financializer news A weblog highlighting financial topics making news in the international media.

market observers: The current U.S. bull market became the longest on record as of Aug. 22, 2018, prompting many market observers to wonder when the party will come to an end, according to The Toronto Star. Know your ability to get through a market downturn, financial experts advise. But the best way for investors to deal with the next downturn is to remain calm and stick to a well-crafted plan. One way is to imagine your portfolio dropping by a specific number of dollars. Lisa Kramer Moshe Milevsky is a professor at York University's Schulich business school. Lisa F. Young / Dreamstime Lisa Kramer is a finance professor at U of T's Rotman business school. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

poppy harlow: I think the reason we're having this argument over socialism and capitalism is that capitalism has let a lot of people down, the South Bend, Indiana, mayor said in an interview with CNN's Poppy Harlow and John Avlon on New Day, according to CNN. Buttigieg I'm 'conscious' of lack of diversity at events Buttigieg reiterated that he believes in democratic capitalism. The comments come amid a heated debate among Democrats and progressives over whether the party should more openly embrace socialist policies in the age of Donald Trump. He expressed alarm over previous comments Stephen Moore, the President's nominee for the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, made that recently surfaced in which Moore said he believed capitalism was more important than democracy. And having that framework of a rule of law, of fairness, is actually what it takes for markets to work. I would say the reverse ought to be true -- that at the end of the day, we prioritize democracy, Buttigieg told CNN on Tuesday. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

state council: China's centrally administrated state-owned enterprises SOEs reported favorable financial results and an investment surge in key sectors such as 5G in the first quarter of 2019, according to Global Times China. Their aggregate operating revenue grew 6.3 percent year-on-year to 6.8 trillion yuan 1 trillion Peng Huagang, a spokesperson for the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission SASAC said at a press briefing of the State Council, China's cabinet, on Tuesday. According to the National Bureau of Statistics Thursday, during the first nine months of this year, large industrial enterprises with annual revenues of over 20 million yuan 3.14 million generated profits totaling 3.68 trillion yuan, up 27 percent year-on-year. Profit growth was even better, reaching 426.5 billion yuan, up 13.1 percent year-on-year, while the debt-to-asset ratio declined further, falling 0.2 percentage points during the first quarter, Peng said. So far, 70 percent of all central SOEs and their subsidiaries have introduced mixed-ownership reform. Officials said the good growth momentum of central SOEs came as the nation's policies such as mixed-ownership reform yielded results. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

people: Nasser Nasser Facebook Twitter SMS Email Print Save Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh italks during an interview with The Associated Press, at his office in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Tuesday, April 16, 2019, according to The Independent. Stayyeh accused the United States of declaring financial war on his people and said an American peace plan purported to be in the works will be born dead. Stayyeh accused the United States of declaring financial war on his people and said an American peace plan purported to be in the works will be born dead. Nasser Nasser Facebook Twitter SMS Email Print Save Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh italks during an interview with The Associated Press, at his office in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Tuesday, April 16, 2019. Nasser Nasser Facebook Twitter SMS Email Print Save Stayyeh accused the United States of declaring financial war on his people and said an American peace plan purported to be in the works will be born dead. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

soybean imports: The central government subsidy will be issued to provinces, allowing local governments to take specific measures according to their own situations, according to Global Times China. The move is intended to promote the soybean revitalization plan, which was addressed in the No. 1 Central Document issued by the government in February. Photo VCG China will continue to provide subsidies and increase research and development investment in soybean cultivation to promote its own soybean industry and reduce reliance on soybean imports, according to China's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs on Tuesday. As the biggest soybean consumption country, China uses more than 110 million tons of soybeans annually and imports count for 86 percent of the total, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs website. The China-US trade war was surely a trigger for China's government to take measures to relieve the country's excessive reliance on imports, he noted. With relatively thin profit of domestic soybean crops, China has to turn to imports to meet its huge demand, Ma Wenfeng, a senior industry analyst, told the Global Times on Tuesday. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

state: Its ruling came after an individual launched a public interest litigation calling for a ban, according to The Japan Times. The federal government had sent a letter to Apple and Google to abide by the state court's order, according to an IT ministry official. The move comes hours after a court in southern Tamil Nadu state refused a request by China's Bytedance Technology to suspend a ban on its Tik Tok app, putting its future in one of its key markets in doubt. ; The state court had on April 3 asked the federal government to ban Tik Tok, saying it encouraged pornography and made child users vulnerable to sexual predators. The app was still available on Apple's platforms late on Tuesday, but was no longer available on Google's Play store in India. Apple did not respond to requests for comment, while Tik Tok did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Google's move. Google said in a statement it does not comment on individual apps but adheres to local laws. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

tax returns: And while the filings are a way for the Democratic candidates to spotlight Republican President Trump's refusal to release his taxes -- both as a 2016 White House candidate and as a sitting president -- the returns also have revealed that some of the biggest class warriors of the 2020 field happen to be among the wealthiest, according to The Independent. AT FOX NEWS TOWN HALL, BERNIE SANDERS MAKES NO APOLOGIES FOR HIS WEALTH This year, we had 560,000 in income, Sen. Stressing transparency in government, more than a half-dozen Democrats running for the White House have released their tax returns. Bernie Sanders of Vermont explained Monday night during a Fox News town hall. According to the figures, Sanders and his wife Jane paid a 26 percent effective tax rate on 561,293 in income, and made more than 1 million in both 2016 and 2017. Minutes before the start of the town hall in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, the independent senator from Vermont's presidential campaign released his 2018 returns. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

tandou: One was for 80m for water from a property called Tandou, south of Menindee, according to The Guardian. Tandou was owned by Webster Ltd, a company controlled by the businessman Chris Corrigan. The buybacks of water using funds allocated for purchasing environmental water under the Murray-Darling Basin plan have been controversial because they proceeded without open tender and, once announced, were criticised because of the reliability of the water purchased. Documents uncovered by the Senate reveal that the NSW Office of Water, then headed by Gavin Hanlon, played a crucial role in pushing for that deal to go ahead. Instead it would reach the savings by shrinking the lakes and reducing evaporation. Coalition pledges water licence buy back after report into Darling River fish kills Read more New South Wales was keen for the federal government to buy Tandou's water because it helped clear the way for the Menindee Lakes project, which would allow NSW to reach its target for environmental water without having to buy any from irrigators. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

rhode island: Jerry Nadler of New York and Rep, according to CNN. David Cicilline of Rhode Island, sent a letter last month seeking information in the wake of a New Yorker report saying that Trump directed his then-economic adviser Gary Cohn to block the 85 billion merger. The Democrats, Rep. Nadler and Cicilline contended that White House interference in anti-trust enforcement is unacceptable and is similar to circumstances in the Nixon administration, as they requested communications between Trump and senior White House officials over the merger. White House snubs to Congress leave Republicans as well as Democrats aghast We cannot, however, provide the Committee with protected communications between the President and his most senior advisers that are at the very core of the Executive Branch's confidentiality interests, White House counsel Pat Cipollone said in the letter. But the White House sent a letter dated Monday to the Democrats turning down the request, arguing that robust confidentiality protections are essential for the proper functioning of the Presidency. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

shaylah: Melbourne girl Shaylah Carmichael was one of them, according to Nine News Australia. When the five-year-old began to suddenly lose weight and was refusing to eat food, doctors were unable to diagnose the problem. To improve your experience update it here News National'More needs to be done to stop deadly button batteries from killing children' ACCCBy 9News Staff12 56pm Apr 16, week in Australia, around 20 children are taken to hospital with fears they have ingested a button battery. Shaylah's mother, Kirra Carmichael, told Today she rushed the usually healthy little girl to the emergency room when she first fell ill late last year, but just weeks ago they still didn't know if she would ever wake from a coma. Melbourne girl Shaylah Carmichael was one of them. 9news They put her up in intensive care and she was in an induced coma for two-and-a-half days. Every week in Australia, around 20 children are taken to hospital with fears they have ingested a button battery. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

spending: The fundraising surge and curtailed spending left the President atop a nearly 40.8 million campaign war chest, a report filed Monday with the Federal Election Commission shows, according to CNN. In an unprecedented move, Trump's aides also have moved to consolidate their control over the national party, giving them sway over the spending decisions of the Republican National Committee. Trump raised 30.3 million during the January-to-March fundraising quarter and spent just 8.8 million, a sharp drop from his campaign's heavy spending at the end of 2018 when he crisscrossed the country, working to boost Republican congressional candidates in the midterm elections. Taken together with the war chests of the party and an affiliated committee, Trump and the party started April with more than 80 million in cash reserves. Vermont Sen. No Democrat comes close to Trump's fundraising. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

news: Jaap Arriens / Sipa USA via APBreaking News Emails Get breaking news alerts and special reports, according to MSNBC. The news and stories that matter, delivered weekday mornings.SUBSCRIBEApril 16, 2019, 9 21 PM GMTBy Claire Atkinson Netflix started off 2019 by adding the most subscribers in its history, the streaming video giant said Tuesday. Netflix has been sharing more information on how many people stream its content. Reporting its first-quarter earnings, the company said it added 9.6 million subscribers from around the world in the first three months of the year, bringing its total to almost 149 million subscribers. Subscriber additions in the second quarter will be less than in the same period last year, the company said in its forecast. However, Netflix also suggested a slight slowdown in its growth trajectory. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

apple skin: The ID. Roomzz will follow the rollout of an all-electric hatchback and a compact crossover in 2020 as well as battery versions of the Lavida and Bora sedans in China this year. ; China is forcing automakers to sell more electric vehicles and more battery-powered and hybrid cars to fight pollution, according to The Japan Times. VW is fighting to keep profits from sliding as it spends an unprecedented 30 billion 34 billion to roll out the industry's largest fleet of EVs. The full-size SUV, available from 2021, features rotating lounge seats covered in so-called Apple Skin an artificial leather made in part from apple juice waste, VW said ahead of the Shanghai auto show. VW is developing 70 all-electric models by 2028. Half of the more than 30 fully electric and hybrid models will be produced locally The company prepares to deliver 1.5 million alternative-energy vehicles in China in 2025. By 2023, it plans to build electric cars at 18 factories in Europe, China and the U.S. The VW group targets sales of more than 400,000 so-called electrified vehicles in China in 2020. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

benchmarks fare: The Nasdaq Composite Index COMP, 0.30% shed 8.15 points, or 0.1%, to 7,976.01, according to Market Watch. What drove the market Goldman Sachs Group Inc.GS, 0.97% and Citigroup Inc.C, 2.86% reported quarterly results as earnings season gets under way, though the week will be shortened by the Easter holiday. How did the benchmarks fare The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, 0.26% fell 27.53 points, or 0.1%, to 26,384.77 and the S&P 500 SPX, 0.05% dropped 1.83 points to 2,905.58. Both banks showed sharp declines in earnings, compared with the first-quarter of last year, but were able to surpass analysts' low expectations for quarterly profits. Blue-chip Goldman shares were down 2.3% Monday, weighing heavily on the Dow, while Citi shares rose 0.1% Analysts expect first-quarter earnings numbers for the S&P 500 to suffer the first year-over-year decline in nearly three years as macroeconomic headwinds continue to pull down estimates from analysts. On the revenue front, Goldman fell short of estimates while Citigroup matched, underscoring muted trading and mergers-and-acquisition activity on Wall Street in the first quarter. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

child marriage: She pointed to the limited number of female landowners on the continent and said some countries have laws allowing men to block their wives from working, according to The Japan Times. In the agreement, the United States and the African Union Commission pledged to help empower women and to fight problems such as child marriage, human trafficking and sexual abuse. The president's daughter and senior adviser, on a four-day trip to promote a White House global women's project, spoke about roadblocks for women during a policy discussion with Ethiopia's president and after signing a joint statement with the African Union Commission. ; We can and we must address these barriers to women's equality and countries' prosperity, Trump said during a panel discussion held at the headquarters of the U.N. Economic Commission for Africa. She signed it at the commission's headquarters along with Kwesi Quartey, the commission's deputy chairman. On her second day in Ethiopia, Trump delivered her message on gender equity in a country long considered a patriarchal society, where women and girls struggle with access to jobs and education. Trump highlighted the collective goal to eliminate gender-based violence and stressed the shared focus on improving access to education and business opportunities. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

etf: In that case, Accuvest Global Advisors is here to help, according to Market Watch. The investment manager, in our call of the day, just released its latest country ranking and the U.S. comes in fourth, behind China, Russia and Norway. So maybe some peace of mind will come with moving investment cash overseas. China shows positive and improving momentum, writes Accuvest portfolio manager James Calhoun. There are plenty of ways to gain exposure to China, including popular picks like the iShares China Large Cap ETF FXI, 1.49% the biggest of all Chinese ETFs, and the iShares MSCI China ETF MCHI, 1.13% For a more internet-focused approach, there's the Krane Shares CSI China Internet ETF. KWEB, 1.17% For Russia and Norway, here are just some of the many vehicles to sift through The Van Eck Vectors Russia RSX, 1.17% the iShares MSCI Russia Capped ETF ERUS, 0.78% the iShares MSCI Norway ETF ENOR, 0.10% and the Global X Norway ETF NORW, 0.08% Back here in the States, stocks are drifting lower. This blends nicely with persistently strong fundamentals and undemanding valuations. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

year: Capital Economics expects U.S. growth to slip to 2% in 2019, from 2.9%. That is relatively subdued in contrast with economists polled by Market Watch, who expect the U.S. economy to register growth of 2.3% in 2019, according to Market Watch. See The economy is off to another shaky start in 2019, but it's not about to collapse Pearce says he is skeptical that lower rates will help to drive a recovery in economic growth this year. The U.S. economist in a Friday research note said it is unlikely that the benefits of easier financial conditions prevailing from lower yields would show up in gross domestic product figures this year. For a start, the recent decline in market interest rates has reversed only part of the prior increase. Still, the 10-year Treasury note yield TMUBMUSD10Y, 0.59% has retreated from a multiyear high at 3.25% in November to 2.55%, following a sharp selloff in risk assets and the Fed's dovish pivot at its January meeting, with its wait-and-see stance reaffirmed in March. The Fed has hiked rates nine times since the end of 2015 and four times in 2018. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

aftermath: Regular dividends have risen every year since the aftermath of the global financial crisis in 2009, according to The Guardian. Between that year and 2018, total dividends paid to shareholders grew by 85%. FCA plans to ban or cap investment platform exit fees Read more Frances O'Grady, the TUC general secretary, said the figures underlined the inequality between rewards for shareholders and workers, and said the economy needed to be redesigned to ensure everyone got a fair share. The payments rose 15.7% to 19.7bn, easily a first-quarter record, according to data tracked by Link Asset Services. The big increase in dividend income in the first quarter of 2019 was mainly driven by a 2.6bn special dividend from the FTSE 100 mining company BHP. The largest dividend payment in the quarter, at 2.9bn, was the oil company Royal Dutch Shell, while pharma company Astrazeneca, oil giant BP, Vodafone and British American Tobacco all paid out more than 1bn in the quarter. Michael Kempe, chief operating officer at Link Market Services, said the growth in dividends was in truth, a touch weaker than we expected on an underlying basis . He said 2019 was set for further increases in payouts to shareholders in spite of uncertainty about the global economy and Brexit negotiations in the UK. Link forecasts total annual UK dividend payments will break 100bn for the first time in 2019. Underlying dividends excluding specials grew slightly more slowly than Link expected, up 5.5% to 17.6bn, boosted by fluctuations in currency values. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

boston: Loughlin and her fashion designer husband Mossimo Giannulli said they are waiving their right to appear in Boston federal court for their arraignment and plead not guilty to the two charges against them, according to Nine News Australia. The judge must approve their request for a waiver to appear. To improve your experience update it here News World Loughlin pleads not guilty in college scam By AAP3 13am Apr 16, Lori Loughlin and her husband are pleading not guilty to charges they took part in a sweeping US college admissions bribery scam. The couple is charged with paying US500,000 A700,000 in bribes to get their daughters admitted to the University of Southern California as crew recruits, even though neither is a rower. They are among 50 people charged in the nationwide scam, which authorities say also involved rigging college entrance exam scores. Loughlin, who played Aunt Becky on the sitcom Full House, and Giannulli have not publicly addressed the allegations against them. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

var: Click here to learn how. ; ; ; function document Init OneSignal var one Signal elements var function event event.prevent Default ; ; for var i 0; i i false ; if document.ready State 'complete' document Init OneSignal ; else function event document Init OneSignal ; ; body.custom-background background-image background-position left top; background-size cover; background-repeat no-repeat; background-attachment fixed; .widget h3.title, sidebar .tabberlive, articles .head title, h3.archive title, ul.dropdown li ul text-align center; border-top 0px; .hr border-top 0px solid EEE; logo margin 0 0 0px; padding-top 10px; padding-bottom 10px; columns margin 0px 0 0px; footer .widget-area padding 0 0 0px; margin 0 0px; border-bottom 0px solid ececec; footer background-color fff; text-align center; .post h1.title text-align center; The Financial Examiner Trending Business News Economy News Finance News Kinder Morgan Del KMI Holder Alexandria Capital Has Upped Its Stake by 1.20 Million as Market Value Rose; Apple AAPL Shareholder Culbertson A N & Co Has Trimmed Its Stake as Market Valuation Declined Posted by Daniel Mitchell on April 15, 2019 at 10 34 am adsbygoogle window.adsbygoogle .push ; Culbertson A N & Co Inc decreased its stake in Apple Inc AAPL by 4.93% based on its latest 2018Q4 regulatory filing with the SEC. Culbertson A N & Co Inc sold 3,983 shares as the company's stock declined 2.81% while stock markets rallied, according to MSNBC. The institutional investor held 76,749 shares of the computer manufacturing company at the end of 2018Q4, valued at 12.11M, down from 80,732 at the end of the previous reported quarter. OneSignal ; One Signal.push function scope '/' ; var one Signal options ; one Signal options; true; true; ; Join Wall Street's Brightest Minds. ; Receive research in your inbox from top analysts, before the market opens. Culbertson A N & Co Inc who had been investing in Apple Inc for a number of months, seems to be less bullish one the 937.73 billion market cap company. About 27.76 million shares traded. The stock decreased 0.04% or 0.08 during the last trading session, reaching 198.87. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

chairmen: A year earlier the asset manager only voted against 37 UK chairmen, according to The Guardian. This also marked a significant rise on 2016, when just 13 chairmen were targeted for falling below targets aiming to see women make up 25% of the company's board. Legal & General Investment Management, which manages more than 1tn in assets, more than doubled the number of protest votes cast in 2018 over a lack of gender diversity. The benchmark meant LGIM voted against the re-election of Sports Direct's ex-chair Keith Hellawell, Barclays' chair John McFarlane, and Nicholas Ferguson of Savills estate agents. Ray Kelvin has been accused of acting inappropriately towards staff, with behaviour including forced hugs and ear kissing. It also cast a vote against David Bernstein, the chairman of Ted Baker, which has been dealing with allegations of misconduct by its former chief executive. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

dow jones: Friday, the key market gauge gained 159.18 points. ; The Topix index of all first-section issues surged 22.53 points, or 1.40 percent, to 1,627.93, after falling 1.12 points the previous trading day, according to The Japan Times. The market opened sharply higher with the Nikkei average far surpassing 22,000, as investors rushed to buy in view of the Dow Jones industrial average's powerful rally on the New York Stock Exchange on Friday. The 225-issue Nikkei average jumped 298.55 points, or 1.37 percent, to finish at 22,169.11, ending above the psychologically important threshold for the first time since Dec. 4 last year. Both Nikkei and Topix indexes remained considerably higher throughout Monday's session, also supported by constant buying amid the yen's easing against the dollar and rosy prospects for China's economy that grew after the announcement Friday of a significant rise in new bank loans in the country in March, brokers said. With concerns over a Chinese slowdown retreating, foreign investors moved to buy back, in particular, cyclicals such as nonferrous metals and machines, an official of a bank-affiliated securities firm said. Risk-on sentiment spread in the Tokyo market with participants taking heart from the Dow advancing close to its record-high level, said Hiroaki Kuramochi, chief market analyst at Saxo Bank Securities Ltd. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

development cooperation: The Belt and Road Initiative BRI provides a realistic opportunity for mutually beneficial and win-win international development and cooperation, according to Global Times China. Although there have been doubts and skepticism in major European capitals about the initiative launched six years ago, some European countries and international or regional organizations have benefited a lot from the China-proposed landmark project. China and the EU have both been shouldering the responsibility of safeguarding world peace and promoting common development. On the whole, Europe's response to the BRI is becoming more and more positive. First, the EU-China Connectivity Platform has been established. On the evolution in the BRI development between China and the EU, the following points are to be noted. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

exchange reserves: With the economy expected to maintain reasonable growth and improved flexibility in the yuan exchange rate, China's forex reserves will remain stable, the forex regulator said, according to Global Times China. China's foreign exchange reserves will keep edging up as more foreign capital will be attracted to China's stock and bond markets, Liu Jian, a senior research fellow at the financial research center under Bank of Communications, told the Global Times on Monday. China's foreign exchange reserves rose for a fifth straight month in March, increasing by 9 billion to 3.099 trillion, up 0.3 percent from February, data from the State Administration of Foreign Exchange showed on April 7. Assuming continued US dollar weakness and progress in the trade talks, the yuan is likely to hold on to its recent gains, Liu said. Dong Dengxin, director of the Finance and Securities Institute at the Wuhan University of Science and Technology, told the Global Times on Monday that as China is promoting opening-up in the financial sector and increasing imports, closer regulation should be put on capital flows. China's foreign exchange reserves are mainly composed of the total foreign trade surplus in the current account and the net inflow of foreign direct investment in the capital account. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

instagram account: The taxes paid amounted to C 908,343 681,223 . These taxes my heart feels tired, the younger Chen wrote on the post, according to Global Times China. Although he closed his Instagram account, the receipt posted showed it was issued under the name of his father, and listed to his address, a palatial home in Vancouver Chen senior bought in 2015 for C 51.8 million, which is believed to be the biggest residential property transaction in the city, the South China Morning Post reported on Saturday. Chen Ding, son of Chen Mailin, chairman of Nanjing Dingye Investment Group, a property and investment conglomerate, posted a photo of the receipt for a Buggatti Chiron he bought in Vancouver, Canada, on Instagram on Thursday. Chen Mailin, 49, is a former duck farmer from East China's Jiangsu Province, but now has Canadian residency, according to a report in the newspaper Calgary Herald. So we work hard and do overtime just to ensure that the boss's son can drive Ferraris and live in mansions abroad, Sina Weibo user Juil5 wrote. Many netizens were outraged about the huge gap between regular workers and second-generation rich kids. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

screen cc: In a joint statement, the leaders of 27 EU member states said it was their firm determination to finish the free trade deal as quickly as possible to avoid triggering a controversial backstop arrangement in the withdrawal agreement, according to Deutsche Welle. The backstop, which is legally binding, would maintain an open border between Northern Ireland, a British territory, and EU-member Ireland if London and Brussels fail to agree on a new free trade deal by December 2020. But they reassured British Prime Minister Theresa May that they would try to finalize a new UK-EU free trade deal before 2021. Watch video Share ; DW PLAYER.localization rewind Back 10 seconds settings Settings hd Quality fullscreen Full screen cc Closed captions next Up Next up playlist Playlist pause Pause play Play player Video player prev Previous next Next close Close replay Replay volume Volume ; Share May seeks EU assurances Send Facebook Twitter google Whatsapp Tumblr linkedin stumble Digg reddit Newsvine Permalink seeks EU assurances in bid to pass Brexit deal May's wish before Christmas The embattled prime minister is struggling to convince enough hard-line lawmakers in her Conservative Party to approve the withdrawal agreement over fears that the backstop could force the UK to accept EU rules indefinitely. But during the meeting, EU leaders became frustrated by May's lack of clarity over the kind of assurances she wanted. May had met earlier with EU leaders in Brussels to seek legal and political assurances from the EU that the backstop would be temporary. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.