Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 09 May 2018

Wed May 9 11:43:50 CAT 2018

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Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 09 May 2018

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*  South Africa's rand, bonds tumble as Trump's Iran pullout rattle sentiment

*  Nigeria naira eases as investors repatriate dividend

*  MTN says U.S decision on Iran may limit its ability to repatriate cash from Irancell

*  South Africa's NUM union seeks 37 pct pay hike from gold miners over two years

*  Kenya's Safaricom expects core profit to jump 7-12 pct this year

*  South African airline SAA requires $400 mln bailout to stay afloat: treasury official

*  South Africa's rand, bonds tumble as Trump's Iran pullout rattle sentiment

*  African Guarantee Fund targeting capital of $500 mln by 2021

*  IMF warns of rising African debt despite faster economic growth

*  Union wage demands puts S.Africa's spending cuts at risk: finmin

*  Zambia assesses debt trajectory as it courts new IMF programme

*  Vodafone to buy Liberty Global European assets for €18.4bn

*  Would you hang up on Google's AI?

*  Argentina seeks IMF financial aid 'to avoid crisis'

*  Disney rides Black Panther to profit

*  Tinder owner says it's not afraid of Facebook dating app

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South Africa's rand, bonds tumble as Trump's Iran pullout rattle sentiment

JOHANNESBURG, May 9 (Reuters) - South Africa’s rand slumped to its weakest in three sessions on Wednesday and looked vulnerable to further falls after U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to pull out of an international nuclear deal with Iran hit global risk sentiment.

* By 0640 GMT the rand was 0.82 percent weaker at 12.6700 per dollar. It had held steady near the 12.50 mark for most of the previous session before being floored by a combination of safe-haven buying and light liquidity late on.

* Trump on Tuesday pulled the United States out of an international nuclear deal with Iran, raising the risk of conflict in the Middle East, upsetting European allies and casting uncertainty over global oil supplies.

* “This (decision) led to a U.S. dollar rally and resulted in U.S. Treasuries moving higher. This should affect emerging markets adversely as a global risk-off sentiment takes hold,” said analyst at Rand Merchant Bank Michelle Wohlberg.

* Bonds were also weaker, with the yield on the benchmark 2026 issue rising 8 basis points to 8.47 percent, its highest since the second week of February.

* Stocks were set to open slightly firmer at 0700 GMT, with the Top-40 futures index up 0.1 percent. 

 <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> 

Nigeria naira eases as investors repatriate dividend

LAGOS, May 8 (Reuters) - Nigeria’s naira eased to 362 to the dollar for investors on Tuesday as funds repatriate dividends abroad following the end of the earnings season and as forward currency contracts mature amid tight dollar liquidity, traders said.

The naira traded at 360 for over six months after the central bank in April 2017 liberalised the currency for investors in the wake of a currency crisis brought on by low oil prices that also slashed government revenues.

Traders said the currency started to weaken last week as demand piled up especially from companies seeking to repatriate dividends and investors booking profits from local assets.

Importers buying goods from abroad were also exerting pressure on the naira.

Nigeria emerged from its first recession in a quarter of a century last year but growth is still fragile. It then introduced a multiple exchange rate regime to manage dollar demand as a way to alleviate chronic shortages on the currency markets.

On the official market the naira is quoted at around 305 per dollar, a level it has been for over a year, supported by central bank’s regular interventions.

MTN’s Nigeria operation declared a dividend of 50 billion naira ($159 mln) by its local unit in 2017, a company presentation seen by Reuters showed, which Africa’s biggest telecom group would seek to repatriate to offshore investors. MTN further paid a dividend in the first quarter, it said.

The central bank is gradually loosening policy to adopt a more dovish stance on interest rates especially as its foreign reserves are rising, giving the West African country a buffer with which to defend the naira.

The bank has reduced its issuance of open market bills to tighten naira liquidity, traders said with banking system liquidity closing at around 200 billion naira in credit on Monday, to lower treasury yields.

$1 = 314.50 naira 

MTN says U.S decision on Iran may limit its ability to repatriate cash from Irancell

(Reuters) - MTN Group said on Wednesday that U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to pull out of the Iran nuclear accord may limit the South African telecoms firm’s ability to repatriate cash from MTN Irancell.

Trump said on Tuesday he would reimpose U.S. economic sanctions on Iran, which were lifted under the agreement he had harshly criticized.

In 2018, the company had repatriated about 88 million euros ($104.26 million) from MTN Irancell, including 61 million euros relating to the 2017 dividend due to MTN as well as a further 27 million euros of historic dividends.

The remaining balance due to MTN is about 200 million euros, MTN said, adding it was committed to its investment in Irancell and to repatriating the balance of legacy cash.

The company said it will continue to monitor the situation, including the response of the Iranian authorities and the othermembers of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.($1 = 0.8440 euros)

South Africa's NUM union seeks 37 pct pay hike from gold miners over two years

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa’s National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) has submitted wage hike demands in the gold sector of up to 37 percent over a two year period, according to a document submitted to the Chamber of Mines seen by Reuters.

The demands far exceed the current inflation rate of 3.8 percent and suggest potentially tough negotiations with companies that have been battling to contain soaring costs in the world’s deepest mines.

The document, dated April 23, says the NUM wants the basic monthly pay for entry-level underground workers to rise to 10,500 rand ($83) over the next two years, which translates into annual increases of between 15 and 18.5 percent, depending on the company.

This is less than opening demands of up to 75 percent by the NUM in previous negotiations, a sign that lower inflation and food prices may be moderating expectations. The three-year agreements reached in 2015 saw basic wage hikes of between 10 and 13 percent per year.

The total package a miner receives is higher than the basic wage as it also includes housing and other allowances.

The chamber negotiates in the gold sector on behalf of Harmony Gold, Sibanye-Stillwater, AngloGold Ashanti, and a smaller producer.

Wages account for around half of the costs in South Africa’s gold mining industry and companies have in the past said the cycle of double-digit, above-inflation pay hikes cannot be sustained, unless prices rise considerably.

Unions say wages remain too low, a legacy of apartheid when the black mining labour force was ruthlessly exploited. The NUM has also said its average member typically has eight dependants, straining their ability to provide for their households and fueling their demands.

Negotiations should kick off in June and other unions still have to submit their demands, but the NUM said it wanted the talks to be complete by July 1, when the next agreements are supposed to begin.

($1 = 12.6043 rand)

Kenya's Safaricom expects core profit to jump 7-12 pct this year

NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenya’s largest telecoms operator Safaricom expects its earnings before interest and taxation (EBIT) to rise by 7-12 percent in its current financial year, with mobile money and data services helping to fuel growth.

Chief Financial Officer Sateesh Kamath told an investor briefing the company had exceeded its EBIT guidance for its year to the end of March 2018, posting an EBIT of 79.3 billion shillings ($789.45 million), higher than the initial guidance of 71-75 billion shillings.

The growth over the previous year was driven by double digit revenue growth in the company’s mobile money and data services.

Revenue from M-Pesa, the company’s pioneering mobile money transfer service, increased by 14.2 percent while mobile data revenue leapt by 24 percent.

Growth in the traditional voice and messaging businesses was far slower. Voice revenue grew by 2.4 percent and messaging (SMS) revenues by 6.2 percent.

Analysts say that growth is still resilient and bucks the trend in telecoms in other markets, where voice revenues are falling due to the use of apps like Whatsapp.

Safaricom shares traded 2.65 percent higher by 0715 GMT.

The company, which is 35 percent owned by South African group Vodacom, has nearly 30 million subscribers, about 70 percent of the mobile subscription market in the East African nation.

Safaricom’s competitors have long argued that the company should be split into separate telecoms and financial services businesses due to its size.

But in January, Kenya’s telecoms regulator ditched a proposal to do that. [L8N1OY0E2]

Safaricom’s chief executive Bob Collymore, who has been on leave since October for medical reasons, addressed the briefing in Nairobi on Wednesday by video conference and said his treatment would continue for a number more weeks, but did not give further details.

Kamath said the company added 1.4 million subscribers in the 2018 fiscal year.

The company would raise its dividend per share by 13 percent to 1.10 shillings, Kamath said. ($1 = 100.4500 Kenyan shillings)

South African airline SAA requires $400 mln bailout to stay afloat: treasury official

CAPE TOWN (Reuters) - South Africa’s state carrier SAA requires a 5 billion rand ($399 million) cash injection in the current financial year to help it meet its financial obligations, a senior treasury official said on Tuesday.

National Treasury director-general Dondo Mogajane told parliament the cash injection could however not come from government, which has so far pumped 20 billion rand into the firm.

Mogajane said treasury was willing to consider selling a stake in the airliner to a private equity partner.

($1 = 12.5532 rand)

South Africa's rand, bonds tumble as Trump's Iran pullout rattle sentiment

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa’s rand slumped to its weakest in three sessions on Wednesday and looked vulnerable to further falls after U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to pull out of an international nuclear deal with Iran hit global risk sentiment.

By 0640 GMT the rand was 0.82 percent weaker at 12.6700 per dollar. It had held steady near the 12.50 mark for most of the previous session before being floored by a combination of safe-haven buying and light liquidity late on.

Trump on Tuesday pulled the United States out of an international nuclear deal with Iran, raising the risk of conflict in the Middle East, upsetting European allies and casting uncertainty over global oil supplies.

“This (decision) led to a U.S. dollar rally and resulted in U.S. Treasuries moving higher. This should affect emerging markets adversely as a global risk-off sentiment takes hold,” said analyst at Rand Merchant Bank Michelle Wohlberg.

Bonds were also weaker, with the yield on the benchmark 2026 issue rising 8 basis points to 8.47 percent, its highest since the second week of February.

Stocks were set to open slightly firmer at 0700 GMT, with the Top-40 futures index up 0.1 percent.

African Guarantee Fund targeting capital of $500 mln by 2021

ABIDJAN (Reuters) - The African Guarantee Fund, which supports small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) on the continent, will aim to boost its capital five-fold to half a billion dollars by 2021, one of its senior officials said on Tuesday.

Despite being among the fastest-growing regions in the world economically, the difficulties faced by small businesses seeking to raise financing from risk-averse lenders represent a major obstacle to private sector economic development in Africa.

The African Guarantee Fund provides local currency guarantees on bank loans to businesses to ease their access to credit.

“We are in the middle of a fundraising campaign,” Adidja Zanouvi, the company’s managing director for West Africa, told reporters in Ivory Coast’s economic capital Abidjan.

“We need a lively SME sector to play the role of the economic growth engine.”

The company, which is incorporated in Mauritius, currently possesses capital of around $100 million.

To boost that, she said it planned to tap shareholders including the African Development Bank, the Agence Francaise de Developpement, Denmark’s DANIDA, Spain’s AECID and the Nordic Development Fund.

IMF warns of rising African debt despite faster economic growth

ACCRA (Reuters) - Sub-Saharan African nations are at growing risk of debt distress because of heavy borrowing and gaping deficits, despite an overall uptick in economic growth, the International Monetary Fund warned on Tuesday.

The sober assessment comes as African countries continue to tap international debt markets and issue record levels of debt in foreign currencies, spurred on by insatiable investor demand for yields.

In its economic outlook for the region released in Accra Ghana, the Fund projected the rate of economic expansion would rise to 3.4 percent this year, up from 2.8 percent in 2017, boosted by global growth and higher commodity prices.

Slower growth in South Africa and Nigeria - the continent’s two largest economies - weighed on the region-wide average, but the IMF expects growth to pick up in around two-thirds of African nations. However, under current policies, that rate is expected to plateau below 4 percent over the medium term.

Meanwhile, around 40 percent of low-income countries in the region are now in debt distress or at high risk of it, the IMF said. And refinancing that debt could soon become more costly.

“The current growth spurt in advanced economies is expected to taper off, and the borrowing terms for the region’s frontier markets will likely become less favourable ... which could coincide with higher refinancing needs for many countries across the region,” it said.

African governments issued a record $7.5 billion in sovereign bonds last year, 10 times more than in 2016. And they have issued or plan to issue over $11 billion in additional debt in the first half of 2018 alone, the report said.

Foreign currency debt increased by 40 percent from 2010-13 to 2017 and now accounts for about 60 percent of the region’s total public debt on average, IMF data showed. Average interest payments, meanwhile, increased from 4 percent of expenditures in 2013 to 12 percent in 2017.

Six countries - Chad, Eritrea, Mozambique, Congo Republic, South Sudan and Zimbabwe - were judged to be in debt distress at the end of last year. And the IMF’s ratings for Zambia and Ethiopia were changed from moderate to “high risk of debt distress.”

The IMF conceded that Africa’s enormous needs will continue to demand heavy investments to build infrastructure and social development. But to do so while avoiding the risk of a debt trap the continent, which currently has the lowest revenue-to-GDP ratio in the world, will need to become more self-reliant.

“With debt vulnerabilities rising in the region, sub-Saharan African countries will need to further rely on sustainable sources of financing, making domestic revenue mobilisation one of the most urgent policy challenges for the region,” it said.

Union wage demands puts S.Africa's spending cuts at risk: finmin

CAPE TOWN (Reuters) - South Africa will struggle to stick to a promise to cut spending if the government fails to agree inflation-linked wage increase with civil service trade unions, Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene said on Tuesday.

Plans to reduce government spending in Africa’s most industrialised economy helped it avoid a damaging credit rating downgrade by Moody’s in March, but the promised cuts provoked criticism from unions, civil society and opposition parties.

The government and public sector unions representing teachers, nurses and the police have been locked in negotiations over wage increases since late 2017.

Unions are lobbying for above inflation pay rises of around 12 percent while government has tabled offers linked to consumer inflation, which currently stands at 3.8 percent.

“There are risks to maintaining the expenditure ceiling over the medium term, which include the public service wage agreement and the financial position of several state-owned companies,” Nene told parliament during a Treasury presentation.

Last month the Public Servants Association, which represents 230,000 public sector workers, declared a dispute with government. Trade union federation Cosatu, the country largest, has also threatened to pull out of negotiations.

In a raft of cost cutting measures to cap ballooning debt, the treasury lifted value added tax (VAT) for the first time in over two decades at its February budget.

Zambia assesses debt trajectory as it courts new IMF programme

LUSAKA (Reuters) - Zambia has assessed its debt trajectory as part of a bid to court International Monetary Fund support after the Fund rejected the country’s debt management plans in February.

The analaysis provides a basis for fresh talks with the IMF on a possible financial assistance programme, the finance ministry said on Tuesday in a statement that gave no figures.

The economy is expected to sustain growth of more than 4 percent this year helped by its mining, agriculture and construction sectors.

Zambia is Africa’s second-biggest copper producer but the government faces pressure to rein in spending, especially as it heads towards a 2021 presidential election in which President Edgar Lungu is expected to run for a second full term.

“Cabinet will be briefed on the outcomes of the exercise and on the executive decisions that are required to be undertaken to successfully finalise the engagement with the Fund,” it said.

“We will implement the decisions particularly as they relate to the success of our debt sustainability actions,” it added.

The government said last month its $8.7 billion foreign debt was not understated. Eurasia Group said in a note on Friday Zambia may be facing fiscal challenges and was likely to default on its debt payments starting in 2019.

The ministry of finance said on Tuesday Zambia had never defaulted on its foreign debt and eurobond interest payments and did not intend to do so.

Finance Minister Margaret Mwanakatwe said restructuring Chinese debt was an option that could be taken.

Zambia wants a $1.3 billion loan from the IMF but analysts Moody’s Investor Service said in April the chance of a deal depends on how to reconcile debt management plans.

Vodafone to buy Liberty Global European assets for €18.4bn

Vodafone has agreed to pay €18.4bn (£16.1bn) for the majority of European assets owned by the US cable giant Liberty Global.

The UK telecoms group said it will buy businesses in Germany, Hungary, Romania and the Czech Republic.

Vodafone admitted in February that it was in talks with Liberty Global about a sale.

Liberty Global owns Virgin Media, which it plans to retain, as well as its operation in Ireland.

Vodafone said that adding Liberty's cable TV and broadband services to its mobile operations would create a "converged national challenger" to the "dominant incumbent in Germany".

Deutsche Telekom, which is Europe's largest telecoms provider by revenue and owns T-Mobile, has strongly objected to the move.

'Greater competition'

Deutsche Telekom's chief executive, Timotheus Höttges, said in February that the deal was "completely unacceptable".

He said: "I do not see that this kind of concentration in the cable market can be supported from regulatory bodies.

"I don't believe that Germany wants to go into a situation like Eastern European markets, where TV markets are dominated by telco players."

Vodafone already owns the largest cable business in Germany after it acquired Kabel Deutschland for €7.7bn five years ago.

Liberty Global is selling Unitymedia, which is Germany's second largest cable business, to Vodafone.

On Wednesday, Mike Fries, chief executive of Liberty Global, said that Germany "is dominated by one provider that controls over half the broadband market".

He said: "As a result, innovation and investment lag other countries in Europe, impacting customer service, next-generation product deployment and broadband speeds.

"Even together, Liberty Global and Vodafone, whose cable networks don't compete or overlap, will be half the size of the incumbent operator. It's time to alter market dynamics by unleashing greater investment and competition."

Would you hang up on Google's AI?

The demo was impressive, I’ll give them that. A machine - Google’s voice assistant - booked an appointment at a hair salon. And then a table at a restaurant.

Not online, or through some automated system. But by talking to a human. Over the phone. Blimey.

Google Duplex, unveiled at the firm’s annual developers’ conference, has incredible potential - albeit one that’s laced with a hint of terror over AI’s continued march into our lives.

Duplex is a system that can take a user's data - like wanting a hair cut on a specific day at 12pm - and relay it using an automated voice to a human being, reacting to questions and the irregularities of a typical person’s speech.

The voice is designed to sound completely natural, complete with the ums and uh huhs found in everyday life. The recipient of the call, ideally, is none the wiser.

You should take a minute to listen to the examples on Google’s blog post about the idea, published on Tuesday.

'Experimenting'

Now. Let’s start with the obvious question. Does it work? We don’t know.

Frustratingly, Google was unable to show us this technology in action. We have no idea if the calls shared today were the successful calls out of many, many attempts - nor do we know if the recipient was prepped beforehand. We don’t know how easy the system is to fool, or just confuse enough to render it useless. Anyone who uses Google’s Assistant today knows how often it stumbles over a lot of basic requests.

So, while others in attendance have referred to today’s demo as “stunning”, I’ll retreat to something more sensible: it’s promising.

As is increasingly the case, the key hurdle here may not be one of technological limitations, but societal.

Start here: will the recipient know they are talking to a machine? Do they deserve to be told? Will Google monitor each call and learn from its contents? If so, how would the recipient consent to that - as the law, in many places, demands - ?

"It’s important to us that users and businesses have a good experience with this service, and transparency is a key part of that,” Google said in its blog.

"We want to be clear about the intent of the call so businesses understand the context. We’ll be experimenting with the right approach over the coming months.”

Deceptive

So far that approach, according to the recordings, isn’t to tell the recipient they are talking to a bot - indeed, the “mhmm” noises from the AI are arguably pretty deceptive.

Assuming that gets figured out, think of it from the other side. As a human being in a service job, how would you feel about customers who couldn’t be bothered to call you themselves?

Like a shop worker might recognise an irritating customer’s voice, staff will surely start to notice the telltale signs of an AI speaking to them. I’m not sure I’d give it the time of day.

Then again - if it brings in a lot of business, workers might be told to just get over it.

Or maybe, the salon could get an AI assistant of its own. And then it's AI talking to AI. Booking appointments. Planning. Plotting. Waiting.

Argentina seeks IMF financial aid 'to avoid crisis'

Argentina is to start talks about a financing deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Wednesday amid reports it is seeking $30bn (£22bn).

Finance minister Nicolas Dujovne is due to fly to the IMF's Washington offices.

After recent turmoil that saw interest rates hit 40%, President Mauricio Macri said IMF aid would "strengthen growth" and help avoid crises of the past.

The talks come 17 years after Argentina defaulted on its debts and 12 years since it severed ties with IMF.

Mr Macri said in an address to the nation on Tuesday: "Just a few minutes ago I spoke with (IMF) director Christine Lagarde, and she confirmed we would start working on an agreement."

"This will allow us to strengthen our program of growth and development, giving us greater support to face this new global scenario and avoid crises like the ones we have had in our history," he said.

Local media and Bloomberg reported that Argentina was seeking $30bn, although the government declined to comment.

The peso has lost a quarter of its value in the past year amid President Macri's pro-market reforms.

Last week the central bank raised interest rates from 33.25% to 40%.

Many people still blame IMF austerity requirements for policies that led to a financial and economic meltdown in 2001 to 2002 that left millions of middle class Argentines in poverty.

Argentina eventually defaulted on its debts. And although its last IMF loan was paid down in 2006, the country severed ties with the Washington-based body.

Reforms

Mr Macri said Argentina was suffering as a result of high oil prices and the expectation that US interest rates would rise in the coming months.

Describing Argentina as a "valued member" of the IMF, Ms Lagarde said: "Discussions have been initiated on how we can work together to strengthen the Argentine economy and these will be pursued in short order."

Argentina is in the middle of a pro-market economic reform programme as Mr Macri seeks to reverse years of protectionism and high government spending under his predecessor, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner.

Inflation, a perennial problem in Argentina, was at 25% in 2017, behind Venezuela as the highest in Latin America.

This year, the central bank has set an inflation target of 15% and has said it will continue to act to enforce it.

Last week's rate rise to 40% was the third increase in eight days in an attempt to boost the peso.

'Avoid crises'

News of the new talks may be controversial in some quarters. Many people in Argentina still blame the IMF for the policies that led to the 2001 financial and economic crisis. The country defaulted on $80bn (£59bn) of sovereign debt - the biggest in history.

Millions of middle class Argentines were plunged into poverty as a result.

However, Mr Macri said the new negotiations with the IMF would give the country "greater support to face this new global scenario and avoid crises like the ones we have had in our history".

Markets reacted positively to the news, with both local shares and the peso recovering some ground.

Miguel Kiguel, a former Argentine finance official who runs local consultancy Econviews, tweeted: "An IMF line of credit is the least expensive option for growth in Argentina."

Argentina has had a turbulent relationship with the IMF.

In 2013 the country was censured by the Fund over the inflation and economic growth data published by the administration of President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner. It was a step in a process that could ultimately have led to Argentina's expulsion from the IMF.

Earlier, many had blamed the IMF for contributing to a financial and economic crisis that came to a head around the end of 2001, which set back living standards severely.

Relations have improved under the current president, Mauricio Macri, whose approach to economic policy was much more consistent with that favoured at the IMF.

The prospect of a new IMF loan will test that improvement. It will come with economic policy conditions, including almost certainly spending cuts and tax rises, which are likely to aggravate political strains in Argentina.--BBC

Disney rides Black Panther to profit

Black Panther's runaway success boosted Walt Disney's profits in the first three months of 2018, helping to offset pressures in the TV business.

Profits up 23% to $2.9bn (£2.14bn) beat analysts' forecasts, while revenue rose 9% year-on-year to $14.5bn.

The increase was driven by the film and theme park units, which outshone a TV arm facing strong digital competition.

The profits came amid questions about Disney's plan to buy the bulk of 21st Century Fox's business.

Disney last year announced it would buy certain Fox assets, including its film and television studios and its 39% stake in Sky, in a deal valued at more than $66bn, including debt.

At the time, Disney boss Robert Iger said the purchase would help to supplement Disney's content as it plans to compete with the likes of Netflix by starting its own online subscription streaming sites.

Mr Iger said Disney remains committed to the deal, which needs approval from regulators to move forward.

He declined to comment on reports that Comcast, a major US pay-TV and internet provider, may be preparing a rival offer for Fox assets.

Comcast had been interested in Fox last year, but was reportedly rebuffed in favour of Disney due to anti-trust concerns.

Comcast last month made a formal £22bn offer for the UK broadcaster, challenging Fox's plans to buy the 61% of Sky it does not already own. Disney had planned to become Sky's full owner if Fox's transaction went through.

Moving online

Mr Iger said Disney's digital plans, which are a response to rapidly falling cable television subscriptions, do not depend on Fox to move forward.

The company has already launched its ESPN+ sports service and has invested in Hulu, a television and moving streaming site.

The firm also plans to start a Disney-branded subscription service in late 2019 that will offer access to the company's significant film and television catalogue.

Spending on those initiatives contributed to a decline in operating income in the firm's media networks unit, which accounted for almost half - $6.1bn - of the firm's revenue in the quarter. Revenue rose 3% from the same period in 2017.

Disney said it expects to spend roughly $180m on its streaming plans this year, about $50m more than originally planned.

The firm is also looking at creating new theme parks, including potentially in China, Mr Iger said on a conference call with financial analysts.

"It doesn't necessarily mean that we're going to build something anytime very soon, but we're going to look," he said.

Disney's parks and resorts have helped to boost the firm's results in recent years. In the most recent quarter, parks and resorts revenue increased 13% year-on-year to almost $4.9bn.--BBC

Tinder owner says it's not afraid of Facebook dating app

Match Group, the owner of dating apps including Tinder and Match.com, says it is not worried by the dating tool which Facebook unveiled last week.

The social media giant's move could help de-stigmatise the online dating scene, Match's chief executive said.

The comments came as the firm released better-than-expected quarterly profits.

Match said the average user of online dating services was active on three apps at a time and that it was "not a winner-take-all market".

"We don't think Facebook will have any impact on Tinder, which is our growth engine," Match chief executive Mandy Ginsberg said.

Facebook's entry into the marketplace may boost user numbers overall as more people got comfortable with the idea of dating sites and apps, she added.

Earlier this month, Facebook's chief Mark Zuckerberg unveiled a new dating service at his firm's annual F8 developers conference in San Jose, California.

Following the Cambridge Analytica data mining scandal, Mr Zuckerberg said the new match-making feature would take privacy issues seriously and would launch "soon".

His announcement sent Match Group's shares down more than 22% below their opening price.

But following Tuesday's strong earnings report, the stock rallied and was up almost 5% in after-hours trading.

Swipe right

Match's profit for the first three months of 2018 more than trebled from a year earlier, to $99.7m (£73.6m), while revenue grew 36% to $407m.

Tinder, the company's most popular product, now has 3.5 million users - with 368,000 of those added in the first three months of 2018.

Bumble 'swipes left' on Tinder owner

Love and dating after the Tinder revolution

In addition to the Tinder and Match.com dating apps, Match Group also owns OkCupid, PlentyOfFish, OurTime, Meetic and Pairs.

Tinder launched in 2012, gaining traction as users could swipe left or right on people's pictures to indicate interest. If both people swipe right, Tinder presents them with a match.

Users originally needed a Facebook profile to be able to use the app, with Tinder profiles built using Facebook information.

But in July 2017, an alternate sign-up was made available.

Match Group stressed that Tinder profiles were now largely user-generated and that matching algorithms did not rely on Facebook or any other third-party data.--BBC

INVESTORS DIARY 2018

Company

Event

Venue

Date & Time

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

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

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Bulls n Bears 

Telephone:      <tel:%2B263%204%202927658> +263 4 2927658

Cellphone:      <tel:%2B263%2077%20344%201674> +263 77 344 1674

Alt. Email:       <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> info at bulls.co.zw  

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Blog:            <http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bulls.co.zw%2Fblog&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNFoIy6F9IXAiYnSoPSgWDYsr8Sqtw> www.bulls.co.zw/blog

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