Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 19 February 2018

Mon Feb 19 12:27:25 CAT 2018

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Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 19 February 2018

 <http://www.mbca.co.zw/> 

*  South African rand steady, eyes on budget speech

*  South Africa government, mining group agree to postpone court challenge

*  Amplats declares first dividend in 7 yrs, no big projects this year

*  Eyes on S.African finmin Gigaba amid talk of cabinet reshuffle before
budget

*  Zambia to rearrange China loans to meet IMF conditions

*  Egypt aims to sell Eurobonds worth $3-$4 bln in FY18/19 - deputy finance
minister to Al Arabiya

*  Qatar National Bank to sell small stake in Egypt unit to comply with
listing rules

*  Egypt to import 3 LNG cargoes from France's Engie for Q2 2018 -sources

*  Barclays Africa wins case over $83 million payout in South Africa

*  South African rand's Ramaphosa rally pauses ahead of key speech

*  Latvian central bank boss detained by anti-corruption force

*  Sir Philip Green faces more pension questions from Frank Field

*  Trump India 'dinner and chat' property offer criticised

*  Anger at Google image search 'peace deal'

*  US rejects China-led bid for Chicago Stock Exchange

 <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> 

South African rand steady, eyes on budget speech

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa’s rand steadied against the dollar in
early trade on Monday, holding near a three-year high touched on Friday
after President Cyril Ramaphosa said tough decisions would be made to repair
the economy after years of stagnation.

At 0645 GMT, the rand traded at 11.6600 per dollar, not far off its close of
11.6375 on Friday.

The currency raced to a three-year high of 11.5600/dollar on Friday after
Ramaphosa said his government was committed to “policy certainty and
consistency” and that tough decisions would be taken to close the fiscal gap
and stabilise debt. [nL8N1Q64UL]

“Despite the markets appearing to receive the (state of the nation address)
well, there remains much to be done to rescue the local economy and this
will undoubtedly take time after nearly ten years of mismanagement and
corruption,” Nedbank analysts said in a note.

Ramaphosa was sworn in as head of state on Thursday after his
scandal-plagued predecessor, Jacob Zuma, reluctantly resigned on orders of
the ruling African National Congress after nine years in office blighted by
corruption allegations and economic mismanagement. [nL8N1Q51P4]

Market focus this week will be on Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba’s budget
speech on Wednesday.

In fixed income, the yield on the benchmark government bond due in 2026 was
down 3 basis points to 8.08 percent, reflecting stronger bond prices.

 <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> 

South Africa government, mining group agree to postpone court challenge

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - A South African industry group representing mining
companies has agreed to postpone a court challenge against new regulations
that included a requirement for more black ownership of mines, to allow for
negotiations with new President Cyril Ramaphosa.

The uncertainty around the new rules has deterred investment into a sector
that accounts for 8 percent of South Africa’s economic output.

Mining companies have said many of the new rules are unaffordable while they
grapple with depressed prices and rising costs. Rating agencies have also
cited the policy as a concern, because it might hinder South Africa’s
economic growth.

Supporters of the rule changes, proposed under former President Jacob Zuma
who resigned last week, say they are necessary to improve conditions at the
mines and more equitably share profits.

“The Presidency has been in discussion with the Chamber of Mines to resolve
the impasse over the mining charter and to facilitate a process of
developing a New Mining Charter that all stakeholders can support and
defend,” Ramaphosa’s office said in a statement on Sunday.

The mining group had agreed to postpone its High Court challenge to the new
rules, set for Feb. 19-21.

“The postponement serves to allow parties the space to engage and find an
amicable solution,” the presidency said.

In an address to parliament on Friday and his first as president, Ramaphosa
said he was committed to “policy certainty and consistency”, in contrast to
his Zuma, who was criticised for policy shifts and unpredictable cabinet
changes.

“We welcome the President’s intervention, and his commitment to engaging
meaningfully with stakeholders in the industry – and others – on a New
Mining Charter,” said Chamber of Mines president Mxolisi Mgojo.

South Africa is one of the world’s top exporters of gold and platinum metals
and is heavily reliant on the industry for jobs and tax revenues.

Amplats declares first dividend in 7 yrs, no big projects this year

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Anglo American Platinum (Amplats), the world’s top
platinum producer, declared its first dividend in seven years on Monday as
full-year headline earnings more than doubled and said it was not committing
capital to major projects in 2018.

The company’s tight-fisted investment stance highlights the fragile state of
platinum mining in South Africa, home to around two-thirds of known reserves
where the industry has battled for years in the face of soaring costs,
depressed prices, policy uncertainty and spasms of violent labour and social
unrest.

Amplats has been pivoting from the labour-intensive methods that have
defined South Africa platinum mining to more mechanised mining - a pivot
that appears to be paying off.

The Anglo American unit said headline earnings more than doubled to 3.9
billion rand ($335 million) in 2017, in line with what it previously flagged
to the market, lifted by cost cutting and a higher dollar basket price for
platinum group metals.

“No major project capital will be committed in 2018,” the company said.

However, Amplats said it was looking at future expansion projects at
Mogalakwena, a mechanised open-pit operation that is its main cash-spinner
and where it recently reached a deal with local communities and tribal
authorities aimed at dousing the flames of social unrest.

($1 = 11.6550 rand)

Eyes on S.African finmin Gigaba amid talk of cabinet reshuffle before budget

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa will benefit from a wave of positive
market sentiment under new President Cyril Ramaphosa, Finance Minister
Malusi Gigaba said on Friday, as speculation swirled about whether he would
keep his job.

Ramaphosa was sworn in as head of state on Thursday after his
scandal-plagued predecessor, Jacob Zuma, reluctantly resigned on orders of
the ruling African National Congress (ANC) after nine years in office
blighted by corruption, economic mismanagement and disputed appointments.

Ramaphosa is expected to reshuffle his cabinet and Gigaba, seen as loyal to
Zuma, is among ministers likely to be affected. Ahead of Ramaphosa’s maiden
state of the nation address on Friday, Gigaba said South Africa should keep
riding the wave of positive market sentiment after the change of leadership.

He said that over the medium term, Africa’s most industrialised economy
would be working “very hard” to restore its investment grade after last
year’s downgrades to “junk” status by S&P Global Ratings and Fitch.

Moody‘s, which rates South African debt on its lowest investment grade rung,
placed the country on review for a downgrade.

“It’s not going to be easy to restore our investment credit rating but we
are going to continue doing our best to maintain, at least from the point of
view of Moody‘s, an investment grade and to ensure that the other ratings
agencies do not revise us downwards,” Gigaba told Reuters outside parliament
in Cape Town.

“We need to sustain the level at which we are for now, but over the medium
term, we are going to work very hard to restore our investment grade.”

Moody’s is expected to make a decision after the Treasury presents its 2018
budget to parliament on Wednesday.

Market focus was on whether Ramaphosa would reshuffle the cabinet before
budget day and replace Gigaba.

Ramaphosa was due to give more details about how he plans to tackle graft
and revitalise economic growth on Friday in his first state of the nation
address. [nL8N1Q64UL]

“Ramaphosa should quickly announce a cabinet shuffle that jettisons all
remnants of the Zuma years,” BBH analysts wrote in a note adding, “The most
important one that should be replaced is Finance Minister Gigaba.”

Asked if he would remain in his post under Ramaphosa, Gigaba said he served
at the pleasure of the president who had the prerogative to both “appoint
and disappoint” ministers. 

Some economists and political analysts questioned the credentials of Gigaba
when he was named to head Treasury in March last year, replacing Pravin
Gordhan who had built a strong reputation for fiscal prudence.

Gigaba’s unexpected appointment made him the fourth minister to lead the
Treasury in just under two years as South Africa grappled with low growth
and high unemployment. Though he lacked an economics background, he was no
policymaking novice, having been public enterprises minister under Zuma from
2009-2014.

He also served as home affairs minister before moving to the finance
ministry.

“HUGE SCRUTINY”

In October, Gigaba announced dire budget forecasts that included weak growth
expectations, revenue shortfall and rising government debt, shocking
financial markets.

The dismal economic outlook led to the downgrade of South African debt to
“junk”.

“Expect huge scrutiny of the new cabinet, likely to be appointed over the
weekend, as President Ramaphosa treads the line between party unity and his
promise to fight corruption,” Rand Merchant Bank analyst John Cairns said.

“Speculation is rife over who will read the budget on Wednesday, although we
will be more focused on the content than the persona.”

Analysts said other ministers who could be removed in a cabinet reshuffle
include Mines Minister Mosebenzi Zwane amid policy uncertainty in the key
mining industry. It has been waging a court battle with the minister over an
increase in black ownership targets.

Ramaphosa has promised to end an impasse over the Mining Charter, introduced
as part of a wider drive designed to rectify the lingering disparities of
apartheid.

“Zuma’s exit may be followed by a cabinet reshuffle, greater efforts for
fiscal consolidation and further governance changes at state-owned
enterprises,” UBS analysts said.

“This should lower the probability of a rating downgrade by Moody’s in
March, although the risks remain considerable.”

($1 = 11.6282 rand)

Zambia to rearrange China loans to meet IMF conditions

LUSAKA (Reuters) - Zambia will rearrange loans from Chinese companies and
instead look to borrow directly from the Asian giant’s government in a bid
to satisfy International Monetary Fund conditions and unlock a potential
$1.3 billion loan from the multilateral lender.

On Saturday the Zambian presidency said borrowing directly from the Chinese
government would ease the repayment burden after the IMF on Friday rejected
Zambia’s latest plan, saying it would make it harder for the country to
sustain its debt load.

The presidency and treasury did not respond to requests from Reuters to
clarify whether the Chinese government would now underwrite the loans from
the firms or grant Zambia new loans.

It was the second time in under six months the IMF had rejected a Zambian
proposal, causing the southern African copper producer’s dollar-denominated
bonds to fall across the curve on Friday.

“The decision was made before we restructured our Chinese loan,”
presidential spokesman Amos Chanda said, referring to the IMF rejection.
Chanda said there was “no possibility of default” on current and future
debt.

”We will not go to the ends of the earth to pursue an IMF programme. If it
does not come, we will continue with our own programme, which is already
delivering results,” Chanda said.

Zambia’s total public debt at the end of August 2017 stood at $12.45 billion
representing 47 percent of gross domestic product.

The country issued Eurobonds worth $2.8 billion between 2012 and 2015, and
has said it plans to refinance those bonds to cut the cost of debt servicing
in a broad strategy to keep debt levels from spiralling.

“Our future engagement with the IMF will be anchored on investment in the
social sector. What is best for Zambia is what the government has put across
since November 2015,” presidency spokesman Chanda said.

Earlier in the week president Edgar Lungu appointed new finance and mining
ministers in a reshuffle affecting numerous other departments, heightening
concerns over the country’s financial and political stability.

Egypt aims to sell Eurobonds worth $3-$4 bln in FY18/19 - deputy finance
minister to Al Arabiya

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt aims to sell Eurobonds worth $3-4 billion in the
2018-2019 fiscal year which begins in July, deputy finance minister Ahmed
Kouchouk told the Saudi-owned Al Arabiya television network on Sunday.

Egypt raised $4 billion in a dollar-denominated Eurobond sale that closed
late on Tuesday, the finance ministry said, in bonds issued in five, 10- and
30-year tenors.

The finance ministry is set to begin talks this month with European banks to
issue euro-denominated Eurobonds expected to valued at 1-1.5 billion euros
and sold next April, Finance Minister Amr El Garhy told Reuters on
Wednesday.

Qatar National Bank to sell small stake in Egypt unit to comply with listing
rules

DUBAI/CAIRO (Reuters) - Qatar National Bank (QNB), the Middle East’s largest
lender by assets, said it will sell a 2 percent stake in its Egyptian unit
QNB Alahly to comply with Cairo listing rules.

A QNB spokesman said the bank had no current plans to further reduce its
stake, which will stand at 95 percent after the sale.

The sale of the 2.125 percent stake is intended to comply with Egyptian
stock exchange rules that require a free float of not less than 5 percent,
QNB Alahly said in a statement.

QNB has hired CI Capital to advise it on the sale of a small stake, it said.

QNB entered Egypt by buying Societe Generale’s Egyptian business for $2
billion in 2013 and QNB Alahly is the third largest Egyptian bank by assets,
according to Thomson Reuters data.

Ties between Qatar and four Arab states - Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United
Arab Emirates and Bahrain - have deteriorated since the Arab states imposed
a diplomatic and economic boycott on Doha in June last year.

Qatar’s Commercial Bank is in talks to sell its 40 percent stake in Abu
Dhabi-listed United Arab Bank, while Reuters reported in August that Doha
Bank was seeking to sell some of its UAE loan book.

QNB, however, has remained committed to its businesses in Egypt, the UAE and
Saudi Arabia. It has ruled out any sale of its 40 percent stake in UAE-based
Commercial Bank International.

In Saudi Arabia QNB offers retail and corporate banking services, but put on
hold plans to connect to the kingdom’s interbank payment network, Reuters
reported late last year.

Egypt to import 3 LNG cargoes from France's Engie for Q2 2018 -sources

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) has arranged
for the delivery of three liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargoes from France’s
Engie in the second quarter of 2018, EGAS sources said on Sunday.

Trade sources told Reuters last month that Egypt was looking to import five
cargoes of LNG at competitive pricing.

Two trade sources said the purchases were arranged through bilateral deals
and not via a standard tender process.

Egypt plans to stop importing LNG by the end of the 2017/18 fiscal year
ending in June as it speeds up production at recently discovered gas fields,
the petroleum minister said in January.

Barclays Africa wins case over $83 million payout in South Africa

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - A South African court on Friday threw out the
findings of a public anti-graft watchdog that Barclays Africa unduly
benefited from an apartheid-era bailout of another bank and should repay.

The Public Protector had said in a report last year it had found South
Africa’s apartheid government and central bank breached the constitution by
giving Bankorp, a bank later acquired by Absa, the retail banking unit of
Barclays Africa, a series of bailouts between 1986 to 1995.

The agency, a constitutionally mandated anti-corruption agency led by
Busisiwe Mkhwebane, had ordered in its report that Barclays Africa must
repay 1.1 billion rand ($83 million) to the state as it had unduly benefited
from the Bankorp bailouts.

But the High Court ruled in favour of Barclays Africa’s arguments that it
did not unduly benefit from the bailouts because the price it paid for
Bankorp took into account the central bank’s financial assistance.

Barclays Africa had contended that the real beneficiaries of the bailouts
were Bankorp shareholders, the majority of whom were policy holders of life
insurer Sanlam.

South African rand's Ramaphosa rally pauses ahead of key speech

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa’s rand surrendered some gains on
Friday but remained near its three-year best ahead of Cyril Ramaphosa’s
maiden state of the nation address after he was sworn in as the country’s
president.

Stocks fell on Friday amid profit-taking after the main index hit a more
than three year high in the previous session.

At 1515 GMT the rand was 0.24 percent weaker at 11.6375 per dollar, with
some investors taking profits after the currency hit 11.5600 earlier on in
the session, its firmest since February 2015.

Other South African assets continued to rally, with bond yields on the
benchmark at their lowest since December 2015, while five-year credit
default swaps (CDS) fell 3 basis points (bps) from Thursday’s close.

Analysts have referred to the effect as the “Ramaphosa rally” to refer to
the buoyant market mood since was elected ANC leader in December.

On Wednesday Jacob Zuma resigned as president after of weeks of pressure,
ending a nine-year tenure punctuated by scandals, stagnant economic growth
and policy uncertainty.

“The final steps happened very quickly. South Africa has already got a new
president. At present the FX market is clearly relieved that Jacob Zuma has
gone,” said analyst at German-based Commerzbank Ulrich Leuchtmann in a note.

A former union leader, Ramaphosa has promised to fight corruption and woo
foreign investors. He will deliver a closely watched speech at 1700 GMT.

Analysts said the rand could push past pivotal technical milestones in
coming weeks, with the annual budget speech due next week a key fixture on
investors’ radar.

“It is quite possible that the dollar will weaken to below 11 against the
rand for the first time since December 2014 over the coming weeks,” said
head of currency strategy at FXTM Jameel Ahmad.

On the bourse, the benchmark Top-40 index fell 0.86 percent to 52,111 points
while the All-Share index lowered 0.69 percent to 59,122 points.

The banking sector, considered the barometer of both economic and political
sentiment, fell 1.1 percent to lead the bourse lower on Friday after coming
off lifetime highs in the previous session as investors took profits from
over bought shares.

“There would be profit taking coming into the market you can see it
especially on the banking sector. The banks are down between 0.5 and 1
percent,” said BP Berstein portfolio manager Francesco Sturino

Capitec weakened 1.09 percent to 820.94 rand and FirstRand dropped 2.22
percent to 73.68 rand.

Latvian central bank boss detained by anti-corruption force

The head of Latvia's central bank, Ilmars Rimsevics, has been detained by
the country's anti-corruption agency.

His home and offices at the Bank of Latvia were both raided by officers.

The country's Corruption Prevention Bureau gave no details about its
investigation, or the nature of the raids.

Latvia's Prime Minister, Maris Kucinskis, has called an emergency cabinet
meeting on Monday - but added there was no apparent national threat.

"There are no signs that there is any threat to the Latvian financial
system," he said in a statement.

He said neither he, as prime minister, nor any other officials had any
reason to interfere with the anti-corruption agency's work.

"The institution works professionally and accurately," he said, pledging the
government's full support and saying there would be no outside influence.

The Bank of Latvia said it could not comment on the investigation, but said
it had a "zero tolerance policy in respect of corruption and other illicit
activities".

Report

It said the bank's operations were unaffected by the investigation, and that
it would open on Monday as usual.

A number of banks in Latvia have been subject to investigations in recent
months.

In July 2017, two banks were fined for allowing their clients to circumvent
international sanctions preventing payments to North Korea.

Another, Norvik Bank, is embroiled in a dispute with the state over what it
calls "unfair, arbitrary, improperly motivated and unreasonable regulatory
treatment".

Precisely what that entails has not been disclosed.

It is unclear if either of the investigations are in any way linked to the
detention of Mr Rimsevics.

In his capacity as the governor of Latvia's central bank, Mr Rimsevic is
also a member of the European Central Bank's governing council.

Latvia became the 18th member of the Eurozone on 1 January 2014.--BBC

Sir Philip Green faces more pension questions from Frank Field

MPs are to scrutinise pension schemes at the retail empire of Topshop boss
Sir Philip Green.

Frank Field, chairman of the Work and Pensions Committee, says the move
follows reports Sir Philip is in talks to sell all or part of his business.

The Sunday Times claimed that the billionaire had held talks with Chinese
textiles giant Shandong Ruyi.

Mr Field, who clashed with Sir Philip over BHS's collapse, told the BBC Sir
Philip may have questions to answer.

Sir Philip's Arcadia group, whose brands also include Burton, Miss
Selfridge, Dorothy Perkins and Wallis, has 2,800 stores across the world.

However, his flagship brand, Topshop, has struggled against competition from
the rise of online rivals such as Boohoo and Asos.

According to latest figures, profits at Taveta, Arcadia's holding company,
fell 79% in 2016.

Last year, Sir Philip revamped management in a bid to revive the brands.

Sir Philip, aged 65, could not be reached for comment and the Sunday Times'
report has not been confirmed.

However, Mr Field said his committee would now "look at the state of Sir
Philip Green's pensions schemes and whether he can sell to whomever he wants
without having some very important questions or putting in some money into
the whole Arcadia pension pot".

Long-running feud

Speaking on the BBC's Today programme, Mr Field said: "We will investigate,
but the first stage is to try to find the facts," adding that the committee
would be writing to Arcadia "to find out what the position is" on the
reported sale.

The move risks reopening a long-running feud between Sir Philip and the
Labour MP, whose Commons committee last year investigated the sale and
subsequent collapse of BHS.

When the BBC asked Mr Fields whether it might look like a vendetta, he
replied: "I hope it doesn't."

The failed High Street chain was left with a huge pension deficit, although
Sir Philip later agreed a £363m cash settlement with the Pensions Regulator
to plug the gap.

Mr Field has criticised Sir Philip's actions, and last August the
businessman sent a legal warning to the MP.

Shandong Ruyi has been expanding in Europe. It has bought controlling stakes
in the Swiss luxury leather goods company Bally and London-listed fashion
manufacturer Bagir.

The Chinese company bought Acquascutum last year for £95m.--BBC

Trump India 'dinner and chat' property offer criticised

Investors in a luxury property development in India are being offered the
chance to have "conversation and dinner" with Donald Trump Jr.

The eldest son of the US president is visiting India this week and will
promote the Trump Towers development near Delhi.

Critics say the Trump family is cashing in on the president's name.

But Mr Trump Jr has said he has been building relationships in India for
years.

India importance

The full-page advertisement, which ran as the front cover of several Indian
newspapers over the weekend, featured a picture of Mr Trump Jr together with
text: "Trump is here. Are you invited?" and "Trump has arrived. Have you?"

Historian and biographer Patrick French was one of those criticising the
advert:

Presentational white space

The 47-storey towers in Gurgaon, close to the Indian capital, are being
developed by the Trump Organisation and local partners - with some
apartments selling for more than $1m.

The Trump Organisation, formerly headed up by President Donald Trump, is an
umbrella company for hundreds of investments in businesses including real
estate. Donald Jr is now its executive director.

India is the group's biggest property market outside the US, and in 2016 the
Trump family earned up to $3m (£2.14m) in royalties from ventures in India,
according to a financial disclosure report.

Trump brand defies comatose property market - Analysis by Devina Gupta, BBC
News, Delhi

Selling two towers with 254 ultra-luxury flats might seem like a tall order.
But if the brand name was not enough, offering buyers a chance to meet the
US president's son seems to be working.

The company claims to have already done $77m worth of deals, with an average
selling price of about $1.1m. This makes it the fastest-selling project in a
comatose Indian property market.

Changes in tax rules and attempts to clamp down on corruption cooled India's
real estate industry.

But in the case of the Trump Towers and its Indian partners that's not been
the case, as they use the Trump name to target wealthy Indians living both
inside and outside the country.

'Bizarre'

Daniel S Markey, who worked on South Asia policy for the State Department
during the George W Bush administration, said he was surprised by the
involvement of Mr Trump Jr in an Indian business deal.

"The idea that the president's son would be going and shilling the
president's brand at the same time Donald Trump is president and is managing
strategic and foreign relations with India - that is just bizarre," he told
the New York Times.

The Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (Crew) - a watchdog
group - added the Indian promotion to a list of instances it believes show
the Trump name being used for commercial gain.

In an interview last week, cited by The Guardian, Donald Trump Jr said he
had spent nearly a decade "cultivating relationships in India" and that the
firm was "now seeing the response of that effort".

He said his itinerary was designed to steer clear of politics.

However, he is listed as a keynote speaker at a global business conference,
which will be attended by Indian politicians, including Prime Minister
Narendra Modi and some of India's business elite.

Media captionIn 2014, Donald Trump told the BBC why he was so keen on
investment in India as he launched a Trump Tower in Mumbai.

President Trump handed over control of his business empire to Donald Trump
Junior and Eric Trump before his inauguration last year.

But the director of the US Office of Government Ethics said at the time that
this did not go far enough to ensure there would be no conflict of interest
between his politics and personal business.

Since taking office, critics have claimed the US president is continuing to
profit from his family's business interests.

They have also accused the Trump family of playing up its connections with
the White House in order to influence business deals.

In May last year, the company owned by the family of Jared Kushner, Donald
Trump's son-in-law, pulled out of a real estate presentation in China.

US President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi shake
hands while delivering joint statements in the Rose Garden of the White
House June 26, 2017Image copyrightAFP

Image caption

President Trump and Indian President Narendra Modi have forged a good
relationship

Kushner Companies had been scheduled to pitch opportunities to real estate
investors in China, but Mr Kushner's sister was widely criticised for using
his name in a pitch.

And in November last year, President Trump's daughter, Ivanka, was
criticised for speaking at a global entrepreneurs summit in Hyderabad, with
some saying the summit had become more about Ms Trump and her namesake brand
than the wider issue.--BBC

Anger at Google image search 'peace deal'

Google has made it more difficult for people to save pictures from its image
search product, as part of a "peace deal" with photo library Getty Images.

In 2017, Getty Images complained to the European Commission, accusing Google
of anti-competitive practices.

Google said it had removed some features from image search, including the
"view image" button.

Getty Images said it was a "significant milestone" but critics said the move
was "a step backwards".

Why did Getty Images complain?

Getty Images is a photo library that sells the work of photographers and
illustrators to businesses, newspapers and broadcasters.

It complained that Google's image search made it easy for people to find
Getty Images pictures and take them, without the appropriate permission or
licence.

Google's image search feature had a button labelled "view image" that would
open an individual picture in the web browser, making it easy to download.

People could find and take images - albeit not in high quality and usually
watermarked - without visiting the Getty Images website.

How has Google responded?

As part of its agreement with Getty Images, the "view image" button has been
removed.

While it is still easy for people to download an image, people are now
encouraged to trawl through the website it appears on to find it.

Google said the change would "help connect users and useful websites".

It also removed the "search by image" button, which was an easy way of
finding larger copies of photographs.

Getty Images said Google had also agreed to display image copyright
information more prominently next to results.

'Terrible idea'

"For those asking, yes, these changes came about in part due to our
settlement with Getty Images this week," Google said.

"They are designed to strike a balance between serving user needs and
publisher concerns, both stakeholders we value."

But critics said the changes were "awful", "user-unfriendly" and "degraded
the product".

"This is a terrible idea... you find an image on Google Images only for the
image to be nowhere in sight," said one user on Twitter. "Talk about
destroying your own successful service."

Many suggested people should try rival image search engines such as Bing,
which still have a "view image" button.

Others pointed out that right-clicking an image in Google's Chrome browser,
and clicking "open image in new tab" replicated the missing function.

In a statement, Getty Images said: "We are pleased to announce that after
working cooperatively with Google over the past months, our concerns are
being recognised and we have withdrawn our complaint."--BBC

US rejects China-led bid for Chicago Stock Exchange

The US has rejected a proposed merger between the Chicago Stock Exchange and
a Chinese-linked investor group.

The decision comes after more than two years of reviews by officials.

The tie-up was initially approved by the Committee on Foreign Investment in
the United States, pending further approval by the Securities and Exchange
Commission (SEC).

But US politicians, including President Trump, have said letting a Chinese
firm invest in a US exchange was a bad idea.

Under the proposal, the Chinese-led North America Casin Holdings group would
have bought CHX Holdings, which owns the Chicago Stock Exchange.

The exchange, which handles just 0.5% of US stock trades, had said the deal
would have provided the exchange with "vital capital".

That funding would have been used "to boost numerous initiatives designed to
benefit the city of Chicago, the US economy and market structure as a
whole".

Questions raised

While the investment got an initial vote of approval by SEC staff in August
2017, the commission ultimately ruled that the deal did not meet the rules
that govern US stock exchanges.

"The review process has also raised questions about whether the proposed
ownership structure will allow the commission to exercise sufficient
oversight of the exchange" the SEC said on Thursday.

The SEC's decision follows several other moves by US officials to deter
Chinese firms doing business in the US, or partnering up with US firms to
sell their goods in the country.

In January, China's telecommunications giant Huawei said it had been unable
to strike a deal to sell its new smartphones via a US carrier, widely
reported to be AT&T.

Also earlier this year, the US also blocked a $1.2bn (£880m) sale of money
transfer firm Moneygram to China's Ant Financial, the digital payments arm
of Alibaba.

It was the highest profile Chinese deal to be rejected by Washington since
Donald Trump came to power.

US politicians who had opposed the stock exchange deal said they applauded
the decision.

"This has been a long fight, and I'm grateful we now have a president who
recognises the national security threats of allowing a Chinese
government-affiliated company to own the Chicago Stock Exchange," Republican
congressman Robert Pittenger said in a statement.--BBC

INVESTORS DIARY 2018

Company

Event

Venue

Date & Time

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DISCLAIMER: This report has been prepared by Bulls ‘n Bears, a division of
Faith Capital (Pvt) Ltd for general information purposes only and does not
constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy or
subscribe for any securities. The information contained in this report has
been compiled from sources believed to be reliable, but no representation or
warranty is made or guarantee given as to its accuracy or completeness. All
opinions expressed and recommendations made are subject to change without
notice. Securities or financial instruments mentioned herein may not be
suitable for all investors. Securities of emerging and mid-size growth
companies typically involve a higher degree of risk and more volatility than
the securities of more established companies. Neither Faith Capital nor any
other member of Bulls ‘n Bears nor any other person, accepts any liability
whatsoever for any loss howsoever arising from any use of this report or its
contents or otherwise arising in connection therewith. Recipients of this
report shall be solely responsible for making their own independent
investigation into the business, financial condition and future prospects of
any companies referred to in this report. Other  Indices quoted herein are
for guideline purposes only and sourced from third parties.

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