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The Student News Site of Northern Illinois University

Northern Star

The Student News Site of Northern Illinois University

Northern Star

In Brazil, fear of spreading police protests during Carnival

By DIANE JEANTET | February 22, 2020

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — A violent police strike in northeastern Brazil has shed light on dissatisfaction among cops elsewhere in the country, with some forces threatening to protest as rowdy Carnival celebrations start.The strike by military police demanding...

India, US struggling to bridge trade dispute as Trump visits

By PAUL WISEMAN | February 22, 2020

WASHINGTON (AP) — American dairy farmers, distillers and drugmakers have been eager to break into India, the world’s seventh-biggest economy but a tough-to-penetrate colossus of 1.3 billion people.Looks like they’ll have to wait.Talks between the...

At Trump’s India rally, Modi bets on bolstering his image

By SHEIKH SAALIQ | February 22, 2020

AHMEDABAD, India (AP) — A festive mood has enveloped Ahmedabad in India’s northwestern state of Gujarat ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's meeting there on Monday with President Donald Trump, whom he's promised millions of adoring fans.The rally...

Deere sees some stability on farms in bruising trade fight

By MICHELLE CHAPMAN | February 21, 2020

Deere had a surprisingly strong first quarter after an extended period in which it was bruised by the ongoing trade war between the United States and China.

“Farmer confidence, though still subdued, has improved due in part to hopes for a relaxation of trade tensions and higher agricultural exports,” CEO John May said in a prepared statement Friday.

China announced Friday that it suspended more punitive tariffs on imports of U.S. industrial goods in response to a truce in its trade war with Washington. Under their “Phase 1” agreement signed in January, Washington agreed to cancel additional tariff hikes and Beijing committed to buy more American farm exports.

China's retaliatory tariffs have clobbered exports of soybeans and other commodities, hurting farmers, and in turn, farming equipment manufacturers.

The Trump administration has provided $27 billion in aid to farmers to ease the pain of his trade war. And in a tweet Friday, he promised to expand the bailout if farmers need it as they await the economic benefits of his recent trade deals with Mexico, Canada and China. He said the aid would be financed by revenue from his tariffs on foreign goods — taxes that are paid by American importers.

Deere, based in Moline, Illinois, has posted three consecutive quarters of falling profits and slowing sales growth with trade tensions between the world's two largest economies ongoing.

For the three months ended Feb. 2, Deere & Co. earned $517 million, or $1.63 per share. The per-share earnings easily beat the $1.28 that industry analysts had expected, according to a survey by Zacks Investment Research, and it topped last year's quarterly profit of $498 million, or $1.54 per share.

Adjusted revenue —which excludes financial services revenue— was $6.53 billion, also beating Wall Street's estimate of $6.2 billion.

The quarterly performance is in contrast to a year ago, when Deere cautioned on anxious farmers and rising costs.

Looking ahead, the companystill foresees fiscal 2020 earnings of $2.7 billion to $3.1 billion,unchanged from its previous guidance.

Shares of Deere & Co. jumped more than 6% at the opening bell.

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Portions of this story were generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on DE at https://www.zacks.com/ap/DE

Trump signals he’s prepared to give farmers more federal aid

By KEVIN FREKING | February 21, 2020

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump signaled Friday that he’s prepared to tap federal coffers again to help farmers suffering from the tariff fights that he initiated.The Trump administration over the past two years has committed to providing...

Fed officials downplay virus even as markets see rate cuts

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER | February 21, 2020

WASHINGTON (AP) — When Wall Street expects the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates, should that influence the Fed's decisions?Two Fed officials diverged on that issue in remarks Friday at a monetary policy conference in New York. The disagreement...

Stocks sink, Treasury prices soar as investors seek safety

By ALEX VEIGA | February 21, 2020

Stocks fell and bond prices rose sharply on Wall Street Friday amid signs that economic fallout from the viral outbreak that originated in China is hurting U.S. companies.The yield on the 30-year Treasury reached a record low as investors sought the safety...

Iranians vote in parliament elections favoring conservatives

By NASSER KARIMI | February 21, 2020

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iranians voted for a new parliament Friday, with turnout seen as a key measure of support for Iran's leadership as sanctions weigh on the economy and U.S. pressure isolates the country diplomatically.The disqualification of more...

EU nations end summit without agreement on budget

By LORNE COOK and RAF CASERT | February 21, 2020

BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union leaders broke up a marathon budget summit without a deal Friday and will have to reconvene for another meeting on the divisive issue in the coming weeks.After 28 hours of talks the leaders could not find a compromise,...

Court in Thailand orders popular opposition party dissolved

By GRANT PECK | February 21, 2020

BANGKOK (AP) — Thailand's Constitutional Court on Friday ordered the popular opposition Future Forward Party dissolved, declaring that it violated election law by accepting a loan from its leader, charismatic 41-year-old Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit.The...

World markets slip on renewed fears over virus outbreak

By JOE McDONALD | February 21, 2020

BEIJING (AP) — Global stock markets slipped on Friday after a spike in new virus cases in South Korea and other countries refueled investor anxiety about China's disease outbreak.Benchmarks in Tokyo, Hong Kong and Sydney closed down and London, Frankfurt...

States step up funding for Planned Parenthood clinics

By SUSAN HAIGH | February 21, 2020

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Severalstates have begun picking up the tab for family planning services at clinics run by Planned Parenthood, which last year quit a $260 million federal funding program over a Trump administration rule prohibiting clinics from...