market
Page: 12
FILE PHOTO: Benoit Coeure, board member of the European Central Bank (ECB), is photographed during an interview with Reuters journalists at the ECB headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany, May 17, 2017. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach
April 23, 2019
BERLIN (Reuters) – European Central Bank board member Benoit Coeure sees no reason for creating a tiered deposit rate that exempts banks from part of an ECB charge on their idle cash, he said in an interview published on Tuesday.
Coeure argued that lenders should focus on their costs rather than blame the ECB’s negative rate for their low profits and hinted that the upcoming round of multi-year loans to banks should not be as generous as the previous edition.
“At the current juncture, I do not see the monetary policy argument for tiering,” Coeure told German daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. “However, we must keep a close eye on developments.”
He was joining other members of the ECB’s Governing Council in expressing reservations about a tiered system, which would relieve banks from paying a 0.40 percent annual charge on a portion of their excess reserves.
Such a set-up, already introduced in countries including Japan and Switzerland, would make it easier for the ECB to keep its deposit rate at record lows for longer or even cut it, by easing the burden on banks.
The ECB has said it won’t raise rates at least until the end of the year but financial markets don’t price in a rate hike until 2021.
In his interview, Coeure distanced himself from those expectations.
“We are not tied to such market expectations; they are an important input, but we are not led by them,” Coeure said, adding they reflected “an assessment of the downside risks which is different to that of the Governing Council”.
Coeure added that the terms of the ECB’s new Targeted Long-Term Financing Operations, likely to be unveiled in June, would reflect the improved lending conditions compared to when the previous round of cheap loans was introduced in 2016.
Finally, he stuck to ECB expectations for a rebound in growth, albeit with a degree of uncertainty.
“We expect growth to return in the second half of the year. There are no grounds for overly gloomy thoughts,” he said. “On the other hand, it is very uncertain how long and how strong the downturn will be.”
(Reporting by Riham Alkousaa; Writing by Francesco Canepa in Frankfurt; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)
Source: OANN
FILE PHOTO : Holidaymakers view thousands of carp streamers hanging on the bank of the Sagami river in Sagamihara, southwest of Tokyo May 3, 2005. REUTERS/Issei Kato
April 23, 2019
By Malcolm Foster
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s unprecedented 10-day holiday to celebrate Crown Prince Naruhito’s enthronement is expected to give the sluggish economy at least a short-term boost.
Breweries, hotels, retailers, restaurants and train operators are all expected to benefit from the holiday, which runs from April 27 to May 6. Banks, schools, government offices and many businesses will be closed.
A record 24.7 million people – about one-fifth the country’s population – are expected to travel, according to travel agency JTB Corp., mostly within the country.
“Japanese are in a festive mood, with the new imperial era beginning and the 10-day break,” said Yoshiie Horii, a spokesman for brewer Asahi Group, which is increasing production of several brands by 5-10 percent ahead of the break. “We think this holiday will spur consumer spending.”
Japan has a cluster of national holidays every year around this time dubbed “Golden Week.” But this year, authorities gave the nation an extended vacation to fete the imperial succession.
After a 31-year reign, Emperor Akihito will abdicate on April 30 and be replaced by his son Naruhito the next day.
Japanese have made travel plans months ahead of time, creating intense competition for popular destinations such as Hawaii and Europe. Akiko Nishikata’s family tried in November to reserve a package tour to Hawaii for Golden Week but were told they were sold out.
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance to go on a long trip, so we’re disappointed,” Nishikata said. Instead, they’ll travel to either Hokkaido in the north or Kyushu in the south.
Also, because the imperial transition is triggered by Akihito’s abdication, not his death, consumers don’t feel a need to hold back due to mourning.
To mark the new era, department stores in Tokyo plan to offer limited quantities of commemorative items on May 1, including traditional sweets with “Hello, Reiwa” on them and confections sprinkled with powdered gold.
TAX HIKE
The expected economic bump from the long holiday will boost second-quarter GDP growth and give Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s government another reason to proceed with a planned sales tax increase in October, said Hideo Kumano, chief economist at Dai-ichi Life Research Institute.
Kumano estimates that domestic travel spending will jump nearly 30 percent from a year ago to 1.48 trillion yen ($13.3 billion).
“In March, there was a lot of talk about a recession, but that’s completely disappeared with buzz from the announcement of Reiwa on April 1,” he said. “May 1 will be even bigger.”
Overall consumer spending during the 10 days is forecast to rise 7.6 percent compared with a year ago and contribute a quarter percentage point to GDP, said Koya Miyamae, senior economist at SMBC Nikko Securities.
But other analysts cautioned that an increase would probably be followed by a drop in consumption, making the long-term impact negligible.
“A spending boost, if any, will be short-lived,” said Masaki Kuwahara, senior economist at Nomura Securities.
Manufacturers generally don’t expect the longer holiday to have a big impact. Toyota, for example, says its plants are usually closed for nine days during Golden Week, and it is doing the same this year.
Computer systems companies and other businesses may see a dip in sales because of lost workdays, but a Reuters survey of about 220 companies showed that nearly half didn’t expect the long break to affect their business. About 28 percent predicted a decline in output or sales while a quarter projected a rise.
JITTERY TRADERS
Hospitals will alternate operating hours during the break, as is typical during holidays. Tokyo residents can visit a website to see which hospitals are taking patients, and find more detailed information.
Financial market traders, meanwhile, are worried that the 10-day shutdown could cause disruptions and unsettle the yen.
The U.S. jobs report and several other key events will happen while the market is closed, said Shogo Maekawa, global market strategist at JPMorgan Asset Management.
“It’s a risk that we can’t trade for 10 days even if something volatile happens in overseas markets,” he said.
($1 = 111.6900 yen)
(Reporting and writing by Malcolm Foster; additional reporting by Tetsushi Kajimoto, Naomi Tajitsu, Izumi Nakagawa, Ayai Tomisawa; Editing by Gerry Doyle)
Source: OANN
FILE PHOTO: The Samsung Galaxy Fold phone is shown on a screen at Samsung Electronics Co Ltd’s Unpacked event in San Francisco, California, U.S., Feb. 20, 2019 REUTERS/Stephen Nellis
April 23, 2019
By Ju-min Park
SEOUL (Reuters) – Samsung Electronics Co Ltd is retrieving all Galaxy Fold samples distributed to reviewers to investigate reports of broken screens, a day after it postponed the phone’s launch, a person with direct knowledge of the matter said on Tuesday.
The retrieval comes as the world’s biggest smartphone maker met with embarrassment ahead of the foldable device’s U.S. release on April 26, with a handful of technology journalists reporting breaks, bulges and blinking screens after a day’s use.
The South Korean tech giant postponed the handset’s launch for an unspecified period of time while it investigated the matter. It said initial findings showed the issues could be associated with impact on exposed areas of the hinges.
A representative declined to comment further on Tuesday.
Samsung’s share price was 0.4 percent lower as of 0425 GMT, in a flat Seoul market. However, parts suppliers fell, with hinge maker KH Vatec Co Ltd shedding 3.1 percent.
A person with direct knowledge of the supply chain said KH Vatec conducted an internal review of hinges used in the Galaxy Fold and found no defects. The supplier declined to comment.
In March, Samsung released a video showing robots folding Galaxy Fold handsets 200,000 times for its durability test.
Samsung’s head of IT and mobile communications, DJ Koh, has repeatedly said foldables are the future of smartphones.
Though the issue does not hurt Samsung’s balance sheet, the postponement damages the firm’s effort to showcase itself as an innovative first mover, not a fast follower, analysts said.
In some cases, reviewers had peeled off a layer of film which they mistook for a disposable screen protector.
“It’s disastrous that Samsung sent samples to reviewers without clear instructions on how to handle the device, and that the firm needs to fix screen flickering,” said analyst Kim Young-woo at SK Securities.
One Samsung employee, speaking on condition of anonymity, said, “On the bright side, we have an opportunity to nail down this issue and fix it before selling the phones to a massive audience, so they won’t have same complaints.”
Samsung emailed pre-order customers upon delaying the launch, online outlets said on Twitter.
“Your pre-order guarantees your place in the queue for this innovative technology,” Samsung said in the email. “We’ll update you with more specific shipping information in two weeks.”
(Reporting by Ju-min Park; Additional reporting by Heekyong Yang; Editing by Christopher Cushing)
Source: OANN
FILE PHOTO: Visitors are seen as market prices are reflected in a glass window at the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) in Tokyo, Japan, October 1, 2018. REUTERS/Toru Hanai
April 23, 2019
By Tomo Uetake
TOKYO (Reuters) – Asian shares were little changed on Tuesday, hovering not far from nine-month peaks hit last week, with concerns China may slow the pace of policy easing curbing the market’s enthusiasm.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was almost flat, while Japan’s Nikkei average eased 0.2 percent. Many markets around the world remained shut on Monday after the long Easter weekend.
China stocks fell from a 13-month high on Monday, posting their worst session in nearly four weeks, as comments from top policymaking bodies raised investor fears that Beijing will ease up on stimulative policies after some signs of stabilization in the world’s second-largest economy.
Stocks on Wall Street hovered near break-even on Monday as the benchmark S&P 500 index was about 1 percent away from its record high hit in September, while the S&P energy index led gains on higher oil prices.
Oil prices jumped more than 2 percent the previous day to a near six-month high, on growing concern about tight global supplies after the United States announced a further clampdown on Iranian oil exports.
Washington said it would eliminate in May all waivers allowing eight economies to buy Iranian oil without facing U.S. sanctions.
International benchmark Brent crude soared 2.9 percent to settle at $74.04 a barrel on Monday and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude jumped 2.7 percent to settle at $65.70. Both indexes climbed to nearly six-month highs during the session.
U.S. crude futures last traded at $65.78 per barrel, up 0.4 percent on the day.
But sharp gains in oil prices have so far had a limited impact on the broader financial markets.
“Unless the WTI rises well above $70-75 per barrel, there will be limited impact on U.S. Treasuries and the dollar/yen,” said Makoto Noji, chief currency and foreign bond strategist at SMBC Nikko Securities.
In the currency market, the dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major currencies, eased 0.2 percent overnight and last traded steady at 97.328. The index hit a two-week high of 97.485 on Thursday, before the start of Good Friday and the Easter weekend.
Against the Japanese yen, the dollar was largely flat at 111.96 yen, while the euro was steady to the greenback at 1.2530.
With the jump in the price of oil, one of Canada’s major exports, the Canadian dollar rose 0.4 percent against its U.S. counterpart overnight and last traded at C$1.3352.
On Monday, the Russian ruble hit its highest level against the euro in more than a year, and a one month-peak versus the dollar, also driven by the jump in oil.
(Additional reporting by Hideyuki Sano; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)
Source: OANN
Former President Barack Obama marked Earth Day on Monday with praise for young activists “stepping up to save the one planet we’ve got.”
Obama tweeted:
“Young people all over the world are leading the way in the fight to protect our planet because they know their future depends on it. This Earth Day, I want to celebrate the courageous, committed young leaders who are stepping up to save the one planet we’ve got.”
In particular, Obama lauded Greta Thunberg, a Swedish teen who helped fuel an interest in young people to fight climate change.
“They’re people like 16-year-old @GretaThunberg, whose protests at Swedish parliament sparked a movement,” Obama wrote in a separate tweet.
“Inspired by Greta’s action, Fridays for Future brought together more than a million strikers on every continent last month to demand action on climate.”
The former commander-in-chief’s message was in contrast with that of President Donald Trump, whose Earth Day tweet stressed “historic economic and job growth,” but made no mention of climate change.
“Environmental protection and economic prosperity go hand in hand,” Trump said in a statement issued Monday. “A strong market economy is essential to protecting our critical natural resources and fostering a legacy of conservation.”
Source: NewsMax America
FILE PHOTO: Gas flares from an oil production platform at the Soroush oil fields in the Persian Gulf, south of the capital Tehran, July 25, 2005. REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi
April 23, 2019
By Henning Gloystein
SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Oil prices hovered near 2019 peaks in early trading on Tuesday after Washington abruptly moved to end all Iran sanctions waivers by May, pressuring importers to stop buying from Tehran.
Brent crude futures were at $74.33 per barrel at 0051 GMT, up 0.4 percent from their last close and not far off 2019 highs of $74.52 reached on Monday.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $65.79 per barrel, up 0.4 percent from their previous settlement, and also just a notch below their $65.92 2019 peak from Monday.
The United States on Monday demanded that buyers of Iranian oil stop purchases by May 1 or face sanctions, ending six months of waivers which allowed Iran’s eight biggest buyers, most of them in Asia, to continue buying limited volumes.
Before the reimposition of sanctions last year, Iran was the fourth-largest producer among the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) at almost 3 million barrels per day (bpd), but April exports have shrunk well below 1 million bpd, according to ship tracking and analyst data in Refinitiv.
(GRAPHIC: Iran crude oil & condensate shipping departures link: https://tmsnrt.rs/2IBQF06)
Barclay’s bank said in a note following the announcement that the decision took many market participants by surprise and that the move would “lead to a significant tightening of oil markets”.
The British bank added that Washington’s target to cut Iran oil exports to zero posed a “material upside risk to our current $70 per barrel average price forecast for Brent this year, compared with the year-to-date average of $65 per barrel”.
ANZ bank said in a note on Tuesday that “the decision is likely to worsen the ongoing supply woes being felt with Venezuelan sanctions, the OPEC supply cut, and intensifying conflict in Libya”.
The move to tighten Iran sanctions comes amid other sanctions Washington has placed on Venezuela’s oil exports and also as producer club OPEC has led supply cuts since the start of the year aimed at tightening global oil markets and propping up crude prices.
Ellen Wald, non-resident senior fellow at the Global Energy Center of the Atlantic Council, said the United States “seem to expect” Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to replace the Iranian oil, but she added “that this is not necessarily the way Saudi Arabia sees it”.
Saudi Arabia is the world’s biggest exporter of crude oil and OPEC’s de-facto leader. The group is set to meet in June to discuss its output policy.
Meanwhile, the Atlantic Council said the U.S. move would hurt Iranian citizens.
“We’re going to see their currency collapse more, more unemployment, more inflation,” said Barbara Slavin, director for the Future of Iran Initiative at the Atlantic Council, adding that the U.S. sanctions were “not going to bring Iran back to the (nuclear) negotiating table”.
(Graphic: Iran’s oil exports are plunging: https://tmsnrt.rs/2IyFzZT)
(Reporting by Henning Gloystein in SINGAPORE; Additional reporting by Humeyra Paumuk in WASHINGTON; Editing by Joseph Radford)
Source: OANN
FILE PHOTO: Commemorative items for sale are on display at the Kraft Heinz booth during the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholders Meeting at the CenturyLink Center in Omaha, Nebraska, U.S. April 30, 2016. REUTERS/Ryan Henriksen
April 23, 2019
By Richa Naidu
CHICAGO (Reuters) – Kraft Heinz Co’s incoming chief executive, Miguel Patricio, is indicating a change in strategy for the packaged food company that could move it away from the aggressive cost-focused culture that has been in place since the company was created in 2015.
Patricio, a 52-year-old Portuguese native who will take over the helm of the world’s fifth biggest food company from July 1, said he plans to focus more on efficiency, investing in brands and growing sales organically at a company that has been reeling from a $15.4 billion writedown on some of its brands.
Kraft Heinz’s focus on cost-cutting and interest in scoring a big acquisition have been key to the company’s strategy under management installed by Brazilian private equity firm 3G Capital. 3G, along with Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, forged the $49 billion merger of Kraft Foods with H.J. Heinz in 2015.
“I think the obsession for efficiency has to be much bigger than the obsession for cutting costs,” Patricio, 52, told Reuters on Monday.
“Cost cutting should be a priority for any company. However, you cannot cut costs every year,” said Patricio, who most recently was the global head of marketing for brewer Anheuser-Busch InBev’s. He previously worked at Philip Morris, Coca-Cola Co and Johnson & Johnson.
3G Capital, which is Kraft Heinz’s second largest shareholder, behind Berkshire Hathaway, with a 22.15 percent stake, is known for scoring large M&A deals and using a controversial cost-cutting tool called zero-based budgeting to keep profit margins high.
Zero-based budgeting requires managers to justify their expenses annually from scratch, rather than use the prior year as a guide or pursue cost savings on an ongoing basis.
Kraft Heinz’s outgoing CEO, Bernardo Hees, a 3G partner, told Reuters in September that he was considering M&A to fuel growth.
Asked on Monday if Kraft Heinz was still considering big acquisitions, Patricio said he was sure the company would do so one day, but that his focus, for now, was on growing existing brands.
“At this moment, I’m really focused on the organic part of it. I think we can – and we need – to get organic growth and I’m going to put a lot of my time figuring that out.”
INVESTORS WANT PROOF
The announcement comes two months after Kraft Heinz took the massive writedown on some of its brands, cut its dividend and disclosed a Securities and Exchange Commission probe into accounting practices at its procurement unit. Intense competition from private-label brands, changing consumer habits and pressure from retailers to lower prices has sent the food industry reeling in recent years.
“Given what’s happened at Kraft Heinz in the past several months, that 3G model has come into question,” Edward Jones analyst Brittany Weissman said. “I think they realize they cut a little too far.
“And to Patricio’s point, it may now be about investing where you need to while maintaining cost discipline. Investors want to see proof that can grow sales.” Weissman said. “It’s good to hear they’re not thinking about an imminent acquisition. From a balance sheet perspective, they’re not there yet.”
3G did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Under Hees, Kraft Heinz lost half its market value, as it ceded market share to competitors and failed to snap up Anglo-Dutch consumer giant Unilever Plc in a proposed $143-billion merger. At the time, Unilever cited concerns about Kraft Heinz’s culture.
Kraft Heinz’s cost-focused strategy also gave way to a high-pressure, anxious environment, according to four former Kraft Heinz employees who worked at the company’s Chicago headquarters and two former employees from Europe.
The deep cuts and layoffs also ate away at advertising budgets and decades of industry experience, said two sources who worked at Kraft Heinz’s marketing department.
“3G are known for being ruthless and brutal when it comes to cost and what does that do to culture?” Edward Jones’ Weissman said. “It’s too early to see how much flexibility Patricio will have to change the culture or improve processes at the company. Can he get those brands back to growth? That’s probably going to take a lot of investment.”
Zero-based budgeting (ZBB) is a pillar of the Kraft Heinz culture, spokesman Michael Mullen said, noting that cost savings help the company increase support for its brands, drive innovation, and invest in top-tier talent.
“In 2018, and again this year, savings from ZBB allow us to invest in new capabilities, emerging channels, and new product platforms for top-line growth,” Mullen said.
Industry analysts have raised concerns that Kraft Heinz was pricing its brands too high at a time when private-label brands from Walmart, Aldi and Kroger were gaining popularity. Kraft Heinz’s ketchups, sliced cheeses and hot dogs were some of the first products these retailers sought to replicate at a lower price.
Buffett, whose Berkshire Hathaway Inc owns 26.7 percent of Kraft Heinz, highlighted the pressure from retailers in February, saying Costco Wholesale Corp’s Kirkland brand outsells all Kraft Heinz products.
“These next two months, I’m going to dedicate fully to knowing the people (at Kraft Heinz), to build on culture, to agree or tweak the long-term strategy of the company, and to know the financials behind the business in detail. These are the four big things I want to do,” Patricio told Reuters.
“I bring diversity of thought to the team. My background is very different from the background of the other team members. And I think that this is critical in any company.”
(Reporting by Richa Naidu in Chiago; additional reporting by Martine Geller in London; editing by Vanessa O’Connell and Leslie Adler)
Source: OANN
FILE PHOTO: Logo of Didi Chuxing is seen at its headquarters building in Beijing, China August 28, 2018. REUTERS/Jason Lee
April 22, 2019
BOGOTA (Reuters) – Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing said on Monday it is beginning to recruit drivers ahead of its launch in Colombia’s capital Bogota in the coming months.
“We have arrived in Colombia with an attractive offer for those who want to register as drivers and we hope to be able to meet the market’s expectations,” the company said in a statement.
The statement did not specify when Didi’s services would begin in the Andean country.
Didi is planning to take on U.S. rival Uber Technologies Inc in some of Latin America’s fastest-growing markets and has moved senior executives from China to lead its expansion in such places as Chile and Peru.
The company is China’s dominant ride-hailing firm and is backed by investors including Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp.
In 2016, Didi bought Uber’s operations in China following a bruising two-year fight for local domination.
The two firms are already battling for market share in Brazil, where Didi bought local start-up 99 in January 2018, and Mexico, where the Chinese firm lured drivers with higher pay and bonuses for signing up other drivers and passengers.
Uber, is popular in Colombia but illegal and the government has said it will suspend for 25 years the licenses of drivers caught working for the platform.
Didi claims to have 31 million drivers across 15 different products – including services for taxis, buses, bicycles and deliveries – and that it completes more than 10 billion rides a year.
(Reporting by Luis Jaime Acosta; writing by Julia Symmes Cobb, editing by G Crosse)
Source: OANN
Rising demand for solar panels pushes silver prices higher according to a recently released university study.
Researchers at the University of Kent found a “causal relationship” between solar panel demand and the price of the white metal.
With the highest electrical and thermal conductivity of all metals, silver’s physical characteristics make it an important component in the production of solar panels. The average solar panel uses about 20 grams of silver, and the price of the metal makes up about 6.1% of the total cost of each unit.
Researchers tracked the price of silver and installed solar panel capacity between 1990 and 2016 and used the data to map correlations in demand and cost. According to the study, “The data clearly showed a rise in silver price at the same time as increased demand for solar panels, such as after the 2008 global recession indicating the causal relationship between these two variables. Similarly, prices rose after 2011 when there was worldwide concern oil prices were becoming too high leading to a move towards renewable energy sources.”
“The research shows that silver price rises are directly linked to the increased demand for solar panels,” lead study author Iraklis Apergis said.
According to the Silver Institute, continued investment in solar photovoltaic energy, should further boost global industrial demand for silver over the next decade and beyond. The institute projects roughly 820 million ounces of silver will be utilized by global solar energy applications alone through 2030.
Steven Mosher joins Alex Jones to expose the tactics of communist China to infiltrate our technology infrastructure and deceive the masses in the west to welcome communist victory over capitalism.
China, in particular, continues to rapidly increase solar energy production. In its 13th Five-Year Plan, Beijing aims to triple its solar capacity by 2020. To date, 2017 ranked as the strongest on record for solar-related silver demand.
Overall, “green technologies” are projected to consume over 1.5 billion ounces of silver over the next twelve years.
Silver is also used in the manufacture of electric car batteries. Battery electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid sales could account for as much as 17% of global car sales with traditional hybrids making up another 20% of the market by 2030. This will also boost the demand for silver, according to the Silver Institute.
Overall, silver demand was up 4% and hit a three-year high in 2018, according to the 2019 World Silver Survey recently released by the Silver Institute. Meanwhile, silver mine production fell for the third straight year, dropping 2% in 2018 to 855.7 million ounces. The downward trend in production seems to have continued into the first quarter of this year with the world’s largest primary silver producer reporting a plunge in production through the first three months of 2019.
The silver-gold ratio remains historically high. At the time of this report, it was hovering around 85-1. As we’ve been reporting for the last year, this is essentially silver on sale.
Given the supply and demand dynamics, along with the prospects of a weakening dollar in the midst of the “Powell Pause,” it seems likely that gap will close.
Silver has hit an all-time high of $49 per ounce twice – in January 1980 and then again in April 2011. If you adjust that $49 high for inflation, you’re looking at a price of around $150 per ounce. In other words, silver has a long way to run up. As one analyst put it, “With the long-term downside potential of silver very low versus its current valuation, the risk/reward is one of the best investments on the planet.”
Alex Jones describes how our ancestors’ tribal call to war is sounding out yet again, this time for the information war, and we must fight all tyrannical, oppressive ideas to truly defeat globalism worldwide.
Source: InfoWars
FILE PHOTO: Mar 23, 2019; Tampa, FL, USA; New York Yankees pitcher Gio Gonzalez (43) throws a pitch during the sixth inning against the Toronto Blue Jays at George M. Steinbrenner Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports/File Photo
April 22, 2019
The New York Yankees released left-hander Gio Gonzalez from his minor league contract on Monday, officially making the 33-year-old a free agent.
Gonzalez opted out of the deal on Saturday, leaving the Yankees facing a 48-hour deadline in which to either place on him on the 25-man roster or grant him his release.
He would have received a $3 million base salary plus $300,000 for each start if he was added to the roster.
Gonzalez went 2-1 with a 6.00 ERA in three starts at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
Gonzalez didn’t land a major league contract in the off season as a free agent, but the market might be a little more active now.
The two-time All-Star is 127-97 with a 3.69 ERA in 11 big league campaigns. He was 10-11 with a 4.21 ERA while splitting last season with the Washington Nationals and Milwaukee Brewers.
Gonzalez’s best season came in 2012 when he went 21-8 with a 2.89 ERA for the Nationals.
He began his career with the Oakland Athletics in 2008 and was traded to Washington after the 2011 season.
–Field Level Media
Source: OANN
MAGA One Radio