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CL final: Man City remodels attack without Sterling, Aguero

May 27, 2021

They’ve been Pep Guardiola’s go-to players for goals at Manchester City.

Sergio Aguero, the penalty-box predator described by his manager as a “lion in the jungle.”

Raheem Sterling, the once-streaky winger who has grown into a composed and prolific finisher.

Consider this: Aguero and Sterling were City’s top two scorers in the Premier League in each of Guardiola’s first four seasons at the club, combining for a total of 27 goals (2016-17), 39 (2017-18), 38 (2018-19) and 36 (2019-20).

Now consider this: for the biggest match in Guardiola’s City career — the Champions League final against Chelsea in Porto on Saturday — Aguero and Sterling almost certainly won’t be in the team.

“I have to take the decision which is the best to win the game,” Guardiola said.

And that means not selecting the two players who have served Guardiola best in scoring goals since 2016.

Yet his choice is understandable — and it all boils down to trust.

With Aguero, Guardiola does not trust the Argentina striker to be healthy enough to contribute in a game of such magnitude. Aguero, City’s record scorer with 260 goals and quite possibly its greatest-ever player, has had fitness issues throughout what will prove to be the last of his 10 seasons at the club and was even only afforded 25 minutes off the bench on Sunday in what was likely his final Premier League game.

Aguero, naturally, still scored two well-taken goals against Everton but that won’t be enough to persuade Guardiola to start him on Saturday. He’ll have to make do with being a potential super-sub in his final City appearance before an expected move to Barcelona.

“I hope, I hope, I hope,” the 32-year-old Aguero said, “but I don’t know. If I will play a few minutes, I will give my best.”

With Sterling, Guardiola appears to have lost faith in the England international’s ability to influence the biggest matches. Sterling didn’t start in either leg of City’s meetings against Borussia Dortmund or Paris Saint-Germain in the quarterfinals and semifinals, respectively, in the Champions League, with Riyad Mahrez and Phil Foden preferred in the wide positions.

Sterling’s output has dropped markedly, from 35 goals in 57 matches in all competitions for club and country in 2019-20 to 16 goals in 53 matches in 2020-21. He has just one goal in his last 15 appearances for City, and his dribbling and final ball just haven’t been incisive.

“This season, for me personally, has been a very weird one,” Sterling said last month. “But nevertheless, I’m still enjoying my football and giving my all to the team.”

Guardiola said at the start of the week he is still not sure of his team lineup for the final, but the selection debates are likely at left back and in defensive midfield. His five most attacking players are all but locked in: Mahrez and Foden out wide, Kevin De Bruyne and Bernardo Silva as interchangeable false nines, and Ilkay Gundogan as the attacking central midfielder.

That quintet primarily gives City control, which Guardiola craves more than anything else — especially in a congested season like this one where energy conservation has been paramount and therefore ball possession has been vital. In that sense, it is pure expediency, tactics to fit the times.

It does mean goals have been spread around. Who, for example, could have foreseen Gundogan — previously a back-up holding midfielder — being the top scorer in the squad this season with 17 goals from his new, more adventurous role?

Much as he’d like an out-and-out goalscorer in his team, Guardiola knows he can get by with this newly created front five of attacking midfielders and the most solid defense of his time at City behind them.

Don’t expect this to be a long-term thing. With Aguero leaving, a player like Erling Haaland or Harry Kane could easily join as a replacement to give City a natural center forward once again.

The 26-year-old Sterling could be back in form next season, with City perhaps playing at a faster pace to suit his more direct style.

For now, though — and as improbable as it would have sounded 12 months ago — Sterling and Aguero are dispensable for a Champions League final, when the margins can be finer than in any other in soccer.

More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Steve Douglas is at https://twitter.com/sdouglas80

Germany, Norway flip switch on $2.4B undersea energy link

The Associated Press

May 27, 2021

BERLIN — Germany and Norway inaugurated a new undersea cable Thursday that directly links the two countries’ electricity networks, a project that has been described as a key step in Europe’s effort to shift away from fossil fuels to renewable energy.

The 2-billion-euro ($2.4 billion) project, called Nordlink, will allow Germany to export excess electricity from its wind parks to Norway, where it can be stored in the Nordic nation’s vast hydropower reservoirs. During periods of little wind, electricity can be released from Norwegian reservoirs again to meet German demand.

“We’re setting a milestone for the modern energy supply in Europe,” German Chancellor Angela Merkel said during a virtual ceremony to officially switch on the power link.

The 623-kilometer (387-mile) cable runs from Germany’s northern state of Schleswig-Holstein under the North Sea to Tonstad in southern Norway. Operators say it can carry enough electricity to supply 3.6 million households at once.

The new system should help lower the price of electricity in Germany, which is relatively high compared to other European countries, said Claudia Kemfert, a senior energy expert at the German Institute for Economic Research.

Oil-rich Norway meets almost all of its electricity needs using renewable sources, and electricity from its hydropower facilities is comparatively cheap. By tapping into the Norwegian network, Germany can avoid building costly stand-by power plants of its own, Kemfert said.

“Nordlink is no replacement for the expansion of renewable energy here in Germany, but it can significantly help balance out fluctuations,” she said.

The German government recently announced that it aims to reduce the country’s greenhouse gas emissions to ‘net zero’ by 2045. A massive expansion of wind and solar power generation will be required to meet the demands of its 83 million inhabitants and industry.

Ghosn testifies to French investigators in Renault probe

The Associated Press

May 27, 2021

BEIRUT — For hours, French investigators on Thursday questioned fugitive former auto magnate Carlos Ghosn in the Lebanese capital as a witness in a probe over Renault’s pollutant emissions, according to two Lebanese officials.

A prosecution official and a judge said the French questioned Ghosn before leaving Beirut later in the day. The two spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to media. The officials said Lebanese investigators sat through the questioning of Ghosn. There was no immediate comment from French officials.

Renault is facing a probe that dates back to 2017 over cheating emission tests, a charge the company denies. The probe follows earlier investigations by French anti-fraud authorities who found abnormally high emissions from some of Renault’s diesel engineered cars. Ghosn worked in Renault since 1996 until its alliance with Nissan in 1999.

Another team of French investigators is expected in Lebanon next week to question Ghosn over suspicions of financial misconduct. Ghosn, who fled Japan to Lebanon in early 2020, told The Associated Press he has done nothing wrong and hopes their investigations are eventually dropped.

It is an unusual move for French magistrates to question a suspect abroad. Ghosn is expected to be questioned for several days starting Monday in Beirut, where he was given sanctuary by Lebanese authorities. Ghosn grew up in Lebanon and has Lebanese citizenship, and Lebanon won’t extradite him.

He hasn’t yet been charged with anything in France, but could be given preliminary charges of fraud, corruption, money laundering, misuse of company assets, or aggravated breach of trust.

Lavish parties in Versailles, questionable payments to an Omani car dealer, suspected tax evasion — these are the subjects of multiple investigations in France involving Ghosn’s actions as the head of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi car alliance. They were opened amid new scrutiny of Ghosn after his shocking 2018 arrest in Japan.

Big cheese no more: UK drug dealer caught out by cheese pic

The Associated Press

May 27, 2021

LONDON — A drug dealer in the English city of Liverpool thought he was the big cheese — until police got all the evidence they needed to arrest him from a picture he shared of himself holding a small block of creamy Stilton.

Carl Stewart, 39, was sentenced to 13 years and six months in prison at Liverpool Crown Court last week after he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cocaine, conspiracy to supply heroin, MDMA and ketamine and transferring criminal property.

Were it not for a photo he shared of himself holding the cheese block from the reputable British retailer, Marks & Spencer, he could still very well be supplying large amounts of drugs.

Stewart was arrested after he posted the photo on the encrypted messaging service EncroChat, via his handle “Toffeeforce.” Unbeknownst to him, the service had been cracked by police in Europe. From that, his palm and fingerprints were analyzed and police had their man.

Merseyside Police Detective Inspector Lee Wilkinson said Stewart had been “caught out by his love of Stilton cheese.”

Stewart isn’t alone in having his criminal activities brought to a premature end by his activities on EncroChat. Merseyside Police say around 60,000 users have now been identified worldwide, with about 10,000 of them in the U.K. alone. All are said to be involved in coordinating and planning the supply and distribution of drugs and weapons, money laundering and other criminal activity

Merseyside Police has arrested more than 60 people as part of Operation Venetic, and three more criminals were sentenced to long-term prison terms on Wednesday. Three more are due for sentencing Thursday.

Shaun Harrison, 33, was one of those, sentenced to 10 years eight months in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to supply cocaine and cannabis. Harrison was caught out after he revealed personal details of himself on EncroChat, on which he went by the handle “Scantbee and Sandferret.”

“Merseyside Police, along with law enforcement agencies across the world, will leave no stone unturned in our pursuit of those people who think they are above the law, and we will continue to target anyone involved in serious organized crime to keep this positive momentum going,” Wilkinson said.

Shoppers go back to stores, but retailers face challenges

The Associated Press

May 27, 2021

NEW YORK — Americans are going back to one of their favorite past times: store shopping.

With more people getting vaccinated and dropping their face masks, retailers from Walmart to Macy’s are seeing an eager return to their stores after more than a year of their customers migrating online during the pandemic.

Marcia Williams, who lives in a Philadelphia suburb and who stuck to online shopping only during the height of COVID-19, went back to her local mall right after she was fully vaccinated last month. That was her first time in more than a year

“I am definitely getting out,” said Williams, a hair and makeup artist who spent nearly $1,000 on clothing for herself and her three children during several buying trips. “I do feel more comfortable. I like the experience of trying on clothes. I love grocery shopping. It’s my outlet.”

The return to store shopping, highlighted in many retailers’ earnings reports in recent days, offers a big relief in part because shoppers return less when they make their purchases at the store — 8% compared with 25% for online, according to Forrester Research. And store customers tend to do more impulse buying. For clothing, for instance, 25% of purchases are done on a whim versus 16% online, says market research firm NPD Group Inc.

“Retailers want you in the store,“ said Marshal Cohen, NPD’s chief industry advisor. “They need you to be in the store so you generate more traffic. Crowds bring more crowds. (Shoppers) buy more product.”

Still, retailers — particularly mall-based stores and other specialty stores that were struggling even before the pandemic — face plenty of challenges to keep customers coming back. They face stepped up competition online and from discounters that thrived in the last year. Experts also say that post-pandemic shoppers will be even more demanding: After being forced to stay close to home, they’re looking for better and convenient services and experiences.

Many retailers like Macy’s are still recovering from the pandemic, which forced them to temporarily close early last year, driving more traffic to big box stores that were allowed to stay open. And overall store traffic, while rebounding, is still not back to where it was two years ago.

Customer counts at overall stores surged 43.2% for the week starting May 10 compared to the year-ago period, but that number was still down 5.6% for that same period in 2019, says mobile-device location data from foot-traffic analytics firm Placer.ai. In clothing, customer counts soared more than two-fold for the same timeframe, but it was down 11.2% on a two-year basis. For big-box stores like Target, customer counts were up 5.3% for the same period but down 4.9% on a two-year basis.

Analysts are carefully watching the battered department store sector’s market share, which shrunk from 3% in 2019 to 2% last year and has remained at that figure for the first four months of the year, according to NPD. In comparison, discounters’ market share held steady at 21% last year from 2019 but ticked up to 22% for the early part of this year. Overall, market share for online retail rose to 26% last year from 23% in 2019.

The pandemic pulled forward the pace of online spending by about two years. Online shopping is expected to account for 21% of overall sales, or $794 billion, in 2020 compared to the prior year and should increase to 27%, or $1.1 trillion in 2023, Forrester says. However, online sales growth is slowing down, from 29.5% last year to a projected 15.6% this year and 10% next year.

Williams, who has a makeup line called Embellish Beauty and pivoted her consulting business to online during the height of the pandemic, says she will keep about 15% of her overall buying to online purchases like soap and other essentials.

Still, physical shopping is still not the same as it was pre-COVID-19. For example, retailers’ beauty counters are not yet allowing shoppers to try on makeup. Target said it will begin to offer this service in stores again this year

Williams says she’s used to being served champagne when she shopped at Tiffany’s. But when she was at the upscale jeweler earlier this month, there was no champagne to be had because of COVID-19 restrictions.

“Those are the experiences I missed,” she said.

Still, store executives are feeling optimistic — for now.

Walmart, based in Bentonville, Arkansas, said last week that transactions in its stores were up for the first time in a year. At Target, sales at stores opened at least a year jumped 18% in the three-month period that ended May 1. That follows a 6.9% increase in the previous quarter.

Many retail executives say that they are adding fresh new merchandise to welcome back shoppers. Target is planning to open Ulta Beauty shops in more than 100 Target stores by mid-2021. Kohl’s is getting ready to open Sephora beauty shops in 200 locations this fall. And Macy’s is leaning into such areas as toys, health and wellness, pet care, food and wine.

“Clearly, our customer is ready to get on with life,” Macy’s CEO Jeff Gennette told analysts last week. “We don’t see this as a short-term pop.”

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Gap expands into home under new partnership with Walmart

The Associated Press

May 27, 2021

NEW YORK — Gap will begin selling a new home goods line exclusively through Walmart’s website next month under a multiyear partnership.

The collection of more than 400 items is Gap’s first venture into the home category and it’s selling everything from bedding and bath goods to home decor. The collection will appear on Walmart’s site on June 24. They will eventually make it into Walmart stores, the companies said, though no financial terms were disclosed Thursday.

Walmart has aggressively expanded home goods sales, a category that grew even hotter during the pandemic as spending shifted from dining out and travel, to the place where families spent most of the last year.

Anthony Soohoo, executive vice president of Walmart’s home division, told The Associated Press that adding a brand like Gap will attract new customers.

Gap, at the same time, is looking for other avenues for growth with its Gap and Banana Republic stores struggling. Its low-price Old Navy and athletic-inspired Athleta businesses have been the bright spots.

Mark Breitbard, CEO of the Gap brand, said the home is a natural extension of the Gap brand. The deal is also part of Gap’s overall strategy of expanding licensing deals to broaden its distribution while the company focuses on its core business.

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Holstein Kiel to have 2,500 fans in Bundesliga promotion bid

The Associated Press

May 27, 2021

KIEL, Germany — Holstein Kiel backtracked Thursday on an earlier decision against fans and will have up to 2,500 supporters present for its Bundesliga promotion playoff against Cologne on Saturday.

The second-division club said it had permission from local authorities to have the fans present for the second leg of the playoff.

Kiel, which finished third in the second division, won 1-0 at Cologne in the first leg on Wednesday. Cologne finished third from last in the Bundesliga. The winner — which could be decided on the away goals rule — will play in Germany’s top division next season.

Kiel was allowed to have supporters for its last league game of the season against visiting Darmstadt last Sunday but refused.

“Professional soccer should not claim a special role for itself in society,” club president Steffen Schneekloth said at the time.

Some fans showed up anyway to cheer the team from outside as Kiel lost 3-2 and missed out on automatic promotion. About 1,500 people gathered outside the stadium, most without wearing masks or adhering to social distancing.

Schneekloth said Thursday that Sunday’s game had shown “that we have to rethink our basic stance with regard to the situation around the stadium” but “we are still of the opinion that professional soccer should not claim a special role in this matter.”

The seven-day incidence rate of new coronavirus infections in Kiel has dropped to about 30 per 100,000 inhabitants.

More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Mali’s military releases transitional president and PM

The Associated Press

May 27, 2021

BAMAKO, Mali — Mali’s military has released the transitional president and prime minister from detention, a top officer said Thursday.

The release of President Bah N’Daw and Prime Minister Moctar Ouane came after they resigned Wednesday in the presence of international arbitrators who are in the West African nation to mediate the political crisis, according to Maj. Baba Cisse.

The U.N. Security Council said Wednesday after a closed meeting that the resignations were forced and demanded an immediate resumption of the civilian-led transition and said the military should return to their barracks.

The U.N., the African Union and other international bodies, as well as the U.S., had also urged Mali’s military to release the transitional leaders.

N’Daw and Ouane were arrested Monday, along with other leaders of the transitional government, hours after naming a new Cabinet that did not include two key military leaders.

By deposing the two transitional leaders, the head of Mali’s 2020 coup, Col. Assimi Goita, who has been serving as the transitional vice president since September, regained control of the West African country.

The political crisis in the midst of an 18-month civilian transition to democratic elections following the 2020 coup risks plunging the troubled nation into further instability and has sparked international condemnation.

EU eyes Belarus sanctions targeting sectors close to leader

The Associated Press

May 27, 2021

BRUSSELS — European Union nations sketched out plans for new sanctions Thursday against Belarus that will target economic sectors close to its authoritarian president, as they sought to strike back at him for the forced diversion of a passenger jet to arrest a dissident journalist.

EU foreign ministers meeting in Lisbon vowed to continue to ramp up the pressure on Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko — whose disdain for democratic norms and human rights has made his country a pariah in the West.

The latest plans for sanctions, which could target the country’s lucrative potassium industry among others, comes after Belarusian flight controllers instructed a Ryanair jetliner’s crew to land in the capital of Minsk on Sunday, citing a bomb threat. No bomb was found, but 26-year-old journalist and activist Raman Pratasevich was pulled off the plane and detained. EU leaders have denounced the move as a state-sponsored hijacking, while Lukashenko has defended his actions and accused the West of trying to “strangle” his country with sanctions.

The EU has already advised its airlines to avoid the ex-Soviet nation’s airspace and barred Belarusian carriers from EU airports and airspace. The 27-nation bloc has previously slammed Belarusian authorities with sanctions over the August election that handed Lukashenko a sixth term and that opposition groups have rejected as rigged as well as his ensuing crackdown on protests.

If the next batch of sanctions does not ease the crackdown on the opposition and democratic values, German Foreign minister Heiko Maas said the EU “will continue to look at what effects this has in Belarus, whether Lukashenko relents. If that isn’t the case we have to assume that this will be just the beginning of a big and long spiral of sanctions.”

The EU has tried on and off to encourage democratic reforms in Belarus, bring it closer to the bloc — and distance it from its main backer, Russia — but has not had much success. Some say more sanctions will do little to alleviate the situation and will only push Belarus even closer to Russia, and reduce the influence of the EU and others.

Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg acknowledged that it is a difficult balance.

“What we don’t want to do is to drive the country in the arms of Russia,” he said.

Luxembourg Jean Asselborn said the bloc was focused on the country’s large potassium industry. The mineral is mainly used in the fertilizing industry.

“The key word, I think, is potassium,” he said. “Belarus produces a great deal of potassium, is one of the world’s biggest suppliers. And I think it would hurt Lukashenko a great deal if we accomplished something there.”

The giant Belaruskali plant, controlled by the state as are most economic assets in the country of 9.3 million, is the main cash earner for Lukashenko’s government along with petrochemicals.

The EU foreign ministers will prepare proposals for the sanctions but will not make final decisions on Thursday.

Lukashenko has defended the move to tell the Ryanair flight to land in his country, maintaining his contention that there was a bomb threat against it. He called it an “absolute lie” that a fighter jet he scrambled forced the plane to land, saying it was merely.

He also insisted that Belarusian authorities had a legitimate right to arrest Pratasevich, who has become a top foe of Lukashenko, saying that the journalist was working to foment a “bloody rebellion.” Pratasevich’s Russian girlfriend, Sofia Sapega, was also arrested.

Pratasevich, who left Belarus in 2019, ran a popular messaging app that had a key role in helping organize huge protests in recent months that have put Lukashenko under unprecedented pressure at home in the wake of the August vote. But the strongman has only increased his crackdown, and more than 35,000 people have been arrested since the protests began, with thousands beaten.

Associated Press writers Vladimir Isachenkov in Moscow, Geir Moulson in Berlin and Barry Hatton in Lisbon contributed to this report.

4 tips for small-business owners paying down pandemic debt

The Associated Press

May 27, 2021

After more than a year of navigating lockdowns, mandates and COVID-19 protocols, small-business owners are starting to see a light at the end of the tunnel. But the debt many needed to take on to weather the pandemic still casts an ominous shadow.

In 2020, 79% of small employer firms (up to 499 employees) reported having outstanding debt, up from 71% in 2019, according to a February 2021 report by the Federal Reserve Banks. Of the firms that applied for financing, 58% said they did so to cover operating expenses like rent and payroll, compared with 43% in 2019.

Paying down this pandemic debt can help business owners rebuild their companies. The following tips can help you eliminate your business debt faster, while saving money on costly interest in the process.

1. CREATE A DEBT REPAYMENT TIMELINE

Being strategic about your debt will help you pay it off more quickly, says Chris Woods, founder of LifePoint Financial Group, a financial planning firm in Alexandria, Virginia.

“People tend to just throw money at (debt). Maybe they’ll pay a little bit extra this month or that month,” Woods says. The better approach? Create a detailed repayment plan.

Take a full accounting of what you owe, including interest rates and repayment terms for any business loans or credit card debt you’ve accumulated. Note grace periods, deadlines and action items, such as applying for forgiveness if you received a Paycheck Protection Program loan.

Then, set a reasonable (read: achievable) timeline to pay off your debts and start picking them off one by one. If you’re juggling multiple loans or credit cards, funnel any extra payments to the debt with the highest interest rate, says Zach Reece, owner and chief operating officer of Colony Roofers in Atlanta.

“This is your most expensive debt and you’ll get the highest cost savings from paying this debt down most aggressively,” notes Reece, who is also a certified public accountant.

2. FIND OPPORTUNITIES TO CUT EXPENSES, INCREASE REVENUE

“You can’t pay down debt with money you don’t have,” Reece says.

There are two ways to find more money: Trim your budget or boost your income.

To jumpstart your revenue, reexamine your business model and look for opportunities to reach more customers or expand your sales footprint. You can also take steps to front-load your cash flow. Renegotiate contracts to request payment upfront or offer incentives to customers who can pay six or 12 months in advance.

To cut expenses, scrutinize your budget. Look at things like advertising, subscriptions, professional memberships and even office space. What can you cancel, pause or downsize?

“Operating leaner will help you buffer downturns and create more cash flow so you have space to pay down that debt,” says Ken Alozie, managing director of Greenwood Capital Advisors in Washington, D.C.

3. CONSIDER REFINANCING, CONSOLIDATING

Make your debt less expensive by refinancing. Depending on your loan and business history, you may be able to access a better rate, a lower monthly payment or more favorable repayment terms. The same applies for any business credit card debt you accrued, Woods says.

“Look at opportunities to move that debt to another card or lender to have less interest accruing,” Woods says. “This is something everyone should look into, especially if you’ve been on time with your payments.”

Juggling multiple loans? Consolidate them into a single small-business loan, preferably with a lower interest rate and monthly payment. An added bonus: You’ll have just one payment to one lender.

4. TAP INTO FREE BUSINESS RESOURCES

Running a business can be all-consuming. Managing business debt can be, too. Doing both simultaneously? Something will likely give.

“A lot of (smaller businesses) are in survival mode and can forget that they’re managing a business and need to interact with clients and look for growth opportunities,” Alozie says.

Connect with your local Small Business Development Center or Community Development Corporation. You can also link up with a mentor through SCORE, a volunteer organization that offers free business mentorship.

These organizations keep tabs on developments — such as the many changes to PPP loans and rules — and send emails with tips, important deadlines and updates, freeing you up to focus on your business.

“Don’t feel like you need to do it by yourself. Plug into organizations that will help you stay on top of it,” says Alozie, who is also a certified business mentor with SCORE. “You’ll have more leverage, so you’re not out there on your own trying to keep up to date, while also trying to run a business out of the pandemic.”

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This column was provided to The Associated Press by the personal finance website NerdWallet. Kelsey Sheehy is a writer at NerdWallet. Email: ksheehy@nerdwallet.com. Twitter: @kelseylsheehy.