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Kamala Harris swipes at Beto O'Rourke, far-left Dems, says 'We can't have open borders'

Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris said “We can't have open borders” as she continues to disassociate from her party’s calls for unrestricted immigration and tearing down existing barriers at the U.S.-Mexico border.

The U.S. senator from California, a leading 2020 hopeful for the White House on the Democratic side, has recently been overshadowed by the entry of Senate colleague Bernie Sanders -- the progressives’ likely first choice -- into the race, and the potential candidacy of Beto O’Rourke the former congressman from Texas who’s been making inroads and positioning himself as the anti-Trump candidate.

KAMALA HARRIS AFFIRMS SUPPORT FOR CAPITALISM AS DEMOCRATIC SOCIALIST SANDERS ENTERS RACE

This prompted Harris to come out against O’Rourke’s call to tear down the existing 700 miles of fencing on the U.S.-Mexico border during a Wednesday night appearance on Comedy Central's “The Daily Show.”

“No, I believe that we need border security,” said Harris, who has opposed President Trump’s immigration policies in the Senate.

“But we need smart border security. We can't have open borders, we need to have border security, all nations do,” she continued. “All nations define their borders, but we should not have a policy and perspective that is grounded in keeping people out for the sake of this nationalistic kind of thing this president is trying to push.”

"But we need smart border security. We can't have open borders, we need to have border security, all nations do."

— U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif.

The rebuke comes after O’Rourke told MSNBC last week that would “absolutely” tear down the border wall in El Paso, Texas, if he gets the chance.

“Absolutely, I'd take the wall down,” O'Rouke said. “Here's what we know: After the Secure Fence Act, we have built 600 miles of wall and fencing on a 2,000 mile border. What that has done is not in any demonstrable way made us safer.”

KAMALA HARRIS' DAD SAYS PARENTS ARE 'TURNING IN THEIR GRAVE' OVER HER COMMENTS ON WEED AND BEING JAMAICAN: REPORT

Harris added during her TV appearance that although she wants a secure border, people should be allowed to come in. She also reiterated that the U.S. is “a nation that was founded and has grown because we have always welcomed immigrants.”

Harris’ comments were carefully hedged while other Democrats running for president, such as U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, have openly endorsed ideas such as abolishing the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency.

But just last year, Harris told multiple news outlets that the U.S. “maybe” or “probably” should “start from scratch” on an immigration enforcement agency, echoing the concerns of the “Abolish ICE” movement.

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Harris’ distancing from the far-left of the party has been in motion for days. On Tuesday, she reaffirmed her commitment to capitalism instead of democratic socialism and reiterated what she said a day earlier: “I am not a democratic socialist.”

“I believe that capitalism has great strengths when it works for all people equally well," she said. "I do believe that we do need to recognize that over the last many decades the rules have been written in a way that has excluded working families and middle-class families, and we have to correct course."

Source: Fox News Politics

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Exclusive: Concord University Pays For Students To Protest WV Campus Carry Bill

West Virginia school’s student government organized a protest at the state capitol in West Virginia, including arranging transportation.

Concord University’s Student Government Association (SGA) sent out an email with the subject line “EMERGENCY. GUNS ON CAMPUS,” encouraging students to attend a protest at the West Virginia state capitol put on by the SGA. The SGA stated that the protest would be their “last effort to stop this bill,” according to the email, a copy of which Campus Reform obtained.

“Please, please, please be there. We need you,” the email reads.

“Concord University students are joining college and university students from across the state for a rally against House Bill 2519, The Campus Self Defense Act, at the West Virginia State Capitol on Monday, March 4. The Concord students are planning to be at the capitol at 9 a.m.,” a separate email sent from the CU Office of Advancement, which Campus Reform also obtained, states. “Concord Student Government Association (SGA) President Haley Fields said students are planning to ‘show up in force’ in an attempt to make their voices heard to state legislators.”

The CUOA email prompts students who are interested in attending the protest, organized by the SGA, to meet outside of the Student Center at 7 a.m. on March 4. HB 2519 would allow citizens with a concealed carry permit to carry their concealed weapon on certain parts of West Virginia public campuses, according to Metro News.

In a statement to Campus Reform Monday, a Concord University spokesman confirmed that the trip was both organized by and paid for by SGA.

“SGA organized a trip to Charleston to speak to lawmakers in the hopes that their voice would be considered in the decision-making process,” the spokesman said. “Some students drove on their own. Those that could not drive were offered transportation provided by SGA, paid for by SGA. All students were invited, regardless of where they stood on this issue.”

One source told Campus Reform that a university employee said the vehicles were rented from Enterprise.

According to another email obtained by Campus Reform, Concord marketing professor Susan Williams told her classthat she would not take roll because of the protest and encouraged students to go: “I wholeheartedly encourage each of you to take the trip to Charleston if the campus carry bill is an important topic for you,” Williams stated in an email, a copy of which Campus Reform obtained.

The university president, Kendra Boggess, expressed her frustration about the bill in a Facebook comment using her personal page, in which she claimed that “the gun lobbies [were] controlling the conversation.”

“I cannot understand it…party politics, the gun lobbies controlling the conversation…it’s absolutely beyond my ability to comprehend,” she said. “We have argued, we have pleaded, we have lobbied, we have been told repeatedly…there is no way to stop this and if we make ‘them’ angry, they will take out the few concessions that have been made,” Boggess wrote on Facebook. “Any ideas? I’ll be glad to try anything to keep guns off our campuses, but we haven’t been successful so far. 30 other states have said no to guns on campus, 13 have them, WV will have one of the most permissive laws in the country. SMH [so much hate].”

Campus Reform asked Boggess about SGA paying for students’ transportation to protest the state’s campus carry bill.

“Our students are voters,” Boggess told Campus Reform. “They saw decisions being made that directly affected them, so they organized to have their voices heard. While Concord University had nothing to do with this decision, we are proud of all our students who made a point to speak with lawmakers, regardless of the side they chose.”

One student at Concord, Lydia Warner, told Campus Reform that among other reasons, she is against the bill because she does not think 18-22-year-olds should have a weapon on campus.

“18 to 22-year-old students in this brand [new] environment for them should not have access to such deadly weapons, for many students living on campus this is the first time they’ve lived unsupervised ever, for some students that kind of freedom can be detrimental,” Warner said. “Also many college students suffer from depression and anxiety, by having guns on campus you are quite literally putting the gun in people’s hands for students to end their lives with.”

Another student, Carley Lee, told Campus Reform that she would feel unsafe if the bill were passed.

“Personally, I would feel unsafe on campus if people had guns,” Lee said. “One of the things about the bill that was going to help keep people at ease was not allowing [guns] in buildings where there would be more than 1,000 people at a time, but at a school like Concord, you’re not going to find that anywhere.”

Lee even told Campus Reform that she knows students who would drop out of the university if the bill passed.

However, not all Concord University students are against the bill.

Jack Garwood, another student, positioned his support of the bill to Campus Reform as a result of his belief that self-defense is a right.

“I support campus carry because I don’t think the rights of students & staff to keep and bear arms for the defense of self – in WV’s constitution, Article 3 Section 22 – should be denied by school administrators who aren’t sitting ducks in class every day,” Garwood said.

A Concord University spokesman told Campus Reform that all of the SGA members “unanimously voted against the Campus Carry measure.”

[RELATED: Anti-gun student group creates ‘Student Body Armor’ ad]

HB 2519 will next be addressed by West Virginia’s Senate Judiciary Committee.

Follow the author of this article on Twitter: @asabes10

Source: InfoWars

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Leader of Belarus blasts ally Russia’s ‘insolent’ practices

The president of Belarus president has threatened to retaliate against Russia for what he called its "insolent" trade restrictions.

The statement by President Alexander Lukashenko reflects simmering tensions between the neighboring countries. Russia and Belarus are allies with close political and economic ties, but the governments regularly quarrel.

Lukashenko has ruled Belarus with an iron hand for a quarter-century while relying on Russian loans and cheap energy to keep the economy afloat. His criticism on Thursday characterized energy price increases as part of Moscow's efforts to force Belarus to abandon its independence.

Lukashenko said Russia "has grown insolent and started twisting our hands" by banning agriculture products from Belarus. He suggested Belarus could retaliate by shutting down repairs on pipelines that carry Russian crude oil to the West.

Source: Fox News World

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Alleged killer brought back to US to face charges after fleeing to Mexico, authorities say

A California man who allegedly fatally shot his ex-girlfriend in broad daylight last month before fleeing the country has been returned to the U.S. following his arrest in Mexico on Wednesday, authorities said.

Julio Cesar Rocha, 25, of Montlcair, is accused of shooting his 25-year-old ex-girlfriend Thalia Flores and a second unidentified male victim March 21 around 2:45 p.m. while the two were sitting in a vehicle in the parking lot of a discount store in Chino. Both communities are about 36 miles east of Los Angeles.

ARREST MADE IN DOUBLE HOMICIDE OF EX-PRO HOCKEY PLAYER, COMMUNITY ADVOCATE, POLICE SAY

Julio Cesar Rocha, 25, of Montlcair, Calif. was located in Mexico Wednesday and returned to California where he faces murder and attempted murder charges related to the death of his ex-girlfriend, Thalia Flores.

Julio Cesar Rocha, 25, of Montlcair, Calif. was located in Mexico Wednesday and returned to California where he faces murder and attempted murder charges related to the death of his ex-girlfriend, Thalia Flores. (City of Chino Police Department)

Flores died at the scene. The man, whose name was not released, walked to a nearby hospital where he's recovering from his gunshot wounds.

Rocha allegedly fled the scene and remained at large for more than a month, the Daily Bulletin reported. He was formally arrested at 4:30 p.m. after arriving at Los Angeles International Airport from Mexico, KTLA-TV reported.

The suspect was booked at the West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga on murder and attempted murder charges, the City of Chino Police Department said on Facebook.

Flores ended her seven-year relationship with Rocha just two months before her death and still lived in fear of him until that point, a sister of the victim, Bernice Flores, told the Daily Bulletin.

“He said himself so many times to other people, ‘If I can’t have her, no one will.’ ” Flores said, adding that her sister stayed in the relationship longer that she would have liked in fear that Rocha would hurt her or her family if they broke up.

Rocha was convicted on misdemeanor battery in 2016 and sentenced to 60 days in prison. He was originally charged with misdemeanor assault with a deadly weapon, but the charges were lowered in a plea deal, the Daily Bulletin reported.

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Rocha was convicted of misdemeanor resisting or obstructing a peace officer in 2014. A second charge of misdemeanor battery was dropped in a plea deal, and Rocha was ordered to complete a 26-week anger management course, according to San Bernardino County Superior Court records. Rocha was later arrested and sentenced to 10 days behind bars for failing to complete the course.

Source: Fox News National

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EU suspends Slovak tax on retail food sector pending outcome of in-depth investigation

FILE PHOTO: European Union and Slovakian flags are seen outside the Bratislava Castle (Hrad) ahead of an upcoming European Union summit in Bratislava
FILE PHOTO: European Union and Slovakian flags are seen outside the Bratislava Castle (Hrad) ahead of an upcoming European Union summit- the first one since Britain voted to quit- in Bratislava, Slovakia, September 15, 2016. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo

April 2, 2019

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Commission said on Tuesday it suspended a Slovak tax on the food retail sector pending the results of an in-depth investigation into whether certain exemptions from the tax gave some retailers a selective advantage over their competitors.

The tax, which applies to food retailers that operate in Slovakia, entered into force on 1 January 2019 and the first payment would have been due by the end of April 2019.

“The Commission … issued an injunction, requiring Slovakia to suspend the application of the measure until the Commission has concluded its assessment under EU State aid rules,” the EU executive said in a statement.

Under the tax, food retailers would pay a quarterly tax amounting to 2.5 percent of their total turnover, but they would be fully or partially exempted if they fulfill one of several conditions on size, geographic scope of operation in Slovakia and/or type of activities.

Retailers in trading alliances or franchises would not pay the tax, even though their combined turnover is comparable to that of the largest retailers.

The Commission said the construction of the tax meant it would be paid only by seven food retailers, six of which were foreign-owned, and the only Slovak-owned retailer subject to the tax would have a significant part of its turnover exempted.

“The Commission does not question Slovakia’s right to introduce a tax applicable to the food retail sector. At the same time, the tax system should respect EU law, including State aid rules, and should not unduly favor a particular type of companies, for example, companies operating in a smaller number of districts or members of trading alliances,” it said.

(Reporting By Jan Strupczewski)

Source: OANN

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Japan’s February machinery orders rebound but investment worries remain

FILE PHOTO: Businessmen walk past heavy machinery at a construction site in Tokyo's business district
FILE PHOTO: Businessmen walk past heavy machinery at a construction site in Tokyo's business district, Japan, January 16, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai/File Photo

April 10, 2019

By Stanley White

TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s machinery orders posted their first monthly increase in four months in February due to improved demand from the energy and telecommunications sectors but weakening global conditions remain major challenges for the world’s third-largest economy.

The 1.8 percent increase month-on-month in core machinery orders, an often volatile leading indicator of capital expenditure, followed a 5.4 percent decline in the previous month.

But the expansion was weaker than the median forecast for a 2.5 percent increase in a Reuters poll of economists. It is also unlikely to ease concerns that companies could drastically cut business investment due to the U.S.-Sino trade war and rising inventories of electronic parts.

Orders from manufacturers rose 3.5 percent in February, following a 1.9 percent month-on-month decline in January, Cabinet Office data showed on Wednesday.

Orders from non-manufacturers fell 0.8 percent month-on-month in February after an 8.0 percent decline in January from the previous month.

Of some encouragement for policymakers, machinery orders from overseas rose 19.0 percent, recovering from an 18.1 percent tumble in January.

“Core” machinery orders exclude those for ships and from electricity utilities.

The United States and China are trying to narrow their differences over trade but are yet to agree to a deal that would unwind punitive tariffs and restore global trade flows.

The two countries have been embroiled in a tit-for-tat tariff battle since July 2018, which has roiled supply chains.

Japanese manufactures rely on selling heavy machinery and electronic parts to companies operating in China, which are used to make finished goods.

Economists say uncertainty over trade policy could discourage Japanese companies from increasing capital expenditure, which will act as a curb on economic growth.

Another risk for Japan’s economy is the government’s plan to raise the nationwide sales tax to 10 percent from 8 percent in October. The government needs the extra revenue for rising welfare costs, but the tax hike could also weaken consumer spending.

(Reporting by Stanley White; Editing by Sam Holmes)

Source: OANN

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Greece looks to repay IMF early as bond yields tumble

The Greek government says it is in talks with European bailout lenders to repay its debts to the International Monetary Fund early as market borrowing rates tumbled to their lowest level since 2005.

Government spokesman Dimitris Tzanakopoulos said Greece is hoping to repay a "significant portion" of its remaining 9.6 billion euros ($10.9 billion) owed to the IMF ahead of schedule. His remarks Monday follow a meeting in Washington between Greek Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos and IMF managing director Christine Lagarde.

The yield on Greece's 10-year bond dropped further to 3.28% Monday, matching levels not seen in 14 years.

Greece would need approval from the eurozone's rescue fund to repay its IMF loans early, but top officials in the agency and the European Commission have already praised the idea.

Source: Fox News World

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FILE PHOTO: An aerial photo looking north shows shipping containers at the Port of Seattle and the Elliott Bay waterfront in Seattle
FILE PHOTO: An aerial photo looking north shows shipping containers at the Port of Seattle and the Elliott Bay waterfront in Seattle, Washington, U.S. March 21, 2019. REUTERS/Lindsey Wasson/File Photo

April 26, 2019

NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. economic growth is running at a 1.1% pace in the second quarter as the gains in exports and inventories recorded in the first quarter are expected to reverse, Morgan Stanley economists said on Friday.

“Our preliminary expectations for growth in the second quarter sees large drags from net exports and inventories after their contributions in 1Q,” they wrote in a research note.

Gross domestic product increased at a 3.2% annualized rate in the first three months of the year, driven by a smaller trade deficit and the largest accumulation of unsold merchandise since 2015, the Commerce Department said earlier Friday.

(Reporting by Richard Leong)

Source: OANN

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FILE PHOTO: The Deutsche Bank headquarters are pictured in Frankfurt
FILE PHOTO: The Deutsche Bank headquarters are pictured in Frankfurt, Germany, April 25, 2019. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski/File Photo

April 26, 2019

By Tom Sims

FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Within hours of the collapse of merger talks with Commerzbank, Christian Sewing scrambled to convince investors and employees that Deutsche Bank can stand on its own two feet.

The Deutsche Bank chief executive told staff, many of whom opposed a merger because of significant job losses, that while he had not been “skeptical” about the Commerzbank talks, he was cautious about the chances of success from the start.

And another top Deutsche Bank executive said on Friday that it had been Commerzbank that initiated the talks, suggesting there was no desperation on their part for a deal.

Commerzbank denied that version of events, ending the apparent truce between the normally highly competitive cross-town Frankfurt rivals over the past six weeks.

German hopes of creating a national banking champion able to challenge global competitors were finally dashed on Thursday when Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank ended their talks due to the risks of doing a deal, restructuring costs and capital demands.

For Sewing, the failure to clinch a deal has left the 49-year-old chief executive of Germany’s largest bank, who took over just over a year ago, with his back to the wall.

Credit ratings agency Standard & Poor’s, which downgraded Deutsche Bank last year, said on Friday that Deutsche Bank “will remain under strain”, adding that it “seems to have acknowledged the need to adjust its strategy”.

Under Sewing, a new leadership has tried to revive Deutsche Bank’s fortunes, but it has faced money laundering allegations and failed stress tests, as well as ratings downgrades.

At the heart of the debate over its future is whether it should focus its business on Germany and draw a line under its costly global ambitions to take on Wall Street’s big guns.

“MARKET PLAY”

Without a deal, Deutsche Bank now finds itself back at the mercy of equity and debt markets, with UBS analysts warning that in a “stress scenario” it could again “be forced into a ‘debt-driven capital increase’ even with solid capital ratios”.

“Deutsche remains a levered market play vulnerable to external events,” the UBS analysts said in a note.

Sewing, along with many analysts, believes Deutsche Bank can go it alone in the short-term, but will be counting on a turnaround in market conditions to do so in the long-run given its dependence on volatile investment bank earnings.

“To reach our return objective, we also need to see a revenue recovery in our more market-sensitive business,” Sewing said on Friday after reporting results.

“These revenues are available to us in better market conditions given our leading positions in many of these businesses, but we need to capture them,” he added.

Revenue at Deutsche Bank’s bond trading division fell 19 percent in the first quarter, it said on Friday, underscoring weakness at its investment bank.

If those earnings do not improve, Berlin’s desire to keep its biggest bank out of foreign hands may start to wane.

“Germany’s globally active companies need competitive financial institutions that can support them around the world,” German finance minister Olaf Scholz said on Thursday.

(Writing by Alexander Smith; Editing by Keith Weir)

Source: OANN

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Panama's former president Ricardo Martinelli yells to the media while arriving to the Electoral Court in Panama City
Panama’s former president Ricardo Martinelli reacts to the media while arriving to the Electoral Court in Panama City, Panama April 26, 2019. REUTERS/Erick Marciscano

April 26, 2019

PANAMA CITY (Reuters) – Panama’s electoral tribunal has ruled that former President Ricardo Martinelli, who is awaiting trial on wiretapping charges, cannot take part in elections on May 5 in which he was running for mayor of Panama City and a seat in Congress, a spokesman for Martinelli said on Friday.

“The ruling of the electoral tribunal has disqualified him as candidate,” said the spokesman, Eduardo Camacho, calling the court’s ruling a “political decision.”

Officials at the tribunal did not immediately confirm the ruling, which also was reported in local media in Panama.

Martinelli, a supermarket tycoon who ran the Central American country from 2009 to 2014, was extradited to Panama last June from the United States and charged with spying on 150 people, including politicians, union leaders and journalists.

A judge had previously cleared Martinelli to run for mayor of the capital. His critics vowed to appeal that decision.

(Reporting by Elida Moreno and Stefanie Eschenbacher; Editing by Bill Trott)

Source: OANN

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FILE PHOTO: Amazon boxes are seen stacked for delivery in the Manhattan borough of New York City
FILE PHOTO: Amazon boxes are seen stacked for delivery in the Manhattan borough of New York City, January 29, 2016. REUTERS/Mike Segar/File Photo

April 26, 2019

(Reuters) – Shares of Walmart, Target and other U.S. retailers fell on Friday as Amazon.com Inc unveiled a one-day delivery plan for its Prime members in a move to further disrupt the fiercely competitive retail landscape.

The e-commerce giant’s announcement on Thursday could cause other brands, manufacturers, retailers, and logistics companies to have to invest more aggressively to compete with Amazon and its delivery, analysts said.

Retailers in recent years have poured billions into ecommerce and faster shipping options and are trying to close the gap with Amazon.

“This is about making it more expensive to catch up and affirms our world view that only the largest and smartest will survive,” Bernstein analyst Brandon Fletcher said.

The move is expected to heighten consumer expectations on e-commerce delivery just like Amazon did with its two-day shipping option for members of its loyalty club Prime, noted analysts.

“The faster you ship, the more people buy,” RBC Capital Markets analyst Mark Mahaney said.

The challenge for non-Amazon players was that very few of the existing logistics and parcel delivery players now have the ability to do nationwide one-day delivery, Morgan Stanley analyst Brian Nowak said.

“And even fewer can do it at the vast scale and reasonable cost that AMZN would need for Prime delivery,” Nowak said in a note.

Walmart Inc’s shares fell about 3 percent, while Target Corp dropped about 5 percent in morning trade.

Shares of Kohl’s Corp, Macy’s Inc and Nordstrom Inc fell about 1 percent. Grocer Kroger Co was nearly 3 percent lower, while consumer electronics retailer Best Buy Inc dropped 2.1 percent.

(Reporting by Soundarya J and Akanksha Rana in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)

Source: OANN

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A Chinese woman adjusts a Chinese national flag next to U.S. national flags before a Strategic Dialogue expanded meeting, part of the U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S&ED) in Beijing
A Chinese woman adjusts a Chinese national flag next to U.S. national flags before a Strategic Dialogue expanded meeting, part of the U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S&ED) held at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, July 10, 2014. REUTERS/Ng Han Guan/Pool (CHINA – Tags: POLITICS BUSINESS)

April 26, 2019

By April Joyner

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Even as the lift from optimism over prospects for U.S.-China trade detente shows signs of wearing off for the wider U.S. stock market, upbeat sentiment around China’s economy could bolster shares of materials companies.

Shares of S&P 500 industrial and technology companies, which were buffeted by last year’s tit-for-tat tariffs as well as slowing global demand, have been very responsive to progress in U.S.-China trade relations and a strengthening Chinese economy. This year, those sectors have outpaced the ascent in the S&P 500, which reached a record closing high on Tuesday.

Materials stocks have not been as sensitive, however, even though they also stand to benefit as a stronger Chinese economy lifts global consumption and industrial output. As China has taken measures to stimulate its economy, its economic data have turned more upbeat. That in turn could aid global growth, which has flagged as a result of China’s cooldown.

“What we’re seeing is China spending more on stimulus: fiscal stimulus and monetary stimulus,” said Kristina Hooper, chief global market strategist at Invesco in New York. “That’s likely to be a positive for materials.”

The People’s Bank of China has cut banks’ reserve requirement ratio five times over the past year and is widely expected to ease policy further to spur lending and reduce borrowing costs. The stimulus appears to have boosted Chinese economic data, with factory activity growing in March for the first time in four months.

Yet so far in 2019, the S&P 500 materials index has underperformed the S&P 500 at large, rising just 11.9% compared with 16.7% for the benchmark index. Moreover, it is among the biggest decliners in the period since the S&P’s previous record closing level on Sept. 20. The materials index has fallen 7% over those seven months, versus a 5.2% gain for technology and a 3% loss for industrials. Only the energy index has dropped more over that period.

A trade agreement could serve as a catalyst for a bump in materials shares as a drag on China’s economy is lifted, some market strategists say. Some commodity prices, including those for copper and oil, have ascended this year as the prospects for the global economy have somewhat brightened.

“It all goes back to the global growth outlook,” said Andrea DiCenso, portfolio manager for alpha strategies at Loomis Sayles in Boston. “With the front run in hard data, we’re beginning to see a pretty significant rally.”

Additionally, a trade agreement is expected to include commitments from China to purchase higher quantities of U.S. products such as soybeans, which could benefit companies that make agricultural chemicals, including DowDuPont Inc and CF Industries Holdings Inc.

CF Industries is scheduled to report quarterly results after the bell on Wednesday, and DowDuPont is scheduled to report before the market open on Thursday.

To be sure, even with a trade agreement, some materials companies could face price pressures. Shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc fell 10.1% on Thursday after the copper mining company posted a lower-than-expected profit as its production slipped and its costs rose.

A rollback of tariffs on Chinese imports, particularly aluminum and steel, would likely prompt a fall in some commodity prices, which could hurt prospects for certain materials companies, said Gene Goldman, chief investment officer at Cetera Investment Management in El Segundo, California.

Even so, those drawbacks may be outweighed by the support for global demand fostered by a U.S.-China trade agreement.

“You could see a number of companies with lowered expectations bring them back up as they talk favorably about the impact that a trade deal would have on them,” said Tim Ghriskey, chief investment strategist at Inverness Counsel in New York.

(Reporting by April Joyner; additional reporting by Sinéad Carew; editing by Jonathan Oatis)

Source: OANN

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