Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 26 June 2018

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Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 26 June 2018

 


 

 


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*  South African rate hikes seen unlikely this year despite weaker rand

*  Ascendis Health to sell non-core assets in South Africa

*  Acacia Mining's Tanzania tax dispute drags on

*  Restructuring Eskom top of South Africa agenda-finmin Nene

*  Tunisia raises fuel prices, third hike this year

*  Ivory Coast aims to grind 1 million tonnes of cocoa beans by 2022

*  Algeria’s forex reserves fell by $7.3 billion in Jan-May - PM

*  Harley-Davidson to make more motorcycles outside the US

*  US stocks slide on escalating US-China trade tensions

*  Uber tells court 'we needed to change' in London licence appeal

*  Clarks boss resigns following investigation

*  Cancer patients face 'absurd' travel insurance costs

*  Countrywide shares fall nearly 30% on profit warning

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


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South African rate hikes seen unlikely this year despite weaker rand

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South African markets are pricing in the
possibility of an interest rate hike this year as the rand falls, even
though economists say this is unlikely as inflation expectations have not
breached the upper end of the central bank’s target range.

 

South Africa’s rand has slumped nearly 9 percent against the dollar year to
date, hurt by global risk-off sentiment and poor domestic economic data. It
fell to a 7-month low last week.

 

Capital Economics senior emerging markets economist John Ashbourne said the
currency fall has raised speculation that South African policymakers would
follow some emerging market countries that have started raising interest
rates.

 

Some have moved as a pick-up in their economy or other factors push up
inflation, while others are being forced to act to steady their currencies.

 

South Africa’s forward rate agreements are implying a 25 basis-point hike in
interest rates by the end of the year.

 

But a Reuters poll found last week that economists expect the South African
Reserve Bank to keep its repo rate unchanged at 6.5 percent until 2020.

 

“We think that markets are getting ahead of themselves by pricing in rate
hikes in South Africa... We do not think that this is likely,” Ashbourne
said in a note.

 

“Policymakers have explicitly said that they will not react to currency
moves until they see a lasting effect on domestic inflation. And the
pass-through between currency moves and inflation is weaker in South Africa
than in many other EMs.”

 

The central bank said in May it would maintain its vigilance to ensure
inflation remained within the 3 to 6 percent target range, and would adjust
the policy stance should the need arise.

 

The bank currently forecast CPI to average 5.1 percent in fourth quarter
2018, and 5.2 percent in the last quarters of 2019 and 2020. The next
interest rates decision and inflation forecasts are due on July 19.

 

South Africa’s consumer price inflation slowed to 4.4 percent year-on-year
in May as the rise in food prices eased.

 

“A weaker currency makes (the central bank) more fearful but it depends on
how it impacts inflation twelve months out,” Citi economist Gina Schoeman
said.

 

“We don’t think we will see rate hikes in 2018. It doesn’t mean there is no
risk of it, and the market is correct to price for that.”

 

Schoeman said rate hikes over the past five years happened when the
inflation forecast for twelve months out had breached 6 percent and stayed
above that for two or three quarters.

 

“So it has to not only breach 6 percent, it has to also breach it for a
sustainable amount of time. If it is not doing that, then we don’t have a
risk of interest rate hikes,” she said.

 

Mexico’s central bank raised its benchmark interest on Thursday in a bid to
counteract the effects of a peso slump and keep a downward inflation trend
on track.

 

Argentina, Turkey, India and Indonesia are among the other countries hiking
rates.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


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Ascendis Health to sell non-core assets in South Africa

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South African healthcare provider Ascendis Health
said on Monday it plans to dispose of smaller local non-core businesses as
part of a strategic review aimed at improving cash generation and enhancing
profitability.

 

Ascendis, which generates 60 percent of its profit outside South Africa,
said it will sell its sports nutrition business, its direct selling and
network marketing business as well a production plant in Johannesburg.

 

These three assets were deemed non-core or underperforming, Chief Executive
Thomas Thomsen said in a statement.

 

“In this strategic review process we have had to make difficult decisions
but realise they are imperative to strengthen our market position and grow
the company profitably,” Thomsen said.

 

The sale processes are underway and the proceeds will be reinvested to
improve organic revenue growth and financial metrics, Thomsen added.

 

Ascendis Sports Nutrition, with brands such as SSN, has a fragmented product
portfolio in South Africa, the company said. This has lead the group to
focus solely on its biggest sports nutrition brand, Scitec.

 

Hungary-based Scitec, which was acquired by Ascendis in 2016, is one of the
leading sports nutrition brands in Europe and exports products to more than
90 countries worldwide.

 

Ascendis, which also has operations in Spain, Cyprus, Romania and Australia,
spent 2016 focusing on offshore growth and expansion in order to diversify
exposure and risk to the South African economy.

 

In South Africa, as part of the strategic review, it will consolidate its
pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities in Gauteng province.

 

“We are acutely aware of the impact of these decisions on our people and the
affected employees will have the option to be transferred to the new owners
to ensure job retention,” Thomsen said.

 

 

 

Acacia Mining's Tanzania tax dispute drags on

LONDON (Reuters) - Acacia Mining said on Monday its majority shareholder
Barrick Gold would not provide a new deadline for the completion of talks to
end a crippling dispute over taxes in Tanzania after failing to meet a
mid-year target to do so.

 

Barrick, which is negotiating on Acacia’s behalf with the Tanzanian
government, had previously said it would provide an agreement for approval
by Acacia’s board by the end of June.

 

But in its own statement on Sunday, Barrick said talks continued and backed
away from providing a new deadline “in order to allow the process to
continue in an orderly manner.”

 

Barrick, which owns 63.9 percent of Acacia, struck a framework deal in
October with Tanzania that was supposed to resolve the tax dispute. It would
see Acacia pay $300 million to the government, hand over a 16 percent stake
in its mines and split “economic benefits” from operations.

 

However, Acacia has said any agreement would need to be reviewed by its
board.

 

Tanzania is making sweeping changes to its mining industry to reap more
benefits from its minerals and last year slapped Acacia, its biggest gold
miner, with a $190 billion bill in unpaid taxes, penalties and interest.

 

Acacia, which has lost nearly 80 percent of its value since an ban on
unprocessed ore in March 2017, denies all wrongdoing.

 

Acacia shares were down 2 percent in early trade on Monday.

 

“The company will continue to engage with Barrick to seek to understand
Barrick’s expectations for the future conduct and a timetable for the
completion of its discussions with the government on Tanzania,” Acacia said
in a statement.

 

 

 

 

Restructuring Eskom top of South Africa agenda-finmin Nene

LONDON (Reuters) - Restructuring state-run power firm Eskom is “on top of
the agenda” for South Africa, the country’s finance minister Nhlanhla Nene
said on Friday, though he said recent outages likely had very little impact
on the economy.

 

Africa’s most industrialised economy suffered power outages earlier in June
because of what Eskom said was an “illegal protest action” by South Africa’s
National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) and two other unions.

 

The last time there were controlled power outages in 2015, economic output
suffered.

 

“It should be very minimal this time round, because... it also was related
to the impasse in the industrial space,” Nene told reporters on the
sidelines of an Africa conference hosted by Standard Bank.

 

“Beyond the discussions and the negotiations on the salaries, what is
important is actually beginning to restructure Eskom,” he added. “It is on
top of our agenda to get Eskom on a sustainable platform.”

 

Discussions on the issue of wages with unions were continuing, Nene said,
but asked if the government had the funds satisfy unions’ wage demands, he
replied that the money “does not exist”.

 

“What exists is the goodwill and political will also to have an honest,
open, frank discussion how to best take this forward in the interest of
South Africa.”

 

Nene also said South Africa was continuously trying to remind major central
banks around the world of the effects their monetary policy had on other
economies.

 

Emerging markets have been roiled by a sell-off in recent weeks, which
accelerated after a U.S. Federal Reserve meeting that raised the prospect of
the central bank increasing interest rates faster than previously expected.

 

Due to its high external financing needs, South Africa is more vulnerable
than other emerging economies to a global rise in borrowing costs.

 

“We are just trying to appeal to the developed economies, to the U.S. in
particular, to be much more cautious,” he said.

 

“We should all be alive to the spillovers... be it monetary or fiscal, to
other parties,” he said. “But the recent (rise in the) level of
protectionism has led to a complete undermining of multilateralism.”

 

Nene added that South Africa needed to build up its fiscal buffers to be
able to withstand any external shocks and that he expected the economy to
expand at 1.5 percent in 2018 despite the surprise contraction in the first
quarter.

 

 

 

Tunisia raises fuel prices, third hike this year

TUNIS (Reuters) - Tunisia raised fuel prices on Friday by 4 percent, the
third hike this year as the government seeks to a cut budget deficit, a key
requirement of international lenders.

 

The price of a litre of petrol will rise to 1.925 Tunisian dinars ($0.741)
from 1.85 dinars, starting Saturday, the energy ministry said in a
statement. The two previous increases this year were in March and January.

 

The International Monetary Fund urged Tunisia this year to raise energy
prices and the retirement age to help curb the budget deficit and said any
further public wage hikes would be difficult to sustain given weak growth.

 

Fuel subsidies this year will rise from an expected 1.5 billion dinars ($578
million) to 4 billion dinars with the rise of world oil prices, economic
reforms minister Taoufik Rajhi said earlier this month. Tunisia has forecast
that the budget deficit will fall to 4.9 percent of gross domestic product
in 2018, from about 6 percent in 2017. 

 

Tunisia has dropped into a deep economic slump following the overthrow in
2011 of autocratic leader Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali.

 

Although its successful democratic transition since then contrasts with
other “Arab Spring” countries, nine governments have failed to cut the
budget deficit and revive an economy hit by a lack of investment.

 

($1 = 2.5980 Tunisian dinars)

 

 

 

Ivory Coast aims to grind 1 million tonnes of cocoa beans by 2022

YAMOUSSOUKRO, Ivory Coast (Reuters) - Top cocoa producer Ivory Coast could
grind 50 percent of its current output locally by 2022, boosted by fiscal
measures and incentives given to companies in the sector, the deputy head of
the Coffee Cocoa Council (CCC) marketing board said on Friday.

 

“Yes, it is possible to hit 1 million tonnes by 2020-2022 because of the
fiscal advantages the government has given to companies to help them invest
massively, and that is what is happening,” CCC deputy head Yao N’goran told
Reuters.

 

Ivory Coast has an installed grinding capacity of 712,000 tonnes. Increasing
that capacity and new grinding units will enable it to reach the target
within the next four years, N’goran said.

 

The government agreed a convention with multinational companies in the
sector including Cargill, Olam and Barry Callebaut in 2017, in which the
companies agreed to increase their bean grinding by 7.5 percent each, so as
to benefit from the government incentives.

 

Mariam Kone, executive secretary of the GEPEX, a lobby representing
multinational cocoa exporters and grinders, said nearly all companies had
signed the convention.

 

Kone added that for the target to be reached, it was necessary for the
government to give additional incentives.

 

“The Cocoa Coffee Council had promised to pay back our excess electricity
costs after power prices were increased inconsiderately a few years ago, so
far, we are still waiting for it,” Kone said.

 

    According Ivorian cocoa grinders, energy costs, the cost of importing
machinery, and getting qualified plant maintenance specialists, are factors
that make local grinding less attractive compared with options outside Ivory
Coast.

 

    “I think it can be done by 2022, but we will need more tax and other
incentives,” Loic Biardeau, Barry Callebaut managing director in Ivory
Coast, told Reuters.

 

“The cost of energy remains a negative factor compared with western
countries, so there are efforts to be made on that side,” he said.

 

 

Algeria’s forex reserves fell by $7.3 billion in Jan-May - PM

ALGIERS (Reuters) - Algeria’s foreign exchange reserves fell by $7.3 billion
in the first five months of this year and are expected to decline by $5
billion from now until the end of the year, Prime Minister Ahmed Ouyahia
said on Saturday.

 

“Reserves stood at $90 billion at the end of May and should decline to $85
billion by the end of 2018,” Ouyahia said after a meeting with members of
his National Rally for Democracy (RND) party on television.

 

Reserves were $97.3 billion in December 2017, down from $114.1 billion the
previous year, $144.1 billion in 2015 and $178 billion in 2014, when crude
oil prices started falling, until partly recovering this year.

 

Oil and gas earnings, which account for 95 percent of total exports and 60
percent of the state budget, fell to $33.6 billion in 2017 from $63 billion
in 2014.

 

Ouyahia said Algeria must make further efforts to cope with financial
problems caused by the loss of energy revenues.

 

 

 

Harley-Davidson to make more motorcycles outside the US

Harley-Davidson plans to shift some motorcycle production away from the US
to avoid the "substantial" burden of European Union tariffs.

 

Last week, the EU imposed retaliatory tariffs on US goods, including
bourbon, orange juice and motorcycles.

 

The measures are a response to new US duties on steel and aluminium imports.

 

Wisconsin-based Harley-Davidson said the increased cost from the tariffs
threaten its international sales, which it has been trying to expand.

 

EU tariffs on US goods come into force

Who is losing out from Trump's tariffs?

The company has assembly plants in Australia, Brazil, India and Thailand as
well as in the US.

 

It said it would raise investment in its international plants, though it did
not say which ones.

 

"To address the substantial cost of this tariff burden long-term,
Harley-Davidson will be implementing a plan to shift production of
motorcycles for EU destinations from the US to its international facilities
to avoid the tariff burden," the company said.

 

Harley-Davidson said it expected the ramp-up in production to take nine to
18 months.

 

US President Donald Trump tweeted his disappointment at Harvey-Davidson's
decision which he characterised as the company waving the white flag of
defeat.

 

The company's move is one of the most visible consequences of the trade
disputes triggered by Mr Trump's decision to levy tariffs on steel and
aluminium imports.

 

Mr Trump says the duties are necessary to protect the US steel and aluminium
industries, which are vital to national security.

 

They have drawn retaliation from the EU, Canada, Mexico, India and others
while driving up the cost of metals for manufacturers in the US.

 

US companies that range from boat-builders to nail manufacturers have warned
about the consequences of escalating trade tensions.

 

However, the tariffs have also helped to spur investment in US steel plants.

 

For example, British-owned GFG Alliance, has said it plans to invest $5bn
over several years to reopen a shuttered steel plant in South Carolina. The
firm says the move will put about 125 people back to work "immediately".

 

'Only sustainable option'

Harley-Davidson said the EU's tariffs would add, on average, $2,200 (£1,660)
to each bike exported to Europe from the US as the import tax increases from
6% to 31%.

 

Harley, which sold nearly 40,000 motorcycles in Europe last year, said it
planned to absorb those costs rather than pass them onto customers and risk
hurting sales.

 

Shares in the company sank almost 6% after the firm announced its decision,
which is expected to add between $30m and $45m to its expenses this year.

 

Harley-Davidson said the tariffs make shifting production "the only
sustainable option to make its motorcycles accessible to customers in the EU
and maintain a viable business in Europe".

 

Harley-Davidson, which has been focused on expanding its overseas sales,
said it remained committed to US manufacturing.

 

 

The company employed about 2,100 people at manufacturing plants in the US at
the end of last year.

 

It had already announced plans to close a plant in Kansas City, Missouri - a
decision which workers claimed was due to the opening of a new facility in
Thailand.

 

Harley-Davidson has disputed those allegations, arguing the move was about
boosting overseas sales.

 

Analysis

Kim Gittleson, New York Business Correspondent

In early 2017, President Donald Trump met with executives from
Harley-Davidson who he thanked for "building things in America".

 

But just over a year later, Harley serves as a sobering example of what
happens when Trump's America First trade policy collides with the rest of
the world.

 

While Harley-Davidson had been struggling financially well before the EU's
retaliatory tariffs went into effect, the import duties of 25% certainly
didn't help matters.

 

It is worth mentioning that Harley could make the decision to shift
production because it had chosen, in 2017, to open a new manufacturing plant
in Thailand.

 

At the time, the company said it was moving manufacturing there to avoid a
different tariff: this one being the 60% duty levied on Thai imports. That
decision, of course, was made after Trump decided to pull out of the
Trans-Pacific Partnership, a trade treaty that Harley had said it supported.

 

All of which goes to show that when it comes to "winning" a trade war, the
only certainty is the unintended consequences that inevitably result when
decades of trade policy are reversed in a matter of months.

 

United Steelworkers, which represents some Harley employees and has
supported some of the president's tariff announcements, said it does not
know yet how the company's decision will affect US employment.

 

Michael Bolton, a director at United Steelworkers, said: "Harley's desire to
improve sales both domestically and abroad predates the Trump
administration's tariffs, as does the company's willingness to build
assembly facilities overseas to avoid tariffs.

 

"The company built its reputation and image by making motorcycles here, and
if the company wants to continue to market itself as an iconic American
brand both at home and abroad, it needs to focus on US production," he
added.

 

'Headwind to hiring'

Mr Trump had made raising manufacturing employment a goal, but economists
warn that the escalating trade tensions are likely to be counter-productive.

 

In addition to the metals tariffs, the Trump administration has also said it
will impose tariffs on $34bn of Chinese goods starting on 6 July as
punishment for violations of intellectual property protections.

 

China is due to retaliate in kind.

 

Mr Trump has also threatened tariffs on foreign cars and auto parts, arguing
that firms should make such products in the US.--BBC

 

 

 

US stocks slide on escalating US-China trade tensions

US stock markets tumbled on Monday led by technology companies as concerns
over escalating trade tensions between the US and China hit investors.

 

The Nasdaq ended more than 2% lower, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average
and the S&P 500 dropped more than 1.3%.

 

The US is set to announce new rules to curb Chinese investment in critical
US technology.

 

The measures are part of a broader dispute over intellectual property.

 

The US claims that China's government unfairly supports Chinese companies in
certain strategic industries.

 

After talks over the issue broke down this spring, the US and China said
they would both apply new tariffs to billions of dollars worth of goods from
each other's country on 6 July.

 

US weighs plans to curb Chinese investment

US-China trade row: What has happened so far?

The White House is also expected to unveil new rules later this week that
would restrict Chinese investment in US technology such as robotics and
aerospace.

 

Bloomberg reported that the White House is planning to take a hard line,
against the advice of US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.

 

Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal reported that measures would likely
target investments in the US by any company with at least 25% Chinese
ownership, as well as exports of technology by US firms.

 

Intel, which derived almost a quarter of its sales from China last year, was
one of the biggest losers on the stock market with its share price falling
by more than 3%.

 

Apple, which also relies on China for production and significant sales, saw
its share price decline by about 1.5%.

 

US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin denied both reports.

 

He said the restrictions will not be specific to China but would apply "to
all countries that are trying to steal our technology".

 

The comments put pressure on markets, but they climbed back from earlier
lows after White House trade adviser Peter Navarro later told CNBC that
there was "absolutely nothing on the table" with respect to other countries.

 

He said markets have misunderstood the president's plans.

 

Most economists warn that tariffs, including ones the US has imposed on
foreign steel and aluminium, are disrupting supply chains and risk
discouraging investment and hiring.

 

Those costs are starting to sink in.

 

Harley-Davidson shares fell almost 6% after the firm said it would absorb
the higher costs of new tariffs on motorcycles imposed by the EU, adding
millions to its expenses.

 

It said it would shift some production out of the US to try to avoid the
costs.

 

Bill Adams, a senior economist at PNC Bank, said: "The US and Chinese
government have strong incentives to de-escalate trade frictions, but the
new strategy of retaliating against retaliation makes a trade war a less
farfetched risk to the outlook."--BBC

 

 

 

Uber tells court 'we needed to change' in London licence appeal

Taxi app firm Uber has told a court it accepted its London operating licence
should not have been renewed last year over safety concerns, but says there
has been "wholesale change" since then.

 

Westminster Magistrates' Court is considering if Uber is "fit and proper" to
hold a licence in the capital.

 

Last September, Transport for London refused to renew Uber's licence on
grounds of public safety and security.

 

Uber has been able to operate normally during the appeal process.

 

The court hearing began on Monday and is expected to last several days.

 

Tom de la Mare QC, representing Uber, told the court the firm had taken the
"unusual" stance of not opposing TfL's reasons for not renewing the licence.

 

He said: "We accept TfL's decision in September was the right decision on
the evidence at the time."

 

However, Mr de la Mare argued TfL's last three inspections showed a "perfect
record of compliance" and said three non-executive board members were now in
place to ensure "total compliance to the letter and spirit" of regulatory
obligations.

 

Uber to limit drivers' hours

Uber to report crimes directly to police

According to the firm, 3.6 million passengers regularly use its app in
London and it has 45,000 drivers in the city.

 

The original reasons for the refusal were outlined in a 21-page document.

 

Various media outlets have quoted a memo reportedly sent by Uber to
Transport for London, in which it said that as many as 1,148 London-licensed
Uber drivers had been accused of "category A" offences such as sexual
incidents, stalking and dangerous driving.

 

Reforms

Since being denied a licence to operate in London, Uber has implemented a
number of changes.

 

Uber now reports crimes directly to the police - previously it had logged
criminal complaints with Transport for London, which caused delays.

 

Drivers are now only allowed to use the app in the region they hold a
private hire licence.

 

The working hours of its drivers are also more tightly regulated. A licensed
driver on its app must take an uninterrupted six-hour break after 10 hours
of driving with a passenger or travelling to a pick up.

 

The company has also revamped its leadership. Three independent
non-executives have been appointed to its UK board.

 

A kinder, gentler and humbler Uber - that is the image the taxi app company
hopes to project in court this week as it battles for its future in what is
one of its most important markets.

 

It will stress that a lot has changed at a business that once prided itself
on confronting local regulators in a whirlwind of creative disruption.

 

A new boss, Dara Khosrowshahi, came to London and actually said sorry, and
in February new measures were announced to co-operate with the police over
allegations of driver misconduct - Transport for London's main concern when
it refused a new licence.

 

The fact that Uber is seeking a new licence for just 18 months, rather than
the full five years it expected last autumn - and that it appears to have
been agreeing with TfL a list of conditions it will have to meet - shows
that it accepts it is still on probation.

 

Rory's technology blog

 

Legal battles

Uber has also had difficulties getting licences in Brighton, York and
Sheffield.

 

In a separate case in 2016, Uber lost a legal battle over the status of its
drivers.

 

A London employment tribunal ruled that its drivers were workers, rather
than self-employed.

 

It meant drivers would be entitled to holiday pay, paid rest breaks and the
national minimum wage.--BBC

 

 

 

Clarks boss resigns following investigation

The boss of Clarks has resigned following an investigation into complaints
that he acted contrary to the shoe-maker's business ethics.

 

The company said it had learned that aspects of Mike Shearwood's "conduct,
conversations and expressions fell short of the behaviours expected of all
its employees on a number of occasions".

 

Clarks said that it had accepted his resignation.

 

He has been with Clarks since 2016.

 

The family-owned business, which was founded in 1825 by brothers Cyrus and
James Clark, declined to comment on which areas of its 23-page Code of
Business Ethics that Mr Shearwood had allegedly contravened.

 

In the most recent financial year to the end of January, profits at Clarks
fell to £45.2m from £63.7m, while sales dropped to £1.5bn from £1.6bn
previously.

 

Mr Shearwood joined the shoemaker from women's fashion chain Karen Millen
where he was also chief executive.

 

At the time of his appointment, Clarks had been without a chief executive
for a year after former boss Melissa Potter and finance director Robin
Beacham left the company with immediate effect. They had departed following
a sharp fall in full-year profits.

 

Clarks has cut a number of jobs in the UK and overseas, including 60 posts
at its head office in Somerset in April last year.

 

On Monday, Clarks said that Stella David, its senior independent director,
would take over as interim chief executive with immediate effect.--BBC

 

 

 

Cancer patients face 'absurd' travel insurance costs

Cancer patients are struggling to find affordable travel insurance, even
long after treatment is finished, a report from the City watchdog has
revealed.

 

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), says it will now work with the
industry to direct people to specialist cover.

 

One trade body said it was "absurd" that such a large group of people were
unable to travel.

 

It is hoped that the action by the FCA will help 15 million people with
long-standing health conditions.

 

The regulator added that this group was expected to rise to 18 million in
the next decade. In a report, focusing particularly on those who have had
cancer treatment, it said that many of these people had become marginalised
by the insurance sector.

 

Problems included:

 

A lack of information about alternative cover after people had been given
expensive quotes or refused cover owing to their condition, or past
condition

A lack of understanding among insurance companies and their customers about
what risks are considered when setting prices

Unclear pricing of premiums

This led many people to feel that they were uninsurable, particularly after
failing to find travel insurance via a price comparison website, and despite
the fact there are a host of specialist firms ready to cover them.

 

Melissa Collett, professional standards director at the Chartered Insurance
Institute, said: "One in three people living in the UK are likely to get
cancer at some point in their lives and it is absurd that this large group
are prevented from travelling because they cannot get insurance or worse,
forced to risk travelling without it.

 

"Many people living with cancer and those in remission live healthy and full
lives and we should be doing all we can to support them in this."

 

Young people 'most likely to go abroad without insurance'

'Dangerously' drunk tourists may not win insurance claims

Park on the drive, and other tips for cheaper insurance

Some of those who faced difficulties found frontline insurance staff had
little understanding of health conditions.

 

One 58-year-old woman said she had undergone surgery to remove a 2mm
cancerous "freckle" more than six years ago. Regular check-ups followed and
she was declared cancer-free in December 2015, and yet even since then she
had struggled to get insurance.

 

Another had faced premiums of hundreds of pounds after receiving treatment
for "low-grade bladder cancer".

 

"I do not understand why I am charged very high premiums every time I travel
abroad as my cancer history does not necessitate any medication or treatment
and has no impact on my daily life," the respondent explained to the FCA.

 

Macmillan Cancer Support said it had received 900 calls since January about
travel insurance and suggested that the plans from the FCA needed to go
further.

 

"Improved signposting will only benefit people with cancer if, at the end of
it, there is fair and affordable cover available. As it stands, this is
rarely the case," the charity's executive director of policy, Fran Woodard,
said.

 

"No two cancer experiences are the same and if travel insurers want to meet
the need for people with cancer, they must update their oversimplified
medical screening to reflect this."

 

The Association of British Insurers (ABI) said it was vital that people were
clear about pre-existing medical conditions as medical costs could reach
tens of thousands of pounds for complicated treatments in countries outside
Europe, so insurers needed to allow for that.

 

However, Raluca Boroianu-Omura, head of conduct regulation at the ABI, said
that the industry was open to finding new ways of helping people find
appropriate cover, in addition to work it had already done with cancer
charities.

 

David Sparkes, head of compliance at the British Insurance Brokers'
Association, said specialist insurers could ask precise questions about a
customer's health condition to judge levels of risk, which meant that cover
did not need to be more expensive.

 

He said it was important that signposting to these firms was available to
people with various health conditions, not only cancer.--BBC

 

 

 

Countrywide shares fall nearly 30% on profit warning

Shares in Countrywide, the UK's largest estate agent group, have fallen
nearly 30% after it issued its second profit warning this year.

 

Countrywide, which has brands including Bairstow Eves and Gascoigne Pees,
said it expected first-half earnings to be about £20m lower than last year.

 

"We do not expect this shortfall to be recovered in the second half," it
said.

 

It said conditions in the housing market continued to be "subdued" and deals
were taking longer to complete.

 

The firm has been hit by a slowdown in the housing market, as well as the
rise of online agents such as Purplebricks.

 

Your biggest financial decision - in charts

Number of middle-age renters doubles

Tenants' rights: Can a landlord kick me out

Countrywide added that it was looking to raise "additional equity finance"
with the aim of cutting debt by 50%.

 

Its share price fell 28% to 56.5p.

 

Chief executive Alison Platt left in January after the previous profit
warning. Chairman Peter Long became executive chairman following her
departure.

 

In March, shares slumped after the company announced that pre-tax profits
for 2017 had more than halved to £25.2m, from £52.7m in 2016.

 

At the time, it said that it was shedding about 150 of its 450-strong head
office team as part of a cost-cutting drive. The firm employs about 8,000
nationwide.

 

Countrywide is not the only estate agent to be suffering as the housing
market hits tough times.

 

Earlier this year, another chain, Foxtons, reported a slump in profits as it
warned that activity in the London housing market was near historic lows.

 

Foxtons said it expected "trading conditions to remain challenging during
2018", with sales anticipated to be lower than last year.--BBC

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

 


 

INVESTORS DIARY 2018

 


Company

Event

Venue

Date & Time

 


 

 

 

 

 


GB Holdings

AGM

Cernol Chemicals Boardroom, 11 Dagenham Road, Willowvale

26/06/2018 11:30am

 


MedTech

AGM

Head Office, Boardroom, Stand 619, Corner Shumba/Hacha Roads, Ruwa

27/06/2018 3pm

 


Dawn Properties

AGM

Ophir Room, Monomotapa Hotel

28/06/2018 10am

 


NicozDiamond

Scheme meeting

7th Floor, 30 Samora Machel Ave

28/06/2018 10am

 


ZBFH

AGM

Boardroom, Ground Floor, 21 Natal Road, Avondale

28/06/2018 10:30am

 


African Sun

AGM

Kariba Room, Holiday Inn Harare

28/06/2018 12pm

 


FBC

AGM

Royal Harare Golf Club

28/06/2018 3pm

 


Hwange

AGM

Royal Harare Golf Club

29/06/2018 10:30am

 


Fidelity Life

AGM

Great Indaba Room, Monomotapa Hotel

29/06/2018 11am

 


Barclays

EGM to consider the change of registered statutory name to First Capital
Bank Limited

Meikles Hotel

03/07/2018 3pm

 


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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