Now On Air

Liberty #MAGAOne Mix

Via MAGA One Mix

6:00 am 8:00 am


Upcoming shows
Real News

NOW ON AIR
Now On Air

Liberty #MAGAOne Mix

Via MAGA One Mix

6:00 am 8:00 am



Maga First News

Upcoming Shows

Join The MAGA Network on Discord

0 0

Statistics show illegal northern border crossings climbing

New statistics from U.S. Customs and Border Protection show the number of people apprehended along the U.S. border with Canada is continuing to climb.

Statistics show 4,316 people were apprehended along the border last year, up from 3,027 in 2017 and 2,283 in 2016.

Of the 2018 total, 963 people, or about 22 percent, were apprehended after illegally crossing the border from Canada. Others were apprehended by border agents inside the United States without authorities knowing how the individuals entered the country.

The Border Patrol sector that includes much of upstate New York, Vermont and New Hampshire accounted for more than half of the people who entered illegally from Canada.

The northern border numbers are tiny compared to the southern border where just under 400,000 individuals were apprehended last year.

Source: Fox News National

0 0

Trump touts tax cut successes in trip to Minnesota, key voting state in 2020 election

President Trump spent his tax filing day in Minnesota, where he touted his $1.5 trillion package of corporate and individual tax cuts he signed into law in 2017 and made a pitch for his 2020 reelection.

Speaking at a trucking company in the Minneapolis suburb of Burnsville on Monday, Trump said he hoped his economic message would be met with enthusiasm from a state that he came within 1.5 percentage points of carrying in 2016.

“We promised that these tax cuts would be rocket fuel to the economy and we were right,” Trump said during a roundtable discussion.

TRUMP HAULS IN $30 MILLION IN FIRST THREE MONTHS OF 2019

In his remarks the president said the economy was doing well and that the recent tax cuts were "working very, very well."

Besides taxes, Trump also argued that his tariffs on imported steel were helping blue-collar workers in Minnesota’s more rural north and leading to a resurgence in the mining industry due to increased demand from domestic steelmakers.

While the trip was billed as a chance to meet with local business leaders on Tax Day, Minnesota likely will play a crucial role in deciding Trump’s chances of winning reelection next fall as well.

Minnesota, which gave the country Vice Presidents Hubert Humphrey and Walter Mondale, both Democrats, hasn't given its 10 electoral votes to a Republican since Richard Nixon in 1972.

The state's Democrats saw a huge overall resurgence during the anti-Trump backlash of 2018, notably in traditionally Republican suburbs of Minneapolis and St. Paul. Giving the president hope is the memory that his popularity outside the Twin Cities area helped the GOP flip two U.S. House seats away from the Democrats last year.

KUDLOW: US ECONOMY HOTTEST IN WORLD

The tax cuts were lambasted on Sunday by Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, a Democrat in the 2020 White House race, arguing that they added trillions of dollars to the nation's debt and disproportionately helped the wealthy.

"That tax bill was a major missed opportunity," she said. "That tax bill should have been a bill that would have not only brought some taxes down for working people but also could have funded a major infrastructure investment."

So far Trump doesn't appear to be getting much credit for the tax changes. An NBC/Wall Street Journal poll last week showed that most Americans didn't think they even got a tax cut. Just 17 percent of those polled believed their taxes went down.

More evidence came from a report by tax preparer H&R Block on Thursday that said Americans were undergoing a "confusing tax experience" this season. While its customers' overall tax liability fell 24.9 percent in the first year under the new tax law, refunds were roughly flat at just 1.4 percent. While the average filer was better off, it said, they weren't seeing it in their refunds, "which many people think of as their 'bottom line.'"

Federal data also showed a negligible increase in refunds. According to the IRS, as of March 29 the average refund nationally was $2,893, which was just $20 more than at the same point last tax season.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Further muddling the picture was the federal deduction for state and local taxes being capped at $10,000, which has mattered in high-tax states such as Minnesota, California and New York, among others.

Along with discussions on taxes, trade and the economy, Trump also expressed his shock and sadness for the massive fire that was devastating the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris – calling the blaze something “that is beyond country, it’s beyond everything.”

“The fire that they’re having at the Notre Dame Cathedral is something like few have witnessed,” he said, adding that the church was “one of the great treasures of the world.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News Politics

0 0

2 climbers killed, 2 injured after avalanche on tallest Scottish peak

Two people were killed and two others injured after being caught in an avalanche in Scotland’s highest peak.

The incident occurred on Ben Nevis – also called No. 5 Gully – shortly before midday on Tuesday, police said.

“We can sadly confirm that two people have died and two people have been injured,” a Police Scotland spokesperson told Sky News.

COLORADO AVALANCHE KILLS 2 BACKCOUNTRY SKIERS IN AREA KNOWN AS 'DEATH PASS'

Members of the Lochaber and Glencoe mountain rescue teams were at the scene. They are being assisted by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency and Scottish Ambulance Service.

Scotland’s first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, tweeted: “This is absolutely tragic news. My thoughts are very much with the bereaved and injured. And my gratitude as always for the work of our emergency services, mountain rescue and coastguard.”

The Scottish Avalanche Information Service issued a warning for today, saying the “avalanche hazard will be high.”

This is not the first time a fatal incident has occurred on the 4,411-foot peak.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

A woman died on New Year’s Day after falling 500 feet while climbing the “ledge route” on the mountain, Sky News reported.

Source: Fox News World

0 0

The Latest: Person of interest detained in killings probe

The Latest on bodies found at a business in Mandan, North Dakota (all times local):

6:55 p.m.

Police say they have detained a person of interest in their investigation into the killings of four people at North Dakota business.

Mandan police said in a release Thursday evening that investigators are following up on a tip that led them to Washburn, about 35 miles (56 kilometers) north of Mandan.

Police released no further information and say it's an ongoing investigation.

The bodies of an owner and three employees were found early Monday at RJR Maintenance and Management in Mandan, just outside Bismarck. Police haven't said how they were killed or suggested a possible motive.

The North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation and McLean County Sheriff's Office are also investigating the case.

___

10 a.m.

Police have declined to release details of a 911 call that alerted authorities to the killings of four people at a North Dakota business.

The bodies of an owner and three employees were found early Monday at RJR Maintenance and Management in Mandan, just outside Bismarck. Police haven't said how they were killed or suggested a possible motive. They said they haven't identified any suspects.

The Associated Press requested audio and a transcript of the 911 call, but police denied the request Thursday, citing a provision of the state's open records law that allows authorities to withhold such information during an active investigation.

Police did confirm that a Wednesday search in a field about half a mile from the business was related to the investigation. They also created a 24-hour public tip phone line.

___

6:40 a.m.

A combined memorial service will be held for a North Dakota business owner and three employees found slain earlier this week.

The service for Robert Fakler, William and Lois Cobb, and Adam Fuehrer will be held Tuesday morning at Bismarck Community Church.

Their bodies were discovered early Monday at RJR Maintenance and Management in Mandan, a city just across the Missouri River from Bismarck. Police have classified the case as a "multiple homicide," but investigators haven't said how the four died or identified the suspect.

Fakler co-owned the business, while the Cobbs and Fuehrer were employees.

Eastgate Funeral and Cremation Service director Bob Eastgate tells the Bismarck Tribune the families decided to have a combined service because the four were good friends.

The memorial service is open to the public.

Source: Fox News National

0 0

Report: Nets finalizing extensions for coach Atkinson, staff

FILE PHOTO: NBA: Milwaukee Bucks at Brooklyn Nets
FILE PHOTO: Apr 1, 2019; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Brooklyn Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson reacts during the second against the Milwaukee Bucks half at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Noah K. Murray-USA TODAY Sports

April 2, 2019

The Brooklyn Nets are nearing contract extensions for head coach Kenny Atkinson and his staff, ESPN reported Tuesday.

The Nets are 39-39 ahead of Wednesday’s game against Toronto and vying for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference for the first time since 2015. They’re currently the No. 7 seed with four games to play in a season in which they weren’t predicted to be very competitive.

Nets general manager Sean Marks hired Atkinson in 2016. Atkinson won 20 games in his first season with the team and improved to 28 wins last season.

Atkinson had been a career assistant coach with the Knicks and Hawks before landing his post with the Nets.

–Field Level Media

Source: OANN

0 0

Australian prime minister set to call May 18 election: media

Prime Minister Morrison speaks to the media during a press conference at Parliament House in Canberra
Prime Minister Scott Morrison speaks to the media during a press conference at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, March 20, 2019. AAP Image/Andrew Taylor/via REUTERS

April 10, 2019

SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison plans to call an election on Thursday, with a likely polling date of May 18, the Australian Broadcasting Corp, Sky News and other media reported, without citing sources.

Morrison arranged to fly from Melbourne to the national capital Canberra late on Wednesday so that he could ask the governor-general the following morning to dissolve parliament for an election campaign, media reported.

Australia needs to go to the polls by late May to elect a new parliament as the current three-year term ends.

Most polls suggest Morrison’s conservative coalition government will lose office.

A spokesman for Morrison was not immediately available for comment.

(Reporting by Byron Kaye; Editing by Kevin Liffey)

Source: OANN

0 0

Senators Want Iran Sanctions Relief Tied to Prisoners’ Release

X

Story Stream

recent articles

Two influential Democratic senators for the first time are urging President Trump to use sanctions relief for countries that want to do business with Iran as leverage to help secure the release of Americans unjustly imprisoned in the Islamic republic.

Sens. Tim Kaine and Chris Coons, both senior Democrats on the Foreign Relations Committee, sent a letter to Trump Monday imploring him to use “all leverage possible” in trying to free Americans imprisoned in Iran and elsewhere.

Kaine and Coons called on the administration to form a multinational taskforce to combine efforts with at least 12 other nations whose citizens are also unlawfully detained in Iran.

The senators also said the administration should require countries seeking conditional waivers from U.S. economic sanctions on Iran, including Iraq, India and China, to lean on Iran to free Americans and other Western prisoners.

“The lives of these Americans are at risk,” Kaine and Coons wrote. “The United States needs to send a strong signal to Iran that it must stop taking Americans hostage. We urge you to use all leverage possible to intervene on their behalf.”

The senators wrote the letter a week after the administration issued a new round of sanctions against 16 individuals and 15 entities in Iran they determined are involved in trying to reconstitute past nuclear-weapons work.

Earlier this month, several members of Congress who support the Trump’s “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran were angered over an administration decision to grant Iraq a major reprieve on Iran sanctions by allowing Baghdad to continue buying electricity from Tehran through a 90-day waiver.

Several Capitol Hill lawmakers and advocates for the Americans imprisoned in Iran want the administration to condition any and all Iran sanctions waivers, especially those involving oil sales, on the prisoners’ release.

The letter from Kaine and Coons is the first tangible sign of a bipartisan push on Capitol Hill for more concrete steps to try to secure the Americans’ release.

There are at least six Americans imprisoned or missing in Iran, including Michael White, a veteran of the U.S. Navy who was in Iran visiting his girlfriend on a valid tourist visa. White went missing in July.

At least three hostages were taken during the Obama administration while Washington and Tehran, along with several U.S. allies, finalized the nuclear deal in late 2015 and early 2016. In January of 2016, four other U.S. hostages were released from Iran at the same time as the Obama administration made a controversial $400 million cash payment to the regime, leading some Republicans to deem the payment ransom and argue that it encouraged more hostage-taking.  

The three Americans who were imprisoned in late 2015 were left behind. President Trump pulled out of the nuclear deal last May, severing nearly all diplomatic contact between Washington and Tehran.

Before the Kaine-Coons letter, Republican hardliners on Iran such as Sen. Ted Cruz were far more vocal in support of measures to punish Tehran for imprisoning Americans. Last year, the House passed a bill, the Iran Human Rights and Hostage-Taking Accountability Act, that would impose sanctions on Iranian officials responsible for the detention of Americans and other foreign nationals. Cruz sponsored similar legislation that would revoke U.S. visas to family members of Iranian officials who detain Americans.

The Kaine-Coons letter was sent just days before a major Trump administration event aimed at responding to concerns raised by families of Americans imprisoned in Iran and elsewhere about the lack of progress on their loved ones' cases. The families are frustrated by the impasse as they’ve watched the president hail the safe return of several Americans held in North Korea, Turkey and Yemen.

On Tuesday Vice President Mike Pence hosted an emotional gathering at the White House with families of Americans detained in Venezuela, and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo sat down with relatives of U.S. citizens and permanent legal residents held in Iran, Venezuela and other countries to try to reassure them the administration is doing all it can to free their loves ones.

The Pompeo meeting came three weeks after relatives of four Americans held in Iran pleaded for a sit-down meeting with President Trump during a House hearing marking the 12th anniversary of the disappearance of former FBI agent Robert Levinson. Levinson was last seen on Iran’s Kish Island in 2007 and is the longest-held hostage in American history.

After privately speaking with the families, Pompeo publicly addressed a larger gathering, which included congressmen, senators, ambassadors and other officials gathered at the State Department.

Pompeo thanked the families for attending and spoke about their deeply personal struggles to win their loved ones’ release. He said he regretted that the gathering had taken so long to organize and made a “personal commitment” to work every day to “deliver every wrongfully detained American home.”

He also underscored how committed President Trump and his administration are to the mission of securing the release of Americans wrongfully imprisoned abroad. Pompeo said he has witnessed Trump’s personal interest in hostage cases during his time as director of the CIA, and now as secretary of state.

“The president asks every week for an update,” Pompeo told the families in public remarks. “He wants to know the status; he wants to know what we’re doing and why we haven’t been more successful. He is personally invested in the safe return of each and every one of them.”

Robert O’Brien, the State Department’s special presidential envoy for hostage affairs, said he and his team asked the families to come to Washington for the meeting so they could “know and feel the deep commitment we have to bringing [their loves ones] home.”

“For those of you here today who’ve lost loved ones at the hands of evil men, evil terrorist organizations, and evil regimes, we asked you here because we want to know that your loss will never be forgotten,” he said. “We want you to know that you have a community here at the State Department; we support you and we love you.”

O’Brien said he and his team along with the Hostage Recovery Fusion Cell, created during the Obama administration and headquartered at the FBI, are solely devoted to bringing “our fellow-citizens home.”

Pompeo said the mission of freeing Americans held hostage by U.S. enemies is a deeply personal one to him. He then referenced the biblical story about the Apostle Peter’s being freed by an angel the night before his likely execution at the hands of King Herod’s regime.

“Those of you who know this verse know it’s an incredible moment,” Pompeo said. “Peter was rescued the night before he was to face judgement and likely execution. But his hope and faith allowed him to walk free.”

He said he understands that rescued hostages “feel Like Peter must have felt, like they’ve received an act of God.” But he also acknowledged that there are too many Americans held abroad that have not been saved as Peter was.

“Sometimes, our efforts fail, or they don’t produce the results as quickly as they deserve,” Pompeo said. He then cited the tragic deaths of several hostages held by ISIS and other U.S. enemies, including Jim Foley, Kayla Mueller, Steven Sotloff, Peter Kassig and Otto Warmbier.

“Their families were all with us today,” he said. “I want to personally thank them for being here.”

Earlier Tuesday, Pence met with family members of six Citgo executives detained by the Maduro government in Venezuela. Authorities in Caracas arrested the executives, five of whom are American citizens, during corporate meetings in the capital in November 2017.

Threatening additional sanctions against Maduro and his associates, Pence reiterated the administration’s deep concern for the welfare and safety of all detained American citizens abroad and called on the embattled Venezuelan leader to release an estimated 280 known political prisoners.

The vice president promised the family members that “we are with you — we are going to stand with you until your loved ones are free, until Venezuela is free.”

He read the names of the detained executives and said the Maduro government is blocking any communication between them and their family members, citing 16 cancelled meetings.

Veronica Fadell Weggemaan, the daughter of a detained Citgo executive,  said the meeting with Pence is giving her family new hope for her father’s safe return, although in recent days they have grown increasingly worried about their father’s health and safety. There has been no contact for four weeks since the electrical blackouts in the country began, she said.

Carlos Anez said his father worked for Citgo for 21 years and is now imprisoned in the basement of a counterintelligence military facility “with very little air circulation now [and] with no light and absolutely no medical care.”

“We just want them home as soon as possible,” Anez said, expressing confidence in the administration’s track record in freeing other Americans imprisoned overseas.

Susan Crabtree is a veteran Washington reporter who has spent two decades covering the White House and Congress.

NOW ON AIR
Now On Air

Liberty #MAGAOne Mix

Via MAGA One Mix

6:00 am 8:00 am



Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond looks on during an interview with Reuters at the British Ambassador's residence in Beijing
Britain’s Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond looks on during an interview with Reuters at the British Ambassador’s residence in Beijing, China April 26, 2019. REUTERS/Florence Lo/Pool

April 26, 2019

BEIJING (Reuters) – British finance minister Philip Hammond said on Friday that he had a “very constructive meeting” with his counterpart in the opposition Labour Party before leaving for Beijing and that he was optimistic about finding common ground.

Hammond, speaking on the sidelines of a summit on China’s Belt and Road initiative in Beijing, said talks with Labour aimed at finding a way forward on Brexit had not stalled.

“I’m optimistic that we will find common ground,” he said. “Both sides have got clear positions and both sides will have to compromise in order to reach an agreement.”

Hammond added that he absolutely did not favor a no deal exit from the European Union.

(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; editing by Darren Schuettler)

Source: OANN

Listen to https://magaoneradio.net and Listen Daily! Don't Forget to Share Click a Link Below!
Police secure the area where the body of a woman was discovered near the village of Orounta
Police secure the area where the body of a woman was discovered near the village of Orounta, Cyprus, April 25, 2019. REUTERS/Stefanos Kouratzis

April 26, 2019

NICOSIA (Reuters) – Cypriot police searched on Friday for more victims of a suspected serial killer, in a case which has shocked the Mediterranean island and exposed the authorities to charges of “criminal indifference” because the dead women were foreigners.

The main opposition party, the left-wing AKEL, called for the resignation of Cyprus’s justice minister and police chief.

Police were combing three different locations west of the capital Nicosia for victims of the suspected killer, a 35-year-old army officer who has been in detention for a week.

The bodies of three women, including two thought to be from the Philippines, have been recovered. Police sources said the suspect had indicated the location of the third body, found on Thursday, and had said the person was “either Indian or Nepali”.

Police said they were searching for a further four people, including two children, based on the suspect’s testimony.

“These women came here to earn a living, to help their families. They lived away from their families. And the earth swallowed them, nobody was interested,” AKEL lawmaker Irene Charalambides told Reuters.

“This killer will be judged by the court but the other big question is the criminal indifference shown by the others when the reports first surfaced. I believe, as does my party, that the justice minister and the police chief should resign. They are irrevocably exposed.”

Police have said they will investigate any perceived shortcomings in their handling of the case.

One person who did attempt to alert the authorities over the disappearances, a 70-year-old Cypriot citizen, said his motives were questioned by police.

The bodies of the two Filipino women reported missing in May and August 2018 were found in an abandoned mine shaft this month. Police discovered the body of the third woman at an army firing range about 14 km (9 miles) from the mine shaft.

Police are now searching for the six-year-old daughter of the first victim found, a Romanian mother who disappeared with her eight-year-old child in 2016, and a woman from the Phillipines who vanished in Dec. 2017.

The suspect has not been publicly named, in line with Cypriot legal practice.

A public vigil for the missing was planned later on Friday.

(Reporting By Michele Kambas; Editing by Gareth Jones)

Source: OANN

Listen to https://magaoneradio.net and Listen Daily! Don't Forget to Share Click a Link Below!
An employee looks up at goods at the Miniclipper Logistics warehouse in Leighton Buzzard
FILE PHOTO: An employee looks up at goods at the Miniclipper Logistics warehouse in Leighton Buzzard, Britain December 3, 2018. REUTERS/Simon Dawson

April 26, 2019

LONDON, April 26 – British factories stockpiled raw materials and goods ahead of Brexit at the fastest pace since records began in the 1950s, and they were increasingly downbeat about their prospects, a survey showed on Friday.

The Confederation of British Industry’s (CBI) quarterly survey of the manufacturing industry showed expectations for export orders in the next three months fell to their lowest level since mid-2009, when Britain was reeling from the global financial crisis.

The record pace of stockpiling recorded by the CBI was mirrored by the closely-watched IHS Markit/CIPS purchasing managers’ index published earlier this month.

(Reporting by Andy Bruce, editing by David Milliken)

Source: OANN

Listen to https://magaoneradio.net and Listen Daily! Don't Forget to Share Click a Link Below!
Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad speaks at the opening ceremony for the second Belt and Road Forum in Beijing
Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad speaks at the opening ceremony for the second Belt and Road Forum in Beijing, China April 26, 2019. REUTERS/Florence Lo

April 26, 2019

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – Fewer than half of Malaysians approve of Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, an opinion poll showed on Friday, as concerns over rising costs and racial matters plague his administration nearly a year after taking office.

The survey, conducted in March by independent pollster Merdeka Center, showed that only 46 percent of voters surveyed were satisfied with Mahathir, a sharp drop from the 71 percent approval rating he received in August 2018.

Mahathir’s Pakatan Harapan coalition won a stunning election victory in May 2018, ending the previous government’s more than 60-year rule.

But his administration has since been criticized for failing to deliver on promised reforms and protecting the rights of majority ethnic Malay Muslims.

Of 1,204 survey respondents, 46 percent felt that the “country was headed in the wrong direction”, up from 24 percent in August 2018, the Merdeka Center said in a statement. Just 39 percent said they approved of the ruling government.

High living costs remained the top most concern among Malaysians, with just 40 percent satisfied with the government’s management of the economy, the survey showed.

It also showed mixed responses to Pakatan Harapan’s proposed reforms.

Some 69 percent opposed plans to abolish the death penalty, while respondents were sharply divided over proposals to lower the minimum voting age to 18, or to implement a sugar tax.

“In our opinion, the results appear to indicate a public that favors the status quo, and thus requires a robust and coordinated advocacy efforts in order to garner their acceptance of new measures,” Merdeka Center said.

The survey also found 23 percent of Malaysians were concerned over ethnic and religious matters.

Some groups representing Malays have expressed fear that affirmative-action policies favoring them in business, education and housing could be taken away and criticized the appointments of non-Muslims to key government posts.

Last November, the government reversed its pledge to ratify a UN convention against racial discrimination, after a backlash from Malay groups.

Earlier this month, Pakatan Harapan suffered its third successive loss in local elections since taking power, which has been seen as a further sign of waning public support.

Despite the decline, most Malaysians – 67 percent – agreed that Mahathir’s government should be given more time to fulfill its election promises, Merdeka Center said.

This included a majority of Malay voters who were largely more critical of the new administration, it added.

(Reporting by Rozanna Latiff; Editing by Nick Macfie)

Source: OANN

Listen to https://magaoneradio.net and Listen Daily! Don't Forget to Share Click a Link Below!
The German share price index DAX graph at the stock exchange in Frankfurt
The German share price index DAX graph is pictured at the stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, April 25, 2019. REUTERS/Staff

April 26, 2019

By Medha Singh and Agamoni Ghosh

(Reuters) – European shares slipped on Friday after losses in heavyweight banks and Glencore outweighed gains in healthcare and auto stocks, while investors remained on the sidelines ahead of U.S. economic data for the first quarter.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index was down 0.1 percent by 0935 GMT, eyeing a modest loss at the end of a holiday-shortened week. Banks-heavy Italian and Spanish indices were laggards.

The banking index fell for a fourth day, at the end of a heavy earnings week for lenders.

Britain’s Royal Bank of Scotland tumbled after posting lower first quarter profit, hurt by intensifying competition and Brexit uncertainty, while its investment bank also registered poor returns.

Weakness in investment banking also dented Deutsche Bank’s quarterly trading revenue and sent its shares lower a day after the German bank abandoned merger talks with smaller rival Commerzbank.

“The current interest rate environment makes it challenging for banks to make proper earnings because of their intermediary function,” said Teeuwe Mevissen, senior market economist eurozone, at Rabobank.

Since the start of April, all country indexes were on pace to rise between 1.8 percent and 3.4 percent, their fourth month of gains, while Germany was strongly outperforming with 6 percent growth.

“For now the current sentiment is very cautious as markets wait for the first estimates of the U.S. GDP growth which could see a surprise,” Mevissen said.

U.S. economic data for the first-quarter is due at 1230 GMT. Growth worries outside the United States resurfaced this week after South Korea’s economy unexpectedly contracted at the start of the year and weak German business sentiment data for April also disappointed.

Among the biggest drags on the benchmark index in Europe were the basic resources sector and the oil and gas sector, weighed down by Britain’s Glencore and France’s Total, respectively.

Glencore dropped after reports that U.S authorities were investigating whether the company and its subsidiaries violated certain provisions of the commodity exchange act.

Energy major Total said its net profit for the first three months of the year fell compared with a year ago due to volatile oil prices and debt costs.

Chip stocks in the region including Siltronic, Ams and STMicroelectronics lost more than 1 percent after Intel Corp reduced its full-year revenue forecast, adding to concerns that an industry-wide slowdown could persist until the end of 2019.

Meanwhile, healthcare, which is also seen as a defensive sector, was a bright spot. It was helped by French drugmaker Sanofi after it returned to growth with higher profits and revenues for the first-quarter.

Luxembourg-based satellite operator SES led media stocks higher after it maintained its full-year outlook on the back of the company’s Networks division.

Automakers in the region rose 0.4 percent, led by Valeo’s 6 percent jump as the French parts maker said its performance would improve in the second half of the year.

Continental AG advanced after it backed its outlook for the year despite reporting a fall in first-quarter earnings.

Renault rose more than 3 percent as it clung to full-year targets and pursues merger talks with its Japanese partner Nissan.

(Reporting by Medha Singh and Agamoni Ghosh in Bengaluru; Editing by Gareth Jones and Elaine Hardcastle)

Source: OANN

Listen to https://magaoneradio.net and Listen Daily! Don't Forget to Share Click a Link Below!

Listen to https://magaoneradio.net and Listen Daily! Don't Forget to Share Click a Link Below!
Current track

Title

Artist