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The Student News Site of Northern Illinois University

Northern Star

The Student News Site of Northern Illinois University

Northern Star

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...

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...

Trump says Modi expects massive crowds during India visit

By KEVIN FREKING | February 18, 2020

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump says that India Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expecting to turn out massive crowds for the president when he visits next week.Trump will be in the city of Ahmedabad in Gujarat to attend an event called “Namaste...

US sanctions Russian oil trading firm for role in Venezuela

By BEN FOX | February 18, 2020

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration announced sanctions Tuesday on a Russian state-controlled brokerage that has helped the Venezuelan government skirt an American oil embargo and enabled President Nicolas Maduro to keep his grip on power in...

China virus outbreak chilling recovery for Asian economies

By ELAINE KURTENBACH | February 18, 2020

BANGKOK (AP) — The virus outbreak in China has put South Korea's economy into an "emergency situation," its president says. Japan is on the brink of recession and big manufacturers are forecasting a whole world of woe.As many Chinese finally go back...

EU chief rejects Johnson’s idea of loose UK trade deal

By SAMUEL PETREQUIN | February 11, 2020

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union will only offer Britain unique access to its vast single market if the U.K. agrees to stick to the bloc's standards, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Tuesday, dismissing British Prime Minister...

Amid uncertainty, French wine industry puts itself on show

By THOMAS ADAMSON | February 11, 2020

PARIS (AP) — France's big wine industry, shaken by U.S. President Trump’s painful tariff hikes and the threat of climate change, is hoping to re-energize global interest in its products with a big trade fair in Paris.Two thousand winemakers - including...

Iraqi officials: US will grant vital Iran sanctions waiver

By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA and SAMYA KULLAB | February 10, 2020

BAGHDAD (AP) — The United States has signaled to Iraq its willingness to extend sanctions waivers enabling the country to continue importing vital Iranian gas and electricity imports, three Iraqi officials said this week, a move that would be a key...

World stock markets retreat ahead of US jobs report

By JOE McDONALD | February 7, 2020

Global stock markets retreated Friday ahead of the monthly U.S. jobs report and after France and Germany reported weak factory data.Investors also continued to monitor the impact on businesses of the virus outbreak in China.Germany's DAX lost 0.6% to...

Asian stock markets retreat after surge on China tariff cut

By JOE McDONALD | February 6, 2020

Asian stock markets retreated Friday following a surge after China announced a tariff cut on U.S. imports.Market benchmarks in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Seoul and Sydney all declined. Tokyo was flat. Major Asian markets jumped more than 2% on Thursday after...

UK and EU clash over trade with 11 months to make a deal

By JILL LAWLESS and RAF CASERT | February 3, 2020

LONDON (AP) — Britain and the European Union set out clashing opening gambits Monday on striking a post-Brexit trade deal, making it clear that each side is willing to walk away without an agreement rather than compromise on key issues.U.K. Prime Minister...