routes “are where you’re more likely to get robbed by organized crime, kidnapped, raped or killed for your organs,” Germán explained. “We don’t recommend those routes, but we give people their options.”
The business is apparently so lucrative that he bragged to the outlet about how he recently charged $2,600 per person to get 40 illegals into America.
This explosive report comes after CNN, perhaps accidentally, revealed how migrants are intentionally exploiting asylum laws to gain access into the U.S.
CNN’s Chris Cuomo recently went to the U.S.-Mexico border to speak with the “refugees” seeking asylum from Central American countries.
But when he actually spoke to these supposed “desperate” migrants, he quickly found out that droves of illegals aliens are exploiting the asylum system to get into America so they can get jobs.
Kudos to Chris Cuomo for revealing that what's driving illegal immigration from Central America are job opportunities in U.S. and asylum loopholes. Very few have legitimate credible fear claims. This is how reporting is done.
While speaking with a man who said he came to the U.S. with his son, Cuomo posed one question: “Is he here to work, or is he here for asylum?”
“He wants to work, but if he gets asylum, he’s willing to ask for asylum,” an interpreter said to Cuomo after the migrant answered the question.
“Why did he take his kid to come here if it’s just to work?” Cuomo asked.
“It’s what you and I were talking about,” the interpreter said. “He said that if he comes here with his son, then he’s allowed to stay.”
This, among other factors, has pushed U.S. immigration agencies to their breaking point.
While speaking to reporters last week, Customs and Border Protection chief Kevin K. McAleenan revealed that apprehensions hit record highs in the months of February and March.
McAleenan warned that there is an “unprecedented humanitarian and border security crisis all along our Southwest Border.”
This massive surge in migrants being held at custody facilities as put an unprecedented strain on CBP.
This "sick" fox found in a neighborhood in Devon, England concerned locals, who asked animal rescuers for help. (Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals)
Animal rescuers in England shifted into high gear on Monday in search of a possibly injured fox — only to learn the animal was not what it seemed.
Ellie Burt, an officer with the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA), said a resident in Devon, a city roughly 200 miles southwest of London, became worried about the fox, which had been hiding in a bush.
The RSPCA said the fox had been moved around the neighborhood by someone. (Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals)
The local said the fox was acting lethargic before it collapsed and hadn't moved in days, according to a news release from the animal organization obtained by Fox News.
Rescuers asked the Good Samaritan to attempt the "broom test" with the fox to see if it was still alive, and they "were told that it didn't move but tracked them with its eyes and seemed to be breathing well."
Burt traveled to the fox, with the hope that it could be saved. When she got to the scene, she said she quickly learned "this wasn't a live fox — but a dead fox who'd been stuffed by a taxidermist."
"He’d clearly been placed under a bush outside of the houses as a prank," Burt said. "After speaking to some of the neighbors, I soon discovered that someone had been moving it around the neighborhood.”
The RSPCA said Burt discarded the fox "to avoid any further calls."
Fox News' Carlos Bedoya contributed to this report.
The bombings in Sri Lanka have once again put a spotlight on the rising tide of violence against Christians all over the world.
According to Open Doors USA, an average of 105 churches and/or Christian buildings are burned or attacked every month. That is more than three per day, and almost all of those attacks get ignored by the mainstream media in the western world. In addition, an average of 345 Christians are killed for faith-related reasons every single month. Of course these numbers will soon be out of date, because violence against Christians continues to escalate all over the globe, and the horrifying attacks that we just witnessed in Sri Lanka are a perfect example. The following comes from CBS News…
A series of eight bombings in Sri Lanka targeting Christian churches and hotels in three cities killed at least 207 people and wounded up to 450 others on Easter Sunday. Defense Minister Ruwan Wijewardene described the coordinated blasts as a terrorist attack by religious extremists.
More specifically, the attackers were Muslim extremists.
Why does the mainstream media have to be so politically-correct all the time?
Of course this comes right on the heels of the fire that almost destroyed the Notre Dame Cathedral. Authorities are still attempting to determine the cause of that fire, but we do know that many other churches have been hit by vandals and arsonists in France since the beginning of February…
Vandals and arsonists have targeted French churches in a wave of attacks that has lasted nearly two months.
More than 10 churches have been hit since the beginning of February, with some set on fire while others were severely desecrated or damaged.
In an apparent attempt to copy what happened at Notre Dame, a deranged philosophy professor was caught bringing gas cans and lighter fluid to St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York…
The man who allegedly brought gas cans and lighter fluid into St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City has taught philosophy at different colleges in New York and New Jersey, school officials said.
Marc Lamparello, 37, was arrested on Wednesday night and was charged with attempted arson and reckless endangerment. He was taken into custody after a security guard at the cathedral on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan spotted him.
Fortunately a great tragedy was averted in that case, but most churches around the world are very “soft targets” with absolutely no security whatsoever.
And these days, there is literally nowhere that is safe. Attacks on churches are happening literally all over the globe, and sometimes they happen right in the middle of a worship service.
For instance, here is an example from the Philippines that recently made worldwide headlines…
Two suicide attackers detonate two bombs during a Mass in a Roman Catholic cathedral on the largely Muslim island of Jolo in the southern Philippines, killing 23 and wounding about 100 others.
Earlier this year in India, a group of Christians was absolutely horrified when they arrived for worship only to find that their church had burned completely to the ground…
Christians were horrified to see Pentecostal Church in India’s Telangana state completely engulfed by black smoke when they arrived for worship. On closer inspection much of the inside of the church, including furniture, the pulpit, the sound system, fans, carpets, and lights, were burned to ashes during the attack on February 2 at about 11am. The devastating attack on the church, home to 200 worshippers, has left Christians from ten villages without a place to worship.
By a very wide margin, churches are the number one target for hate attacks, and it is only going to get worse.
Sadly, churches in the U.S. are increasingly being attacked as well. You may not have heard about it in the news, but three churches in Louisiana were recently destroyed by arson…
Much of Monica Harris’s identity is tied to the Greater Union Baptist Church, a 129-year-old sanctuary that has been at the center of her family for generations. As a child, she was dunked into a baptismal basin and then paraded like a princess up the aisle in a white dress and white patent leather shoes. She was married at the church, and she said goodbye to her parents there, too.
And so she felt like a piece of her was missing when she set eyes upon the charred remains of Greater Union, one of three predominantly black churches in St. Landry Parish, La., that law enforcement authorities said were set ablaze and destroyed over the stretch of 10 days.
In previous articles, I have argued that all churches are going to need armed security from this point forward. The world has changed, and we need to change with it.
When I was growing up, I never imagined that someone might come in to my church and start shooting, but over the last several decades we have seen such a scenario play out numerous times. Just check out this list of fatal church shootings that have happened since Columbine…
1999 Wedgewood Baptist Church in Fort Worth, Texas
2001 Greater Oak Missionary Baptist Church in Hopkinsville, Kentucky
2002 Our Lady of Peace Catholic Church in Lynbrook, New York
2003 Turner Monumental AME Church in Kirkwood, Georgia
2005 Living Church of God in Brookfield, Wisconsin
2005 World Changers Church in College Park, Georgia
2006 Zion Hope Missionary Baptist in Detroit, Michigan
2006 Ministry of Jesus Christ Church in Baton Rouge, Louisiana
2007 First Presbyterian Church in Moscow, Idaho
2007 First Congregational Church in Neosho, Missouri
2007 New Life Church in Colorado Springs, Colorado
2008 First Baptist Church in Maryville, Illinois
2009 Reformation Lutheran Church in Wichita, Kansas
2012 World Changers Church in College Park, Georgia
2015 Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina
2017 Burnette Chapel Church of Christ in Antioch, Tennessee
2017 First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas
But of course most of the time the mainstream media attempts to ignore this growing trend as much as possible. When there are spectacular attacks with large numbers of deaths like we just witnessed in Sri Lanka they will cover the story, but other than that they try very hard to avoid any stories that would put Christians in a sympathetic light.
They can try to ignore what is happening all they want, but it doesn’t change the fact that hatred for the Christian faith is growing, and what we have been witnessing in recent weeks is just the beginning.
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)
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)
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.
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.
(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)
U.S. President Donald Trump talks to reporters as he departs for travel to Indianapolis, Indiana from the White House in Washington, U.S., April 26, 2019. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
April 26, 2019
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday said trade talks with China are going very well, as the world’s two largest economies seek to end talks with a trade agreement to defuse tensions.
Trump said on Thursday he would soon host China’s President Xi Jinping at the White House.
Earlier this week, the White House said that Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer would travel to Beijing for more talks on a trade dispute marked by tit-for-tat tariffs between the two countries.
(Reporting by Jeff Mason; Writing by Makini Brice; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
U.S. President Donald Trump gives a thumbs up to his audience as he hosts Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day at the White House in Washington, U.S., April 25, 2019. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
April 26, 2019
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday praised Russian President Vladimir Putin’s comments on North Korea this week following the Russian leader’s summit with Pyongyang’s Kim Jong Un.
Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump also said China was helping with efforts aimed at the denuclearization of North Korea.
(Reporting by Jeff Mason and Makini Brice; Writing by Susan Heavey; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
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