Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 15 March 2018

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Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 15 March 2018

 


 

 


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*  IMF approves $158 mln credit to Burkina Faso

*  South Africa's rand weaker as rally stalls on global trade war worries

*  Cobalt to be declared a strategic mineral in Congo

*  West Africa's BRVM bourse targets 12 listings over 2018-20

*  Nigeria's total debt rose to 21.7 trln naira at end of 2017, debt office says

*  South Africa's Q1 business confidence rises 11 points to 45

*  IMF approves Kenya's request to extend stand-by agreement by 6 months

*  Ghana inflation edges up to 10.6 pct y/y in Feb: stats office

*  Nigerian annual inflation down for 13th month in Feb

*  Online sales surge boosts Zara owner Inditex

*  Marmite maker Unilever goes Dutch for HQ

*  TV pundit Lawrence Kudlow tapped to be Trump economic adviser

*  Toys R Us set to close all US stores

*  Financial crisis rules for banks eased by US Senate

*  Amazon Japan offices raided over anti-trust suspicions

*  Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes charged with $700m fraud

*   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


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IMF approves $158 mln credit to Burkina Faso

DAKAR (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Wednesday approved a three-year, $157.6 million credit facility for Burkina Faso, in part to help boost security after a spate of attacks by Islamist insurgents.

 

Jihadists linked to al Qaeda killed eight people during an attack on the French embassy and the army headquarters in the capital Ouagadougou this month, the third major attack there in just over two years. [nL2N1QP0CA]

 

“Burkina Faso faces significant development challenges, which have intensified in the recent period due to security shocks and social unrest,” said IMF Deputy Managing Director Mitsuhiro Furusawa in a statement.

 

The agricultural economy is expected to grow 6 percent this year, down from 6.5 percent in 2017, but above the 5.9 percent in 2016, the IMF said, driven by cotton production and mining.

 

 

 

 


 <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> 

 


 

South Africa's rand weaker as rally stalls on global trade war worries

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa’s rand was weaker on early on Thursday, giving up the previous session’s modest gains as investors opted to pocket small profits as trade war noises continued and short-term technical targets came into view.

 

* At 0630 GMT, the rand was 0.13 percent weaker at 11.7700 per dollar, having traded as firm as 11.7375 on Wednesday as U.S. President Donald Trump’s firing of Rex Tillerson as secretary of state dented optimistic bets on the world’s largest economy.

 

 

* The relief for emerging market and commodity-linked currencies did not last with traders opting to take profits in uncertain conditions.

 

* The appointment of conservative economic analyst Larry Kudlow as Trump’s top economic adviser, which suggests trade tensions with China could escalate, added to investor nervousness.

 

* With the rand failing to break below 11.70 since the last day of February, and the carry trade attraction dimming compared to fellow EM’s as the central bank looks set to cut lending rates at month-end, forward momentum has stalled.

 

* In fixed income, the yield for the benchmark government bond due in 2026 was flat at 8.095 percent.

 

 

Cobalt to be declared a strategic mineral in Congo

LONDON (Reuters) - Democratic Republic of Congo will declare cobalt and coltan, used in electric vehicle and renewable energy technology, as “strategic” minerals which will earn the country higher royalties, an advisor to the prime minister said on Wednesday.

 

A new mining code was signed into law on Friday by President Joseph Kabila despite vigorous opposition by global mining companies with operations in Congo such as Glencore, Randgold and China Molybdenum.

 

Royalties paid to the government from cobalt and coltan mining will jump to 10 percent from 2 percent previously. Miners of the two metals used in batteries, would have paid a royalty of 3.5 percent under the new code if they had not been designated as strategic.

 

The government considers minerals with the “strategic” designation important for the economic, social and industrial future of the country.

 

 

“We need to make enough money before we run out of these minerals so that is why they are strategic to the country,” said Jean Nkunza.

 

“We have to make sure for the next 20 years we make money from these minerals because demand is going to be so high. It’s going to continue to grow and we are not going to stop raising the royalties on these minerals.”

 

Other “strategic” minerals on the list include lithium and germanium, Nkunza said.

 

Congo is the world’s biggest source of cobalt, the price of which more than doubled last year. The central African country is also Africa’s top copper producer.

 

International mining companies have said the new mining code will deter foreign investment but have agreed to start negotiations with the government over measures to implement the code.

 

The announcement by the prime minister’s office, however, appears to pre-empt those negotiations, which were due to determine, among other things, how metals would be classified.

 

The code also removes a clause that protected miners from changes to the fiscal and customs regime for 10 years and raises royalties and taxes across the board.

 

Low commodity prices in recent years hit Congo’s resource-dependent economy hard, causing inflation to swell to nearly 50 percent in 2017, and the government is desperate to increase its revenues.

 

 

 

West Africa's BRVM bourse targets 12 listings over 2018-20

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - West Africa’s regional BRVM bourse is targeting 12 new listings between 2018-2020, including one bank this year, the Abidjan-based exchange’s chief executive said on Wednesday.

 

Edoh Kossi Amenounve also said he expected two listings this year by small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). He declined to name any of the firms that plan to list on the bourse.

 

 

“There is one in the main board in the banking sector and the two SMEs are in the distribution and IT sector,” Amenounve told Reuters, referring to the listings for this year.

 

“We identified 10 SMEs in the region that can come to the market during the next 2 to 3 years,” he added in an interview on the sidelines of an investor forum in Johannesburg.

 

The medium-sized companies have turnovers of more than $10 million, he added.

 

“We’re in discussion with many of the private equity funds that are operating in our market and we think that some of them will exit during the next 3 years so we are working with them to have some of them list their investments on the BRVM,” he said, without elaborating.

 

The regional bourse trades shares from 45 companies from some of the eight countries in the West African CFA franc currency union, including Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Benin, Togo, and Ivory Coast, a statement by BRVM showed.

 

 

Nigeria's total debt rose to 21.7 trln naira at end of 2017, debt office says

ABUJA (Reuters) - Nigeria’s total national debt grew to 21.7 trillion naira ($70.92 billion) at the end of December 2017, the director-general of Nigeria’s Debt Management Office told a news briefing on Wednesday. It was 17.36 trillion naira at the end of 2016.

 

Nigeria’s first Eurobond will be repaid when it matures in July, said the head of the DMO, Patience Oniha. The national debt mix is about 30 percent foreign and 70 percent local after a $2.5 billion Eurobond sale in February, she said.

 

Earlier this month, Nigeria paid off about 130 billion naira worth of treasury bills maturing this week instead of rolling over the debt as it has done in the past.

 

Nigeria, with Africa’s largest economy, is trying to increase its ratio of foreign, dollar-serviced debt to local debt, in a bid to lower costs.

 

Eurobond sales last year boosted foreign reserves by $4.8 billion, in addition to February’s $2.5 billion gain, Oniha said.

 

Nigeria is also expected to save 81.66 billion naira after it refinanced $3 billion of treasury bills, she said.

 

Last week, Nigeria’s central bank said foreign reserves rose to $46 billion at the close of business on March 9.

 

Successful debt sales and higher oil prices have helped the government accrue billions of dollars in foreign reserves, although they remain far from the peak of $64 billion reached in August 2008.

 

($1 = 306.0000 naira)

 

 

 

South Africa's Q1 business confidence rises 11 points to 45

(Reuters) - South Africa’s business confidence rose in the first quarter by 11 points in a sign that the country’s economy is picking up pace, a survey showed on Wednesday.

 

The Rand Merchant Bank (RMB) business confidence index compiled by the Bureau for Economic Research rose to 45 points in the first quarter from 34 points in the fourth quarter but remained below the 50-mark separating the net positive and negative territories.

 

“First quarter confidence jump is driven more by the expectation that the recent (mainly) market-friendly political development will boost activity levels in future than an immediate improvement in the real economy,” chief economist at RMB Ettienne Le Roux said.

 

    Business confidence was dented by policy uncertainty under the leadership of Jacob Zuma but economists say President Cyril Ramaphosa’s election as leader of the ruling African National Congress in December, and as president last month, has raised expectations that the country will make economic reforms.

 

    South Africa’s economy grew more than expected at the end of last year as agriculture and trade recovered, data showed last Tuesday, boosting its chances of avoiding a potentially debilitating credit ratings downgrade.

 

    Earlier in the month, The South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s (SACCI) monthly business confidence index (BCI) fell to 98.9 in February from 99.7 in January as exports, imports and retail sales fell.

 

“It goes without saying that the current uncertainty around land reform needs to be resolved as quickly as possible. If allowed to linger, the latest rise in the RMB/BER BCI (Business Confidence Index) could easily fizzle out with little or even no enduring positive impact on business capital expenditure and the economy at large,” Le Roux added.

 

 

 

 

IMF approves Kenya's request to extend stand-by agreement by 6 months

NAIROBI (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund has approved a request by Kenya to extend by six months a stand-by agreement that was due to expire at the end of March, giving it time to finish mandatory reviews, the IMF said in a statement.

 

The stand-by agreement, which was approved in March 2016, was for $989.8 million, alongside a stand-by credit facility of about $494.9 million.

 

“On March 12, 2018, the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund approved Kenyan authorities’ request for a six-month extension of the country’s Stand-By Arrangement to allow additional time to complete the outstanding reviews,” the IMF said in a statement late on Tuesday.

 

Last week the IMF said that stand-by credit facility arrangements cannot be extended beyond 24 months.

 

It said the reviews were expected to be completed by September, allowing access to the funds available in the stand-by agreement.

 

“In support of this request, the authorities have committed to policies that will enable them to achieve the program objectives, including reducing the fiscal deficit and substantially modifying interest controls,” IMF said.

 

The government adopted a cap on commercial lending rates in September 2016, setting it at 4 percentage points above the central bank’s benchmark rate, to limit the cost of borrowing from commercial banks. It said lenders had failed to pass on the benefits of growth in the industry to consumers.

 

Earlier this month, the Finance Minister Henry Rotich said it was a good time to revisit the cap, while the chair of the parliament’s influential budget committee has also said there was a case for altering it.

 

The IMF said last month that Kenya had lost access to the funds meant to cushion it against unforeseen external shocks last June, due to failure to complete a review of the programme.

 

Kenya asked the IMF for the extension last week.

 

 

Ghana inflation edges up to 10.6 pct y/y in Feb: stats office

ACCRA (Reuters) - Ghana’s annual consumer price inflation edged up to 10.6 percent in February from 10.3 percent the previous month, mainly driven by an increase in fuel prices, the statistics office said on Wednesday.

 

Ghana - a gold, oil and cocoa producer - is seeking to narrow inflation to 8 percent, plus or minus two percentage points by June under a $918 million credit programme with the International Monetary Fund which is in its final year.

 

“The underlying cause was due to a marginal increase in fuel prices which spilled over cross board to both food and non-food groups,” acting government statistician Baah Wadieh told a press conference in Accra.

 

Food inflation for February rose to 7.2 percent from 6.8 percent the month before while non food was edged up to 12.2 percent compared to 12.0 percent in January, Wadieh said.

 

 

 

Nigerian annual inflation down for 13th month in Feb

ABUJA (Reuters) - Annual inflation in Nigeria stood at 14.33 percent in February, slowing for the 13th month in a row and driven by a decline in the pace of food price increases, the statistics office said on Wednesday.

 

The food price index showed inflation at 17.59 percent in February, compared with 18.92 percent in January. Core inflation was 15.13 percent last month.

 

NBS head Yemi Kale said in January he expects inflation to fall faster this year compared with 2017, but that spending ahead of 2019 presidential elections could stoke prices.

 

Food price inflation has remained in high double digits over the last year. Kale has said the country is in a harvest period and output is increasing, which would help lower food prices, but household consumption remains fragile after the 2016 recession.

 

A stand-off that has affected Nigeria’s ability to set interest rates may also be coming to an end, with the possibility of a rate-setting meeting as early as next Tuesday.

 

Nigeria’s upper house of parliament has said it will start screening new members of the central bank’s interest rate committee after it held up some of President Muhammadu Buhari’s nominees in a political spat.

 

The bank has kept its main interest rate at 14 percent for over a year now as it battles inflation and seeks to attract foreign investors to support the naira currency.

 

But economists see the central bank this year adopting a more dovish stance as inflation falls, and expect an interest rate cut in the coming months.

 

 

Online sales surge boosts Zara owner Inditex

Inditex owns Zara along with brands such as Pull&Bear, Massimo Dutti and Bershka.

A 41% jump in online sales for the owner of Zara helped drive higher sales and profits last year.

 

Inditex, which also owns brands including Pull & Bear, Bershka and Massimo Dutti, said a tenth of its sales were online in 2017.

 

It was the first the time Spanish company has broken out figures for online sales.

 

Like-for-like sales, which excludes new store openings, rose 5%, while net sales were up 9%.

 

Net profits were 7% higher at €3.37bn on revenues of €25.34bn.

 

Its 88,000 staff worldwide will share a €562m (£499m) bonus pool.

 

The 10% figure for online sales is not far behind the 12% for Swedish rival H&M, but is far lower than the 40% for the UK clothing chain Next.

 

Inditex chief executive Pablo Isla said it had been a year of "solid growth", with recent investment in technology and logistics leaving the company well placed for continued progress.

 

During the year the company spent €1.8bn, much of which went on further integrating its stores and online businesses in each market.

 

At the end of the financial year Inditex had 7,475 stores worldwide, a net increase of 183.

 

It opened its first stores in Belarus and launched Zara online sales in India, Vietnam, Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia.

 

Zara's online stores in Australia and New Zealand start trading on Wednesday.

 

Inditex websites had 2.42 billion visits in 2017 and serviced as many as 249,000 orders an hour.

 

Shares rose 3.83% in Madrid to €25.19 but are down about a quarter over the past 12 months.

 

'Strong support'

German sportswear brand Adidas also benefited from a leap in online sales.

 

It its full-year results, it said revenue growth had been driven by double-digit increases in all distribution channels, with "particularly strong support" from e-commerce, where revenues grew 57%.

 

In euro terms, sales rose by 15% to €21.22bn, up from €18.5bn in 2016.

 

Operating profit more than tripled to €132m in the final quarter of last year, but the group reported a net loss of €41m million as a result of a tax hit of €76m, due to changes to the US tax code.

 

On Tuesday, Adidas had announced a big share buyback.

 

Its shares rose by more than 9% on Wednesday, having fallen by 15% over the past six months.--BBC

 

 

Marmite maker Unilever goes Dutch for HQ

Anglo-Dutch consumer goods giant Unilever, maker of Marmite and Dove soap has chosen Rotterdam over London for its headquarters.

 

The firm said it would move to a single legal entity in the Netherlands in an effort to become "more agile".

 

Unilever's dual-headed structure has existed since 1930, when Dutch margarine firm Unie merged with British soap maker Lever Brothers.

 

The company said the decision over its HQ was "not about Brexit".

 

However, the move is being seen as a blow to the UK government as it prepares for next year's exit from the European Union.

 

At the same time, Unilever said it would be reorganising its business into three divisions: beauty and personal care, home care, and foods and refreshment.

 

The first two divisions will have their headquarters in London, while the third will continue to be based in Rotterdam.

 

The decision was finalised at a board meeting on Wednesday.

 

Unilever is currently the third-biggest company in the UK's FTSE 100 share index, but may not be eligible for the index after the change.

 

Unilever employs 7,300 people in the UK and 3,100 in the Netherlands. No jobs will be lost by the move.

 

A government spokesperson said: "Unilever has today shown its long-term commitment to the UK by choosing to locate its two fastest-growing global business divisions in this country, safeguarding 7,300 jobs and £1bn a year of investment.

 

"As the company itself has made clear, its decision to transfer a small number of jobs to a corporate HQ in the Netherlands is part of a long-term restructuring of the company and is not connected to the UK's departure from the EU."

 

Unilever chief executive Paul Polman told the BBC's Today programme that the move to a single legal entity was being made for "technical reasons", as the bulk of its shares - 55% - were traded in the Netherlands.

 

"This is not about Brexit," he said, adding that "both countries are attractive from an investment point of view".

 

Tax change

The maker of Pot Noodles and Ben & Jerry's ice cream announced a review of its dual-headed structure last year, after it foiled a $143bn takeover offer from Kraft Heinz.

 

The company has had talks with the governments of both countries in the run-up to its decision.

 

According to reports, Mr Polman lobbied the UK government for changes in UK takeover rules, while the government expressed concerns over Unilever's decision to pick Rotterdam for its HQ.

 

The company's shares will continue to be listed in London, Amsterdam and New York.

 

Speculation that it would choose the Netherlands has increased in recent months, following the proposal of a tax change by Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, himself a Unilever veteran, seen as benefiting Anglo-Dutch multinationals.

 

Since 1930, Unilever has operated with two parent companies - a British PLC headquartered in London and a Dutch NV based in Rotterdam.

 

Although run as one company, the distinct legal entities have different shareholders, separate stock listings and annual meetings and are subject to different laws and corporate governance requirements.--BBC

 

 

TV pundit Lawrence Kudlow tapped to be Trump economic adviser

Television commentator Lawrence Kudlow has accepted the role of top economic adviser to US president Donald Trump, the White House confirmed.

 

Mr Kudlow will lead the National Economic Council after Gary Cohn quit last week.

 

Mr Cohn resigned after disagreeing with Mr Trump about his plan for tariffs on metal imports.

 

Mr Kudlow, a former Bear Stearns investment banker, is currently a pundit on business news channel CNBC.

 

"Larry Kudlow was offered, and accepted, the position of Assistant to the President for Economic Policy and Director of the National Economic Council," White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said.

 

"We will work to have an orderly transition and will keep everyone posted on the timing of him officially assuming the role."

 

Mr Kudlow confirmed the news to Reuters news agency earlier.

 

He was an early supporter of Mr Trump, and is a well-known conservative voice.

 

What is his background?

He was born in New Jersey and studied at the University of Rochester and Princeton's school of public and international affairs.

 

His career in economics started with a junior position at the New York branch of the Federal Reserve.

 

He moved to work as an economist for Wall Street firms and for former President Ronald Reagan in Washington, where he helped to make the case for the first round of 1980s tax cuts.

 

In 1994, Mr Kudlow spoke to the New York Times about battling drug and alcohol addiction, saying he hoped his story would help others in the position. The problem had led to his resignation as chief economist from the Bear Stearns investment bank.

 

Mr Kudlow, who calls himself a "long-run optimist", subsequently re-invented himself as a media personality, hosting radio and television programmes, including for the business news channel CNBC, where he remains a contributor.

 

Analysis: BBC US business reporter Joe Miller

 

In his trademark blue pinstripe shirts and monogrammed cufflinks, Larry Kudlow has been a fixture on US financial television for more than a decade, and a reliable cheerleader for American business.

 

A proponent of lower taxes, Mr Kudlow made his name at the ill-fated Bear Stearns before working in the Reagan administration.

 

He denounced Donald Trump's comments about women in a tape released during the 2016 presidential campaign, and has repeatedly criticised the White House for its attacks on free trade - including the recently announced tariffs.

 

But the president, who once worked as a Wall St pundit alongside Mr Kudlow, was reportedly won over by his TV presentation skills.

 

Where does he stand on the issues?

Mr Kudlow is known as a "supply side" economist - a champion of lower taxes, which he says spur consumer spending and lead to economic growth. He was an informal adviser to Mr Trump during the presidential campaign.

 

He is also a self-described "inflation hawk" - though he has called recent concerns "misplaced".

 

As an ardent free-trader, he has defended the North American Free Trade Agreement and was critical of President Trump's recent plan to impose 25% tariffs on foreign steel and 10% tariffs on foreign aluminium.

 

But he praised the president for exempting Mexico and Canada. He has also urged targeted action against China, especially when it comes to intellectual property.

 

Those views make him a fairly typical, establishment Republican - which makes it a bit of a surprise that Mr Kudlow is a former Democrat and was a member of the left-wing Students for a Democratic Society.

 

What is the reaction?

FreedomWorks, a conservative group that advocates for lower taxes, had urged Mr Trump to select Mr Kudlow,

 

Others have been more sceptical.

 

David Stockman, Mr Kudlow's former boss during the Reagan administration, told the Washington Post in 2016 that Mr Kudlow's prediction that tax cuts would lead to growth was "dead wrong". Instead, he said the cuts led to budget deficits.

 

More recently, he has warned that Mr Kudlow would not be able to rein in the president.

 

"As much as I love him ... Larry's voice is exactly the wrong voice that Donald Trump ought to be hearing as we go forward," he told CNBC.

 

Liberal economist and New York Times columnist Paul Krugman has been sharply critical, noting that Mr Kudlow missed signs of the housing bubble and recession.

 

"At least he's reliable -- that is, he's reliably wrong about everything," Mr Krugman tweeted.

 

Indeed in December 2007 - just as the recession was beginning - Mr Kudlow wrote in the National Review: "There's no recession coming. The pessimistas were wrong. It's not going to happen."--BBC

 

 

Toys R Us set to close all US stores

Toys R Us is set to close or sell all of its 885 stores in the US in the coming months, the BBC understands.

 

That move would put about 33,000 jobs at risk.

 

The giant toy-store chain was already in the process of closing one fifth of its shops as part of efforts to emerge from one of the largest ever bankruptcies by a specialty retailer.

 

Toys R Us said earlier that all its stores in the UK will close in the next six weeks.

 

"I have always believed that this brand and this business should exist in the US," chief executive David Brandon said on a conference call with staff, the Wall Street Journal reported.

 

The retailer is likely to go into liquidation in France, Spain, Poland and Australia, Brandon said, according the newspaper.

 

He added that Toys 'R' Us also planned to sell operations in Canada, central Europe and Asia.

 

There were reports the toy chain had stopped paying its suppliers earlier this week, the Washington Post reported.

 

The UK collapse will put more than 3,000 people out of work as a dismal period for the retail sector continues.

 

US debt

The US parent company filed for bankruptcy in September.

 

The business was bought in 2005 by a group of investors, including private equity firms Bain Capital and KKR, which loaded it with about $5bn (£3.6bn) in debt.

 

The company was landed with interest payments which at times reached $400m a year.

 

In the UK Toys R Us joins a long list of high-street retailers, including Maplin and Claire's, that have run into difficulties this year.

 

Many have been hit by changes in consumer spending habits, a squeeze on disposable income, higher inflation and the extra cost of the national living wage, and the prospect of increases in business rates in April.-BBC

 

 

Financial crisis rules for banks eased by US Senate

The US Senate has passed a bill to roll back banking regulations put in place in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis.

 

The bill exempts banks with less than $250bn in assets from strict oversight under the Dodd-Frank Act of 2010.

 

The draft legislation was approved in a 67-31 vote and must now go through the House of Representatives.

 

The Dodd-Frank act was brought in with the aim of avoiding another financial meltdown.

 

Supporters of the 2010 act say it has made the financial system safer - forcing large financial institutions to hold more money to use in the event of a financial shock, increasing protections for consumers, and improving stress tests.

 

Its opponents, including small to mid-sized banks, community banks and other financial institutions, say the regulation has inhibited growth and is overly complex.

 

The Senate vote delivers US President Donald Trump one of his most significant victories to date. He made it a campaign promise to repeal the act and has called it "a disaster".

 

The US Chamber of Commerce said the vote for the bill proved that helping small businesses and boosting economic goals was something Republicans and Democrats could get behind.

 

"This legislation will bring a long-awaited respite to Main Street businesses across America whose growth has been stifled in the post-crisis regulatory era," the chamber's chief executive, Thomas Donohue, said.

 

Divided Democrats

However, the bill has divided Democrats sharply. Some have supported it, while others - notably Senator Elizabeth Warren, from Massachusetts - have strongly opposed repealing crisis-era banking regulations.

 

Ms Warren has said it would weaken consumer protection and open the door to risky behaviour that banks want to pursue for higher profits.

 

"[The new bill] puts American families in danger of getting punched in the gut in another financial crisis," she said on Tuesday.

 

In the House

When the bill moves to the House, some Republicans are expected to ask for more provisions to further ease restrictions on small lenders.

 

"To expect that the House would have a desire to have some fingerprints on this final product is more than reasonable," said Republican Bill Huizenga.

 

Any changes made to the bill in the House would need to go through the Senate again and further Republican amendments could see Senate Democrats pull back on their support for it.

 

The Dodd-Frank act was named after the Congressmen who campaigned for the legislation.--BBC

 

 

Amazon Japan offices raided over anti-trust suspicions

Amazon Japan said its offices have been raided by the country's fair trade regulator on suspicion of anti-trust violations.

 

The online retailer is suspected of asking suppliers to shoulder costs incurred for selling their products at a discount, according to media reports.

 

The firm said it is cooperating with the investigation by Japan's Fair Trade Commission (JTFC), Reuters reported.

 

JTFC declined to provide more details on the case when contacted by the BBC.

 

It's not the first time Amazon Japan has been investigated over anti-trust breaches.

 

In 2016, JTFC raided the firm's offices on suspicions it had unfairly forced retailers to set prices on Amazon Japan as low or lower than prices for those products listed on other e-commerce sites.

 

Regulators ended the investigation in June last year when Amazon Japan agreed to stop the practice.--BBC

 

 

 

 

Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes charged with $700m fraud

The founder of a US start-up that promised to revolutionise blood testing has agreed to settle charges that she raised over $700m (£500m) fraudulently.

 

The Securities and Exchange Commission, a top US financial regulator, said Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos deceived investors about the firm's technology.

 

The agency also said the firm had falsely claimed its products had been used by the US army in Afghanistan.

 

Ms Holmes will lose control of the firm and be fined $500,000.

 

An SEC official called the fallout an "important lesson for Silicon Valley".

 

"Innovators who seek to revolutionise and disrupt an industry must tell investors the truth about what their technology can do today - not just what they hope it might do someday," said Jina Choi, director of the SEC's San Francisco regional office.

 

Theranos was founded in 2003 when Ms Holmes was only 19, and sought to develop an innovative blood testing device.

 

The firm said its Edison device could test for conditions such as cancer and cholesterol with only a few drops of blood from a finger-prick, rather than taking vials from a vein.

 

In 2015 Forbes magazine estimated Ms Holmes' wealth at $4.5bn

 

However, in the same year reports in the Wall Street Journal suggested the devices were flawed and inaccurate.

 

Theranos will shut labs and cut 40% staff

By 2016 Forbes had revised its estimates of Ms Holmes' fortune to "nothing".

 

 

The charges were brought against Theranos and its former president Ramesh "Sunny" Balwani as well as Ms Holmes.

 

The SEC plans to bring a case against Mr Balwani.

 

The regulator alleged that Theranos, Ms Holmes and Mr Balwani made a series of false and misleading statements in investor presentations, product demonstrations and interviews.

 

It said: "Theranos, Holmes, and Balwani claimed that Theranos' products were deployed by the US Department of Defence on the battlefield in Afghanistan and on medevac helicopters and that the company would generate more than $100m in revenue in 2014.

 

"In truth, Theranos' technology was never deployed by the US Department of Defence and generated a little more than $100,000 in revenue from operations in 2014...

 

"In truth, according to the SEC's complaint, Theranos' proprietary analyser could complete only a small number of tests, and the company conducted the vast majority of patient tests on modified and industry-standard commercial analysers manufactured by others."--BBC

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

 


 

INVESTORS DIARY 2018

 


Company

Event

Venue

Date & Time

 


 

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

 


CBZ

finals and analysts briefing

Stewart Rooms, Meikles

15/03/2018 3pm

 


Econet

3 2017 dividend of 0.9379c per share record date

 

16/03/2018 

 


NicozDiamond

finals and analysts briefing

7th Floor Auditorium, Insurance Centre, 30 Samora Machel Avenue

20/03/2018 12pm

 


Old Mutual Zim

analysts briefing

Stewart Room, Meikles

20/03/2018 2pm

 


Simbisa

EGM

Royal Harare Golf Club

21/03/2018 9am

 


First Mutual Properties

Financial Results Presentation

The Venue Avondale

21/03/2018 2pm

 


First Mutual Holdings

Financial Results Presentation

The Venue Avondale

21/03/2018 3pm

 


 

 

 

 

 


Zimplow

final dividend 0.13c per share record

 

23/03/2018 

 


TSL

AGM

28 Simon Mazorodze Road, Southerton

27/03/2018 12pm

 


Willdale

AGM

19.5km peg, Lomagundi Road, Mount Hampden

29/03/2018 11am

 


 

Good Friday

 

30/03/2018 

 


 

Easter Monday

 

02/04/2018

 


Zimbabwe

Independence Day

Zimbabwe

18/04/2018

 


 

Workers’ Day

 

01/05/2018

 


 

Africa Day

 

25/05/2018

 


Zimbabwe

Heroes’ Day

Zimbabwe

13/08/2018

 


Zimbabwe

Defence Forces Day

Zimbabwe

14/08/2018

 


 

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 


 <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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Bulls n Bears 

 

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