Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 26 July 2018

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Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 26 July 2018

 


 

 


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*  South Africa's Nedbank sees up to 28 pct rise in H1 profit

*  South Africa cannot afford major nuclear expansion: top ANC official

*  South Africa's ruling party wants private investment in Eskom

*  Court reinstates Kenya Re's chief executive - Business Daily

*  Amazon expands in Cape Town, stepping up cloud rivalry with Microsoft

*  Egypt's economy to grow 5.2 percent in FY 2018-19: economists

*  US carmakers hit by tariffs disputes

*  China says there will be 'no winner' in global trade war

*  Facebook's shares tumble as growth disappoints

*  The precious metal sparking a new gold rush

*  Sky profits up as the battle over ownership continues

*  Qualcomm axes NXP deal after failing to get Chinese approval

*  Trump: US and EU agree to work towards lower trade barriers

*  Australian media giants Nine and Fairfax agree to merge

 

 

 


 <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> 

 


 

Karo launches $4.2 bln Zimbabwe project, has several funding options

MHONDORO-NGEZI, Zimbabwe (Reuters) - Zimbabwe’s Karo Mining Holdings has a
range of options for securing funding for its $4.2 billion platinum mining
venture, a company official said on Tuesday, citing bank finance, equity or
money from shareholder Tharisa Plc.

 

Located in the Mhondoro-Ngezi platinum belt, west of Harare, where Impala
Platinum Holdings has operations, the project will include a coal mine and
power station and should employ 15,000 people when fully implemented.

 

The mining project officially launched on Tuesday will create Zimbabwe’s
largest integrated platinum mining and refinery operation. President
Emmerson Mnangagwa sees it as a flagship investment that underscores
Harare’s readiness to open up to foreign investors following the end of
Robert Mugabe’s 38-year rule.

 

Michelle Taylor, Tharisa’s chief operations officer, said Karo would decide
on an actual funding model once it completes a feasibility study to quantify
the platinum resources next year.

 

She, however, said Karo would replicate Tharisa’s funding model in South
Africa, which was made up of bank loans and equity.

 

“We will have many avenues of finance that will be either through project
finance, it maybe through third party investors at each of the project level
or alternatively it could be further funding from Tharisa as the group
company,” Taylor said.

 

Karo Mining is chaired by investor Loucas Pouroulis, the founder of
London-listed Tharisa, which has chrome and platinum operations in South
Africa’s Bushveld. Tharisa bought a 26.8 percent shareholding in Karo to
increase its exposure in Zimbabwe.

 

Under the investment agreement, Karo Mining Holdings will own 50 percent of
the platinum company, Karo Platinum, while the remainder will be held by a
government-owned investment vehicle.

 

Karo will also own 75 percent of the refining, power generation and coal
mining units.

 

Karo’s country manager Josephat Zimba said after discussions with Zimbabwean
government, his company would now build a 300 megawatt (MW) solar power
plant near its operations instead of a 600 MW coal-fired plant as initially
announced.

 

Karo will open its first of four open pit mines in 2020 and at its peak
expects to produce 1.4 million ounces of platinum, more than twice
Zimbabwe’s current total output. The base and precious metal refineries will
have capacity to toll refine another 600,000 ounces.

 

 

 

 

 


 <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> 

 


 

South Africa cannot afford major nuclear expansion: top ANC official

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa cannot afford large-scale expansion of
its nuclear power fleet but would still be open to future nuclear deals with
Russia, African National Congress Treasurer General Paul Mashatile said on
Thursday.

 

Mashatile said the government would not take the “Big Bang approach” to
nuclear expansion. He was speaking at a business breakfast on the sidelines
of a BRICS summit in Johannesburg.

 

 

South Africa's ruling party wants private investment in Eskom

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa’s ruling party wants greater private
investment in struggling state-owned power utility Eskom, African National
Congress Treasurer General Paul Mashatile said on Thursday.

 

Mashatile also said the ruling party was holding discussions about splitting
up Eskom’s operations. He was speaking during a business breakfast on the
sideline of a BRICS summit in Johannesburg.

 

Cash-strapped Eskom reported a 2.3 billion rand ($175 million) loss for the
financial year which ended in March.

 

($1 = 13.1275 rand)

 

 

 

Court reinstates Kenya Re's chief executive - Business Daily

NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenya’s employment and labour relations court has
reinstated Kenya Reinsurance Corp’s sacked chief executive Jadiah Mwarania,
the Business Daily newspaper reported on Wednesday.

 

The company, which is commonly known as Kenya Re, offers re-insurance
services to firms across Africa and the Middle East. The chairman of its
board said in March that Jadiah Mwarania, a 27-year veteran at the company,
was sacked for non-performance.

 

Mwarania moved court to challenge the sacking and the judge ruled in his
favour last week, the paper reported. It quoted his lawyer Judith Guserwa
saying Mwarania had resumed work on Monday this week.

 

The chief executive was not immediately available for comment.

 

 

Court reinstates Kenya Re's chief executive - Business Daily

NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenya’s employment and labour relations court has
reinstated Kenya Reinsurance Corp’s sacked chief executive Jadiah Mwarania,
the Business Daily newspaper reported on Wednesday.

 

The company, which is commonly known as Kenya Re, offers re-insurance
services to firms across Africa and the Middle East. The chairman of its
board said in March that Jadiah Mwarania, a 27-year veteran at the company,
was sacked for non-performance.

 

Mwarania moved court to challenge the sacking and the judge ruled in his
favour last week, the paper reported. It quoted his lawyer Judith Guserwa
saying Mwarania had resumed work on Monday this week.

 

The chief executive was not immediately available for comment.

 

 

Amazon expands in Cape Town, stepping up cloud rivalry with Microsoft

CAPE TOWN (Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc is expanding its presence in the
emerging tech hub of Cape Town, upping the ante in its regional battle with
cloud computing rival Microsoft Corp.

 

Amazon will be the sole tenant in a new, modern eight-story office building
that’s nearing completion in the South African city, multiple sources
familiar with the project told Reuters. The company is advertising dozens of
jobs in Cape Town, which played a key role in the early development of its
Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud-computing business.

 

The adverts include one for a software development engineer that says Amazon
is assembling a team for a “green-field project” dealing with machine
learning, big data analysis and cloud computing, which are among the
fastest-growing areas in the technology industry.

 

The company’s expansion shows how fierce competition in the cloud business
and rising demand for computing power are driving activity even in
relatively undeveloped corners of the technology universe.

 

AWS is the global leader in cloud computing with 32 percent of the market,
versus 16 percent for second-placed Microsoft in the first quarter of 2018,
according to research firm Canalys. Microsoft has been growing faster.

 

The global cloud infrastructure services market was worth nearly $55 billion
in 2017 and is expected to exceed $155 billion by 2020, Canalys said. AWS
accounted for 73 percent of Amazon’s $1.9 billion operating profit in the
first quarter, but just 11 percent of its revenue.

 

Amazon’s new Cape Town building is due for completion in August, according
to a source familiar with the matter. It sits near an existing Amazon
technical centre and customer support operation.

 

Amazon did not offer details about the new building in Cape Town, or what
its function might be.

 

“As more South African customers and partners continue to choose AWS as
their cloud provider we continue to hire more staff into our offices in Cape
Town and Johannesburg,” Geoff Brown, AWS’ Sub-Saharan Africa regional
manager, told Reuters in a statement.

 

In another sign of Amazon’s cloud-computing drive in South Africa, it is
offering start-ups free cloud trials for one year, according to local
entrepreneur Tumi Menyatswe - a deal that prompted her to switch to AWS from
Google’s cloud.

 

“This allows me to focus on my business and to grow until I can pay them,”
said Menyatswe, CEO of two-year-old business Minderz, which pairs pet owners
with people able to look after cats and dogs during holidays.

 

EDGE IN AFRICA

It is difficult to measure the relative success of the big cloud-computing
players in Africa, as they do not break out financial results for the
continent. However, according to analysts, data centres are one measure of
growth.

 

Despite its history on the continent, Amazon has yet to build a data centre
in Africa. Microsoft, by contrast, announced last year that it was building
two data centres in South Africa, one in Cape Town and one in Johannesburg,
both due to launch later this year.

 

Microsoft said in a statement that the plans were on track but would not
specify when the data centres would be launched in 2018.

 

Local data centres offer advantages, in part by reducing “latency”, or
delays, in data transmission. “Closer is almost always better,” said Carl
Brooks, an analyst at 451 Research.

 

Clifford De Wit, former chief innovation officer at Microsoft South Africa,
said a local data centre was a big advantage.

 

“Having the actual data centre close has so many implications,” said De Wit,
now chief technology officer at start-up Dexterity Digital. He cited privacy
regulations that require banks and some other companies to store data
locally, among other benefits.

 

Amazon’s Brown told Reuters that South Africa was “one of the many
possibilities that we are currently looking at” globally for opening a new
data centre.

 

He said the company launched new “Edge” locations -infrastructure that
boosts transmission speeds from primary data centres outside the continent -
in Johannesburg and Cape Town in the past two months. This will reduce
latency for South African customers and bring other benefits, he said.

 

Famous for its Table Mountain and sandy beaches, Cape Town is emerging as a
continental tech hub, with some 35,000 people employed in the sector,
according to Wesgro, a trade and investment agency. The city boasts one of
the largest publicly available fibre optic networks in Africa, local
economic development officials say.

 

Amazon has played a key role in the city’s internet industry from the start.
Two South Africans, Chris Pinkham and Willem van Biljon, led a small Cape
Town-based team that developed the key technical underpinnings of AWS, a
software architecture known as EC2, and helped build the business plan for
the service.

 

“We knew it was going to have a large impact,” Van Biljon, who left Amazon
more than a decade ago and still lives in Cape Town, told Reuters. “The rate
at which the growth occurred outstripped even our best expectations.”

 

 

Egypt's economy to grow 5.2 percent in FY 2018-19: economists

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt’s economy will grow 5.2 percent in the fiscal year
that began in July, economists said in a Reuters poll, as Cairo pushes ahead
with economic reforms that have strained millions of Egyptians living under
the poverty line.

 

The reforms imposed under a 2016 IMF-backed austerity plan tied to a $12
billion loan programme have revived economic growth in the Arab world’s most
populous country following years of political turmoil.

 

The Reuters poll of 13 economists put expected growth at an average of 5.2
percent for the 2018/19 fiscal year, below a government projection of 5.8
percent.

 

A median forecast of 12 respondents was for 5.5 percent growth in the
2019-20 fiscal year.

 

“Looking further ahead, Egypt’s commitment to the IMF reform programme and
the authorities’ ability to follow through with the difficult reforms will
be key to unlocking Egypt’s growth potential,” said Nadene Johnson, an
economist at NKC African Economics.

 

“The country has made significant progress under the IMF loan programme thus
far and therefore Egypt’s medium-term economic growth prospects remain
strong,” she told Reuters.

 

The IMF maintained its previous 5.5 percent projection for Egypt’s GDP
growth in the 2018-2019 fiscal year, driven mainly by a recovery in tourism
and rising natural gas output.

 

Johnson said the economy still faced structural challenges that would
require further reforms, including high unemployment, labour market
inefficiencies and weak healthcare and education levels.

 

“Efforts to develop the private sector and reduce the role of the state will
be essential to significantly reduce unemployment (especially amongst the
youth),” she said.

 

 

INFLATION

The Reuters poll also put annual urban consumer price inflation at 14.2
percent for the current fiscal year, down from a previous prediction of 20.9
percent.

 

Economists polled expected inflation to drop to 12.2 percent in the 2019/20
fiscal year.

 

“We expect inflation to remain elevated largely due to recent subsidy cuts.
As such, pressure on household discretionary income may persist in the near
term, in our view,” said Bilal Khan, a senior economist at Standard
Chartered PLC.

 

A currency float in 2016 drove inflation up to record highs, but with a
cooling base effect the rate has been on a steady decline since, hitting
11.4 percent in May, its lowest since April 2016.

 

In June, inflation climbed back up to 14.4 percent following fuel and
electricity subsidy cuts that hit the economy sooner than expected.

 

The central bank last month kept its deposit and lending rates unchanged at
16.75 and 17.75 percent respectively, over concerns inflation will rise
after the latest austerity measures.

 

Six economists forecast overnight lending rates at around 17 percent in
fiscal year 2018-19, but expected them to drop to 15 percent in the
following fiscal year.

 

In a research note on Sunday, Emirates NBD, Dubai’s largest lender, said
Egypt had proven to be comparatively resilient to foreign investors’ exit
from emerging markets in recent months.

 

“We expect that with the economy in a more stable position, efforts will
turn to normalising policy and boosting growth,” the bank said.

 

Emirates NBD says it expects there is room for Egypt’s central bank to cut
interest rates by 100 basis points before the end of the calendar year.

 

 

 

US carmakers hit by tariffs disputes

Three major automakers have warned that changes to trade policies are
hurting performance.

 

Ford and General Motors lowered profit forecasts for 2018, citing higher
steel and aluminium prices caused by new US tariffs.

 

Fiat Chrysler also slashed its 2018 revenue outlook, after sales in China
slumped as buyers postponed purchases in anticipation of lower car tariffs.

 

Shares in all three companies fell after they reported results.

 

General Motors shares ended the day about 5% lower, while Fiat Chrysler
shares sank about 11%.

 

Shares in Ford, which reported its earnings to investors results later in
the day, dropped about 4% in after hours trade.

 

Harley-Davidson warns Trump-EU trade war will harm business

US faces retaliation if car tariffs go ahead

Ford said tariffs, including on steel and aluminium, could cost it up to
$1.6bn (£1.2bn), while General Motors said higher metals prices would add
about $600m-$700m to costs.

 

General Motors chief executive Mary Barra said the firm had anticipated
higher costs this year, but "the challenge has become significantly greater
than we expected".

 

At Fiat Chrysler, executives said fixed price contracts have helped to
shield it from some of the impact of higher metals prices, but they warned
those expenses would rise in 2019.

 

'Uncertain and volatile environment'

Ms Barra said the firm had been in frequent contact with the White House
about how trade policies would affect its business.

 

In addition to the metals tariffs, the Trump administration is considering
placing new duties on foreign vehicles and car parts.

 

Carmakers are also grappling with questions about the renegotiation of the
North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta).

 

General Motors said it is also worried that trade tensions could eventually
put buyers in China off American brands. China is GM's biggest market after
North America.

 

"We are in a very uncertain and volatile environment at this time," said GM
chief financial officer Chuck Stevens.

 

 

The warnings came amid disappointing quarterly results.

 

Ford revenues slipped by 2.3% to $38.9bn, while profits nearly halved as
sales in China fell and it halted some production due to a fire at a key
parts supplier.

 

At GM, sales and revenue fell almost 1% to $36.8bn, despite gains in the US,
where the number of vehicles sold to dealerships increased by 4.6% amid
increased demand for pickup trucks.

 

The firm reported profit of about $2.4bn, down roughly 2.8% year-on-year.

 

Fiat Chrysler revenue increased 4% in the quarter to almost 29bn euros, but
profits tumbled by 35%.

 

The firm said it expected sales in China to rebound, but faced future
challenges as new emissions rules in the country come into effect.--BBC

 

 

 

China says there will be 'no winner' in global trade war

China has told developing nations there would be no winner in a global trade
war.

 

Chinese President Xi Jinping called on Brazil, Russia, India, China and
South Africa (BRICS) to reject protectionism.

 

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa also warned of the impact that
tariff threats by US President Donald Trump would have on developing
countries.

 

They were speaking at a three-day meeting of BRICS leaders in Johannesburg,
South Africa.

 

The BRICS countries comprise more than 40% of the global population but have
never worked as a co-ordinated economic bloc.

 

"We should be resolute in rejecting unilateralism," Xi said at the opening
ceremony. "A global trade war should be rejected because there will be no
winner.

 

"Unilateralism and protectionism are mounting, dealing a severe blow to
multilateralism. China will continue to develop itself with its door wide
open."

 

Collateral damage

Xi also said the collective rise of emerging markets and developing
countries "is unstoppable and will make global development more balanced".

 

Last week, President Trump said he was ready to impose tariffs on all goods
imported from China - worth $500bn (£380bn).

 

Mr Ramaphosa said: "We are concerned by the rise in unilateral measures that
are incompatible with World Trade Organization rules and are worried about
the impact of these measures, especially on developing countries."

 

South African Trade Minister Rob Davies said the country was suffering
collateral damage from the US tariffs on steel and aluminium. He said 7,000
South Africans work in jobs affected by the metals tariffs and attempts to
get an exemption from the US government had been unsuccessful.

 

An additional 22 countries are taking part in this week's summit, 19 of them
from Africa.

 

After the opening ceremony President Ramaphosa announced that China had
promised investments worth $14.7bn into South Africa.--BBC

 

 

 

Facebook's shares tumble as growth disappoints

Facebook shares tumbled by more than 20% on Wednesday after the social media
network's revenue and user growth fell short of investor expectations.

 

The firm, which is facing backlash for its handling of fake news and
privacy, said it had 2.23 billion monthly active users at the end of June.

 

This was up 11% on June 2017, the slowest growth in more than two years.

 

It also warned investors that spending growth would outstrip revenue gains
in 2019, pinching profits.

 

Facebook said it expected revenue gains to slow, as people make use of new
options to limit advertising and less profitable overseas markets drive
growth.

 

The firm also plans to spend billions to improve the way it monitors
content, tracks advertisers and treats user data - areas where it has faced
regulator scrutiny.

 

The firm, which owns Instagram and WhatsApp, is also investing in new
features, such as virtual reality and video.

 

Facebook will not remove fake news - but will 'demote' it

Instagram pins hopes on IGTV's vertical video

Shares in Facebook initially fell about 12% in after-hours trade in New
York, but losses accelerated as the firm outlined its spending plans.

 

Daniel Ives, chief strategy officer at GBH Insights, said the firm's
forecast was "nightmareish".

 

"They gave a very disappointing outlook for the second half of the year and
2019 and that's going to significantly weigh on the stock in the near term,"
he said.

 

This is hardly Armageddon for Mark Zuckerberg.

 

On the whole, people are apparently not deserting Facebook. Monthly active
users - ie those who interact at least once a month - were steady in the US,
down ever-so-slightly in Europe, and up everywhere else.

 

But for a company used to growing those numbers handsomely throughout the
year, a lack of meaningful growth will cause concern, if not panic.

 

Sadly the company doesn't break down its Europe numbers into anything more
granular - which means we can't see the effect the Cambridge Analytica
scandal had on British users.

 

Analysts tell me they consider Cambridge Analytica a "blip" in Facebook's
history, though another quarter like this one would be even more impactful
than what we saw during Wednesday's after hours trading.

 

During its earnings call, Facebook warned investors to brace themselves: it
doesn't expect revenue growth to improve for at least the rest of this year.

 

Facebook profits in the quarter were $5.1bn, up 31% from the same period in
2017.

 

Revenue was $13.2bn, up 42% year-on-year, but expenses grew even faster,
rising 50% to about $7.4bn.

 

User growth has flattened in the US and Canada, key markets for the company
due to the high prices ads there command.

 

The number of EU users fell amid the rollout of tighter privacy regulations,
though Facebook continued to attract new users in countries like Indonesia.

 

Mr Ives said the popularity of Instagram should help Facebook to blunt
fallout from challenges at its namesake network.

 

In February, the research firm eMarketer estimated that the number of
Facebook users under the age of 25 would fall by about 2 million this year.

 

But it forecast that Instagram, which is owned by Facebook, would add about
1.6 million users in that age range in 2018.--BBC

 

 

The precious metal sparking a new gold rush

Gold once lured prospectors to the American west - but now it's cobalt that
is sparking a rush.

 

Cobalt mining has not happened at any sort of scale in the United States for
decades.

 

But a handful of mining companies are now staking claims at sites in Idaho,
Montana and Alaska in search of the silvery blue mineral.

 

They are striking examples of the growing interest in cobalt - a key
component in the lithium-ion batteries that power electronic devices and
electric cars.

 

In the past, cobalt supply depended on the markets for copper and nickel,
more valuable metals that are typically extracted alongside cobalt.

 

But with cobalt prices on the up and consumption projected to rise by
between 8% to 10% a year, its status as a by-product has started to change,
says George Heppel, senior analyst at research firm CRU Group in London.

 

About 300 companies worldwide are now on the hunt for cobalt deposits, CRU
estimates.

 

Mining giants such as Glencore are also boosting production in the
Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where most of the world's cobalt is
found.

 

In the US, limited cobalt production started in 2014 for the first time in
about four decades.

 

Canada-based First Cobalt bought a mine in Idaho this spring and hopes to
get it operating in about three years.

 

Cobalt, rather than copper or another metal, is its main focus for the mine,
says chief executive Trent Mell.

 

"Miners like us have never actually gone looking for cobalt," he says.
"There's a lot of cobalt in the world. As miners, we're behind."

 

Global Trade

More from the BBC's series taking an international perspective on trade:

 

The deepening China-Israel trade ties

How the US is waging its trade war with China

Australia's mega-mines

Is the European Union a 'protectionist racket'?

Cobalt consumption is expected to exceed 122,000 tonnes this year, up from
about 75,000 tonnes in 2011, according to CRU.

 

The price per pound (the measure used for cobalt) has risen above $40 this
year, compared with about $20 in early 2011, and is now at about $32.

 

Although increased production is likely to help meet demand in the next few
years, analysts say shortages loom by as soon as 2022.

 

The market dynamics have helped to build confidence, says Fiona Grant
Leydier of eCobalt, which has revived plans for its own cobalt mine in Idaho
that were first mooted in the 1990s.

 

The firm, previously called Formation Metals, now expects production to
start towards the end of next year.

 

"The fundamentals for the cobalt market are so strong in a way that they
have never been before," says Ms Grant Leydier. "We have a lot of interest
from financiers, from potential partners and from potential employees."

 

After ore containing cobalt is mined using explosives, it is taken to be
refined and turned into metal, blends or chemical concentrates for use in
products such as jet engines, drones and batteries.

 

More than 60% of the world's cobalt is mined in the DRC, while China is the
world's leading producer of refined cobalt.

 

But as demand for cobalt has risen, so have concerns in the US about its
reliance on imports.

 

In February, the US added cobalt to a list of 35 minerals deemed critical to
the economy.

 

Companies active in the US say they hope their "made in America" status will
help speed up government approval for their plans and set their product
apart from imports.

 

They say concerns about corruption and child labour at mines in the DRC have
also created pressure for buyers to find new sources of supply.

 

"There's a few places where you can get ethically mined cobalt and we want
to be one of them," says Michael Hollomon, chief executive of Missouri
Cobalt. "We would like to think that that gives us an advantage."

 

The company plans to start producing cobalt from an old lead mine in Madison
County, Missouri this summer. It has an estimated 35 million pounds of
recoverable cobalt, making it the largest such reserve in North America.

 

Nevertheless, the realities of where large, high-quality cobalt deposits are
found globally mean the US will never be able to completely stop importing
cobalt.

 

In fact, analysts expect the DRC's share of global production to increase as
mining firms boost their activity there.

 

China is also expected to remain the world's dominant player for refining
cobalt, even as new facilities start operating in Europe, North America and
elsewhere in Asia.

 

Even though US companies remain a tiny fraction of the market, they may find
they are able to command a premium price for their materials, says Caspar
Rawles, an analyst at Benchmark Mineral Intelligence.

 

"Every company in the supply chain is looking to reduce their geopolitical
risk, so I think any project outside of the DRC is in a strong position in
that sense," he says.

 

The challenges remain significant, with the cost of setting up a mine
running to hundreds of millions of dollars. The volatile price of cobalt
presents another uncertainty.

 

Meanwhile, the rising cost of cobalt is pushing companies to find ways to
reduce reliance on the mineral.

 

Gerbrand Ceder at the University of California, Berkeley is conducting
research into ways of creating stable batteries that do not need large
amounts of cobalt.

 

However, he says deploying such technology at scale - especially in cars -
is at least five to 10 years away. "I think there will be quite a lot of
cobalt used for some time to come."--BBC

 

 

Sky profits up as the battle over ownership continues

Sky, the pan-European satellite broadcaster at the centre of a takeover
battle, has seen profits rise as it attracted new subscribers.

 

Sky has reported pre-tax profits up 7.5% over the past twelve months to the
end of June and added more than 500,000 customers across Europe.

 

The positive results will whet the appetites of US cable giant Comcast and
entertainment group Disney.

 

Both are hoping to win control of the UK-based news-to-sport provider.

 

Currently Comcast is leading the race to buy Sky, with a bid that values the
group at £26bn.

 

Sky is 39% owned by Twentieth Century Fox, the media group controlled by
Australian media mogul Rupert Murdoch.

 

Fox has agreed to sell its entertainment assets to Disney, including its
stake in Sky, and has entered into a bidding war with Comcast to purchase
the 61% of Sky it doesn't yet own.

 

Sky has nearly 23 million pay-TV subscribers in the UK and Ireland, Italy,
Austria and Germany and would give Comcast a major foothold in the European
market.

 

With broadcasters under increasing pressure from streaming platforms such as
Netflix and Amazon, Sky is an attractive target with its range of exclusive
deals for Premier League football as well as dramas such as Games of
Thrones.

 

Additionally, Sky's broadband and telephony mean there is scope to sell more
services to customers who already subscribe to its pay-TV offerings.--BBC

 

 

 

Qualcomm axes NXP deal after failing to get Chinese approval

Chipmaker Qualcomm has abandoned its $44bn bid for Dutch rival NXP
Semiconductors after failing to secure approval from Chinese regulators.

 

A deadline for the transaction, which needed China's sign-off, was set for
11:59pm (03:59 GMT) New York time under the agreement.

 

The deal had already won the necessary regulatory approvals in eight of nine
countries.

 

It would have been one of the biggest deals between technology companies.

 

It comes as US-China trade tensions have escalated, prompting speculation
this latest development is a retaliation to US tariffs.

 

"We intend to terminate our purchase agreement to acquire NXP when the
agreement expires at the end of the day today, pending any new material
developments," said Steve Mollenkopf, CEO of Qualcomm, in the company's
third quarter fiscal results.

 

Qualcomm needed China's approval because it accounted for nearly two-thirds
of its revenue last year, according to Reuters.

 

The latest results showed revenues jumping 6% to $5.6bn.

 

US President Donald Trump recently ramped up a trade war with China,
threatening tariffs on all $500bn of Chinese imports into the United States.

 

Given the US buys nearly four times as much from China as it sells to them,
analysts have said China could find alternative ways to fight back.

 

Qualcomm's experience suggests this could already be happening.

 

Mr Mollenkopf also said the company intended to pursue a stock repurchase
program of up to $30 billion "to deliver significant value to our
stockholders" upon the termination of the agreement.

 

Meanwhile, Qualcomm will have to pay a $2bn termination fee to NXP.--BBC

 

 

 

Trump: US and EU agree to work towards lower trade barriers

The US has agreed to work towards lowering trade barriers with the European
Union, Donald Trump said on Wednesday after a meeting with European
Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker.

 

The two agreed to launch a "new phase" in relations and work towards zero
tariffs, the US president said.

 

They also agreed to increase trade in services and agriculture, including
greater US soy bean exports to the EU.

 

The agreements come amid heightened tensions between the US and EU.

 

The two leaders defused what had threatened to become a trade war between
the two blocs, fuelled by tariffs set by Mr Trump on European steel and
aluminium exports, and threats to expand the tariffs to cars.

 

The relationship between the US and Europe had been further frayed by Mr
Trump's apparent fondness for the Russian President Vladimir Putin and
attacks on Nato and the EU.

 

What is a trade war and why should I worry?

Trade tariffs: Real war or phoney war

US carmakers hit by trade disputes

What was agreed?

Speaking from the Rose Garden at the White House, Mr Trump declared a "new
phase in the relationship" between the two trading blocs, calling it a "very
big day for free and fair trade".

 

"We are starting the negotiation right now but we know very much where it's
going," he said.

 

Mr Juncker thanked the president and hailed a "good, constructive meeting".

 

The EU would increase purchases of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the
United States, President Trump said, making them a "massive buyer".

 

He added that there would be an increase on trade in services and
agriculture.

 

"The EU is going to start to buy a lot more soy beans - they are a
tremendous market - buy a lot of soy beans from our farmers, primarily in
the Midwest," Mr Trump said.

 

The pair also agreed to hold off imposing any further tariffs while
negotiations take place - something Mr Juncker called a "major concession"
by the president - and to work towards reform of the World Trade
Organization.

 

Mr Juncker said striking a deal on zero tariffs on industrial goods was his
"main intention".

 

"I had one intention today, to make a deal, and we made a deal. We have a
number of areas on which to work together," he said.

 

No announcement was made on auto tariffs, and it was not clear whether any
progress had been made on resolving the issue. Mr Trump had threatened to
impose 25% tariffs on European auto imports.

 

Mr Juncker said he and the president had agreed to reassess national
security barriers in "due time".

 

What's been the reaction to the agreement?

Governments and officials in Europe were quick to praise Mr Trump's
agreement with Mr Juncker.

 

On Twitter, EU trade official Cecilia Malmstrom said the two were "turning a
page" on trade, while German economy minister Peter Altmaier hailed it as a
"breakthrough".

 

However, others tempered the enthusiasm.

 

Speaking to The Guardian news website, Bart Oosterveld at the Atlantic
Council thinktank called the agreement the "resumption of some basic
dialogue", and said agreements on LNG and soybeans were not hugely
significant.

 

"The avoidance of disaster is not a success," he said.

 

How did we get here?

Mr Trump has imposed a 25% tariff on steel and 10% tariff on aluminium
products from the EU, Canada and Mexico on national security grounds -
something the EU is challenging at the World Trade Organization.

 

The US president has railed against what he believes are unfair trade
practices by US allies, and previously called the EU a "foe" on trade.

 

The EU has in turn retaliated with tariffs on iconic US goods ranging from
Harley Davidson motorbikes to bourbon.

 

Harley Davidson and US car manufacturers have recently warned of the
financial cost these tariffs are causing to their businesses.--BBC

 

 

 

Australian media giants Nine and Fairfax agree to merge

Australian media giants Nine Entertainment and Fairfax have agreed to merge,
creating what they say will be the nation's "largest integrated media
player".

 

The surprise deal, worth an estimated A$4bn (£2.25bn; $3bn), gives Nine
Entertainment a 51.1% stake. The new business will be called Nine.

 

Australia has a highly consolidated news media market.

 

The loss of the name Fairfax, a company founded in 1841, was lamented by
many.

 

The deal wraps in Nine's television network, one of the nation's biggest,
and Fairfax newspapers including The Sydney Morning Herald, Melbourne's The
Age and The Australian Financial Review.

 

It also includes Fairfax's many radio and digital assets, including news
websites in other cities and property listings business Domain.

 

Current and former Fairfax employees joined others in expressing sadness
about the deal.

 

The merger will create at least A$50m in cost savings over two years, the
companies said. They did not say if this would include job losses.

 

Fairfax chief executive Greg Hywood said: "There will be plenty of Fairfax
Media DNA in the merged company and the board."

 

The deal needs to be approved by shareholders and market regulators, but is
expected to be completed by the end of the year.

 

Media concentration

Australia relaxed its media ownership laws last year. Previously,
proprietors had been prevented from owning newspapers, radio and TV stations
in the same city - an arrangement to protect diversity.

 

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said the deal on Thursday had been made
possible by his government.

 

"[It] allows two strong Australian brands with great traditions to be able
to be more secure," he said.

 

Like other newspaper companies around the world, Fairfax has struggled
financially in recent years due to declining revenues.

 

Its board unanimously called on investors to approve the deal, arguing it
created "compelling value" for shareholders.

 

New York tabloid axes half of its staff

CBS to buy Australia's Ten Network

Are the Murdochs too powerful?

"Both Nine and Fairfax have played an important role in shaping the
Australian media landscape over many years," Nine chairman Peter Costello
said in a statement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

 

"The combination of our businesses and our people best positions us to
deliver new opportunities and innovations for our shareholders, staff and
all Australians in the years ahead."--BBC

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

 


 

INVESTORS DIARY 2018

 


Company

Event

Venue

Date & Time

 


 

 

 

 

 


NicozDiamond

shares delist from the ZSE

 

06/07/2018

 


Zimbabwe

Heroes’ Day

Zimbabwe

13/08/2018

 


Zimbabwe

Defence Forces Day

Zimbabwe

14/08/2018

 


The Harare Agricultural Show

The Harare Agricultural Show

The Harare Agricultural Show

August 27- September 1

 


 

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 


 <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> 

 


 

 


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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