Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 15 October 2018

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Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 15 October 2018

 


 

 


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*  South Africa's Exxaro looks to fill Eskom coal shortage

*  Kenya's KenGen says new geothermal plant nearly ready

*  Libya may suspend Zawiya refinery unless security improves

*  Sudanese pound strengthens for first time since devaluation

*  S.Africa's Tiger Brands re-opens processing facility after listeria
outbreak

*  South African rand firmer ahead of Moody's rating decision

*  Sanlam seals $1 billion deal for Morocco's SAHAM

*  Steinhoff's shares plunge after global rout, report on retailer's ex-CEO

*  Ivory Coast inflation slows to 0.5 pct year-on-year in September

*  US retailer Sears files for bankruptcy

*  Jamie Dimon: JP Morgan boss pulls out of Saudi conference

*  UK will see three years of low growth, says EY Item Club

*  Royal Mail staff claim their shares were sabotaged

*  What would it take for North Korea to join the IMF?

*  The £50 note is changing and here's why

*  US bank gains help lift share markets

 

 


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South Africa's Exxaro looks to fill Eskom coal shortage

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South African miner Exxaro Resources said on Friday
it was looking to supply coal to state-owned power utility Eskom, which has
been hit by supply shortages, posing a threat to the power supply in
Africa’s most industrialised economy.

 

Eskom, which has fewer than 20 days of coal supply at 10 of its power
stations, supplies more than 90 percent of the nation’s power and is one of
its most indebted state firms.

 

“We have made offers to Eskom, they have from what I hear, approved those
offers,” Exxaro’s chief executive officer Mxolisi Mgojo told Reuters in an
interview.

 

“The final decision is sitting with the (state) Treasury to enable them to
execute those contracts.”

 

Eskom said last month it was trying to secure new contracts with companies
to ensure it had enough coal, after a major supplier cut supplies and sought
insolvency protection.

 

Exxaro, which already supplies Eskom’s Matimba, Matla and Medupi power
stations, aims to enter into short-term contracts with Eskom, said Mgojo.

 

“We don’t want to get involved in long-term 10-, 20-, 30-year type
arrangements,” said Mgojo.

 

“We want to create the flexibility whereby when the opportunity makes sense
for us to play short-term into the Eskom market we have that flexibility to
do that.”

 

Eskom’s spokesman Khulu Phasiwe said the power utility was “very close” to
signing new deals. He declined to confirm that a deal with Exxaro was
imminent.

 

“Hopefully before the end of this month we should be seeing the first trucks
coming through to the stations that are affected,” said Phasiwe.

 

Phasiwe declined to say who Eskom was negotiating coal contracts with, only
that it was talking to 12 companies.

 

“We are not in a position to mention them but some of them include the main
players in the market,” Phasiwe said.

 

Eskom needs 3 million tonnes of coal to close its deficit but was also
looking to stockpile a further 10 million tonnes, Phasiwe said.

 

Eskom, which has a total national output of 45,000 MW, implemented power
cutting measures, known locally as “load shedding”, in 2015, denting
economic output.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> 

 


 

Kenya's KenGen says new geothermal plant nearly ready

NAIROBI (Reuters) - KenGen’s new 165.4-megawatt (MW) capacity plant powered
by geothermal steam is three quarters complete and on schedule for
commissioning next July, Kenya’s main electricity producer said on Friday.

 

Geothermal steam, hot underground steam found in the Rift Valley which is
used to drive turbines for electricity production, is the second biggest
source of Kenya’s annual power generation of 2,336 MW, accounting for 26.84
percent of the total.

 

Construction of the Olkaria V plant started last year, with contractors
including Mitsubishi Corporation.

 

“Two generator units, each weighing 130 metric tonnes, departed the Port of
Mombasa yesterday, signalling the beginning of the final process towards the
completion of the plant,” the company said in a statement.

 

KenGen has an installed capacity of 1,631 MW and it plans to add an
additional 720 MW by 2020 to cater for growing electricity demand, it said.

 

 

Libya may suspend Zawiya refinery unless security improves

TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Libya’s state oil firm NOC warned on Sunday it would
have to suspend operations at its 120,000 barrels per day (bpd) Zawiya
refinery unless security improved after two recent attacks.

 

The refinery west of the capital Tripoli supplies western and southern Libya
with fuel. Its port also exports crude from the southern El Sharara
oilfield.

 

Gunmen attacked the site on Wednesday, trying to break into the oil mixing
operation and stealing a company car, NOC said in a statement.

 

The previous week unidentified people assaulted staff, kidnapping one
employee who later was released and stealing cars as well as personal things
from workers.

 

“The NOC board warned that any continuation or failure to address this
situation, to ensure staff and site protection and increase security, will
affect ongoing operations and result in their suspension,” NOC said in the
statement.

 

Libya is currently producing 1 million bpd of oil on average and plans to
increase output, NOC Chairman Mustafa Sanallah said on Wednesday.

 

Protests, blockages by armed groups or staff and outbreaks of violence have
frequently interrupted production in Libya.

 

Current production levels remain below the OPEC member’s pre-civil war
pumping rate of around 1.6 million bpd, but are attheir highest since
mid-2013, according to Reuters estimates.

 

 

 

Sudanese pound strengthens for first time since devaluation

KHARTOUM (Reuters) - The Sudanese pound strengthened to 46.95 to the U.S.
dollar on Sunday, bankers said, in its first rise since the national
currency was devalued under a new mechanism introduced last week to combat a
financial crisis.

 

A team comprising bank executives and exchange houses designated to set the
exchange rate on a daily basis kept the pound steady at 47.5 to the dollar
throughout last week following the steep devaluation introduced last Sunday
from the previous official rate of around 29 pounds to the dollar.

 

Sudan has been reeling from an acute shortage of foreign currency and an
increasingly expensive black market for dollars that has sapped its ability
to import and made prices soar, kindling unrest earlier this year in some
parts of the country.

 

Abdel Hamid Jamil, who heads the so-called exchange rate mechanism team,
said the rate was determined by the indicators on that day and after
consultations.

 

The rise on Sunday came after the central bank announced on Saturday it had
been pumping cash into local banks to enable them to buy foreign currency
from the public.

 

Central bank governor Mohamed Kheir al-Zubeir said the treasury was ready to
provide any amount of Sudanese pounds to local banks to buy any amount of
foreign currency that may become available.

 

 

S.Africa's Tiger Brands re-opens processing facility after listeria outbreak

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Tiger Brands said on Friday it had re-opened a
facility that was closed after South Africa’s biggest food producer was
implicated in the world’s largest outbreak of listeria which killed more
that 200 people.

 

The health department recalled processed meat products known as “polony” and
closed some processing facilities after the source of the outbreak was
traced to a factory owned by Tiger Brands unit Enterprise Foods in March
resulting in a class action lawsuit filed against the company.

 

 

South African rand firmer ahead of Moody's rating decision

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - The South African rand firmed against the globally
hobbled dollar early on Friday ahead of the country’s credit review
announcement by ratings agency Moody’s later in the day.

 

The rand was 0.85 percent stronger at 14.5100 per dollar at 0650 GMT, having
closed in New York at 14.6350.

 

The rand is expected to trade between 14.3500 and 14.7000 to the dollar on
Friday, NKC African Economics wrote in a note.

 

Moody’s is the last of the top rating agencies to have Pretoria’s long-term
foreign-currency debt in investment grade.

 

South Africa’s stable outlook on its credit rating means there is little
chance of a downgrade, Moody’s said on Sept. 13, but a commitment to fiscal
consolidation at the October budget would be key to maintaining the positive
rating.

 

The rand was supported by the slightly-better-than-expected South African
manufacturing production data for August.

 

Globally, the U.S. dollar traded at its lowest level this month against its
major peers on Friday as declining U.S. treasury yields and further losses
on Wall Street soured sentiment. [FRX/]

 

In fixed income, the yield on the benchmark government bond due in 2026 fell
1 basis points to 9.255 percent.

 

Stocks are due open firmer at 0700 GMT, with the JSE securities exchange’s
Top-40 futures index up 1.10 percent.

 

 

Sanlam seals $1 billion deal for Morocco's SAHAM

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa’s biggest insurer Sanlam has sealed a
$1.1 billion deal to acquire the remaining 53.37 percent stake in Moroccan
insurance firm SAHAM Finances after receiving regulatory approvals, it said
on Thursday.

 

SAHAM Finances is Sanlam’s biggest acquisition yet, and expands its presence
to 33 countries across Africa. The conclusion of the deal cements its
presence in north Africa.

 

Sanlam Emerging Markets Ireland Ltd (SEMIL), a unit of Sanlam in a
joint-venture with South African insurer Santam Ltd, had acquired a 30
percent stake in SAHAM Finances in 2016. The joint-venture unit increased
its stake to 46.6 percent the following year.

 

Since its establishment in Morocco in 1995 as a subsidiary of SAHAM Group,
which also owns health, food and distribution interests, SAHAM Finances has
expanded rapidly.

 

It had consolidated net assets worth $850 million and earnings of $77.4
million for the year by the end of last year.

 

 

 

Steinhoff's shares plunge after global rout, report on retailer's ex-CEO

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Steinhoff’s shares fell more than 9 percent on
Thursday to a near two-month low after a global market rout and a report by
Bloomberg saying the retailer’s former CEO advised friends to sell the
firm’s stock days before the shares collapsed.

 

Traders said the retailer’s losses were exacerbated by a Wall Street rout
that sparked a global sell-off. [GLOB/MKTS]

 

Steinhoff’s shares fell as much as 9.9 percent in early trade and later
traded 5.38 percent lower at 2.11 rand, their lowest since August 20.

 

Citing a mobile phone text message, Bloomberg said the message sent around
Nov. 30 to at least two people, told recipients there was impending,
unspecified bad news coming.

 

Steinhoff former chief executive Markus Jooste could not be reached on
Thursday.

 

Jooste told a South African parliamentary inquiry in September that he never
lied about activities of the company and neither sold his shares in
Steinhoff nor held a short position on its stock.

 

Steinhoff has been working on a deal to restructure the debt of some
subsidiaries with its creditors after revealing multi-billion euro holes in
its balance sheet in December that wiped more than 90 percent off its market
value and forced it to sell assets to fund working capital.

 

“Those revelations shouldn’t affect the current price of Steinhoff but would
probably just add, if true, to Mr Jooste’s legal woes to come because
insider trading is illegal,” said Sanlam Private Wealth Director Greg
Katzenellenbogen.

 

Katzenellenbogen added that the retailer’s share price was following global
stocks lower after Wall Street’s worst losses in eight months led to broader
risk aversion.

 

 

 

Ivory Coast inflation slows to 0.5 pct year-on-year in September

ABIDJAN (Reuters) - Consumer price inflation in Ivory Coast slowed to 0.5
percent year-on-year in September, down from 0.9 percent in August, data
from the National Statistics Institute showed on Thursday.

 

Food and soft drink prices in the world’s top cocoa producer slowed 0.6
percent year-on-year, while housing and utilities prices rose 2.2 percent.
Transport costs gained 1.1 percent.

 

Ivory Coast’s economy accounts for around 40 percent of the eight-nation
West African CFA franc currency zone.

 

 

US retailer Sears files for bankruptcy

US retailer Sears, a brand that once dominated shopping malls in the
country, has filed for bankruptcy.

 

Sears Holdings - which also owns Kmart - filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
protection on Monday.

 

The company has suffered, along with many other traditional retailers, from
rising online competition from firms such as Amazon.

 

Sears has been closing stores and selling properties as it grapples with a
debt load of more than $5bn.

 

The company has 90,000 employees and in its heyday owned over three thousand
stores.

 

It became America's largest retailer before being overtaken by Walmart in
the 1980s.

 

Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection postpones a US company's obligations to its
creditors, giving it time to reorganise its debts or sell parts of the
business.

 

Businessman Eddie Lampert - who serves as the company's chief executive,
biggest investor, landlord and significant creditor - had attempted to
restructure the firm's debt to avoid bankruptcy.

 

In a statement, Edward Lampert, chairman of Sears Holdings, said: "Over the
last several years, we have worked hard to transform our business and unlock
the value of our assets.

 

"While we have made progress, the plan has yet to deliver the results we
have desired."--BBC

 

 

Jamie Dimon: JP Morgan boss pulls out of Saudi conference

JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon has cancelled plans to attend an investment
conference in Riyadh amid growing tensions between the US and Saudi Arabia.

 

He is the latest high-profile figure to pull out of a conference dubbed
"Davos in the Desert" after the disappearance of Saudi journalist Jamal
Khashoggi.

 

Oil futures rose on Monday on concerns about supply, while stocks in Saudi
Arabia fell sharply on Sunday.

 

The Saudis deny killing Mr Khashoggi.

 

The government critic vanished on 2 October after visiting the Saudi
consulate in Istanbul, Turkey. Authorities there believe he was killed in
the building by Saudi agents, which Riyadh has dismissed as "lies".

 

The UK, Germany and France have demanded a credible investigation into the
disappearance.

 

"We can confirm... that Jamie will not be attending the Saudi event," a JP
Morgan spokesperson said in an email to the BBC on Monday. "We won't be
commenting further."

 

Other executives such as Ford Motor Chairman Bill Ford and Uber Chief
Executive Dara Khosrowshahi also won't attend the conference, according to
the Wall Street Journal.

 

Mr Khashoggi was once an adviser to the Saudi royal family, but fell sharply
out of favour with the Saudi government and went into self-imposed exile.

 

US President Donald Trump has said the US will inflict "severe punishment"
on Saudi Arabia if it is found responsible for his death.

 

But on Sunday Saudi Arabia said it rejected political and economic "threats"
over the missing journalist and would respond to any punitive action "with a
bigger one".

 

Saudi Arabia is one of the world's top oil exporters.

 

The Future Investment Initiative will be held in Riyadh between 23 and 25
October.

 

Britain and the US are also considering boycotting the conference, the BBC
has learned.

 

Others distancing themselves include Sir Richard Branson, who has halted
talks over a $1bn Saudi investment in Virgin space firms.--BBC

 

 

UK will see three years of low growth, says EY Item Club

The UK can expect low economic growth for the next three years, while a
no-deal Brexit could dent growth even further, says a forecasting body.

 

The EY Item Club predicted GDP growth of 1.3% this year and 1.5% in 2019,
down from 1.4% and 1.6% respectively in its previous outlook three months
ago.

 

The forecaster said these figures were based on the assumption that the UK
and the EU would agree transition terms.

 

If this did not happen, conditions could be "significantly weaker".

 

If the forecaster's prediction turns out to be accurate, 2018 would be the
worst year of growth for the UK economy since the financial crisis.

 

Howard Archer, chief economic adviser to the EY Item Club, said: "Heightened
uncertainties in the run-up to and the aftermath of the UK's exit could fuel
business and consumer caution.

 

"This is a significant factor leading us to trim our GDP forecasts for 2018
and 2019."

 

UK economy is 'stuck in a rut'

Brexit will be 'worse for UK than EU'

Earlier this year, the EY Item Club predicted that the UK would see two
interest rate rises this year and two more in 2019.

 

However, following the Bank of England's decision in August to raise rates
from 0.5% to 0.75%, the forecaster said it did not now expect another
increase until August next year, with two more rate rises likely in 2020.

 

"The EY Item Club suspects that the Bank of England will want to see
sustained evidence that the UK economy is holding up relatively well after
Brexit occurs in late March, before hiking interest rates," it added.

 

EY chief economist Mark Gregory said: "The UK economy is going to experience
a period of low economic growth for at least the next three years, and
businesses need to recognise this and adjust accordingly.

 

"They should also consider a sharp downside to the economy in the event of a
no-deal Brexit and make preparations for such a scenario."

 

Mr Gregory said a "prudent approach" would be for firms to test the
robustness of their businesses, especially cash flow, against a short period
of severe disruption, followed by a downturn for three or four quarters.

 

"Even if the Brexit process goes smoothly, the cyclical risks to the UK
economy mean this would still be a worthwhile exercise. Now is the time to
start to think about the future shape of any UK business after 2020," he
added.--BBC

 

 

Royal Mail staff claim their shares were sabotaged

Hundreds of Royal Mail staff have complained that they have been
short-changed as a result of a dramatic fall in the company's share price.

 

They claim the privatised company deliberately issued a profit warning weeks
before many were planning to sell their shares.

 

Since the announcement on 1 October the shares have fallen by 28%.

 

However Royal Mail said it had no choice but to tell the City as soon as it
realised profits would be lower.

 

Some 145,000 postal staff have waited five years to sell the free shares
they were given at the time of privatisation.

 

Royal Mail shares plunge on profit warning

Monday is the first day they can sell their holdings without having to pay
tax or National Insurance.

 

The shares have fallen by 45% since they peaked at 632p in May this year,
with some staff seeing the value of their holdings slipping by more than
£2,500. The shares are now just 13p above the original flotation price of
330p.

 

Anger

Des Arthur, a postman from Coventry, was one of those who complained about
the company's announcement to the City.

 

"The timing of it could be viewed as extremely cynical," he told the BBC.

 

"It's going to look like it's not right."

 

The Communication Workers Union (CWU) said hundreds more staff had expressed
their anger.

 

"Our members certainly believe it's just been done to deflate what they
would get if they sold their shares," said Terry Pullinger, deputy general
secretary of the CWU.

 

"You know what people are like; people in some ways have already spent that
money in anticipation."

 

'Happy'

Royal Mail said it understood the disappointment felt by its staff, but said
it had no choice over when to release the profit warning.

 

"We had an obligation to tell the market, and that's what we did," a
spokesperson told the BBC.

 

"There's no link between that and the free shares."

 

However the company said anyone who pre-elected to sell their shares before
1 October would be able to cancel their transactions.

 

Other employees said they were happy just to have been given free shares in
the first place.

 

"I'm not annoyed," said Adam Alarakhia, a postman from Leicester, whose
holding is now worth around £2,700.

 

"The price will shoot up again in our busy period."

 

Should staff sell?

Most brokers have Royal Mail shares down as a "sell" - in other words they
expect the shares to fall further.

 

Berenberg has a target price of £3.

 

But the further they fall, the higher the percentage yield. At the moment
the annual dividend is a healthy 7%.

 

Indeed so far employees who took their full allocation will have earned
£850, Royal Mail said, making up for some of their theoretical (on-paper)
losses.

 

"Management have recently reconfirmed their commitment to growing the
dividend over time, but with investment demands likely to rise, we find it
difficult to see how far that can go," said Nicholas Hyett of Hargreaves
Lansdown.

 

"Nonetheless, for income seeking investors Royal Mail could well be
attractive."

 

The original privatisation of Royal Mail was criticised by the National
Audit Office, which said that taxpayers had lost £1bn, because the flotation
price was set too low.--BBC

 

 

What would it take for North Korea to join the IMF?

At the recent UN General Assembly, South Korea's President Moon Jae-in was
discussing North Korea's strides to build relations and open up to the
world.

 

He said Kim Jong-un had even said he would be "willing to join the IMF and
the World Bank and other international agencies", Reuters reported.

 

Those ambitions, if vague for now, cast a light on the challenges North
Korea will face as it tries to become part of the global economy.

 

The country has been economically cut off from most of the world for decades
because of its nuclear programme and alleged human rights abuses, and
experts say the process of joining the financial bodies would be a long one.

 

Why would the socialist "hermit" state even want to join these US-dominated
institutions?

 

Membership would give North Korea access to a huge pool of expertise,
technical assistance and funds. It would also go a long way towards
integrating it into the global economy.

 

The IMF aims to secure financial and monetary stability, while the World
Bank seeks to foster economic development and reduce poverty.

 

Even though they have different focuses, they both seek to promote economic
well-being.

 

For the international community, bringing North Korea into the fold would
appease one of the world's most dangerous hotspots. It would also give it
some influence over the long-isolated but strategically positioned country.

 

Economic transparency

To become a member of the World Bank, which describes itself as "one of the
world's largest sources of funding and knowledge for developing countries",
a country must first join the IMF.

 

And the IMF requires that member countries share information about their
economies, do not restrict foreign exchange flows, pursue policies
encouraging trade and pay a quota subscription.

 

'Dangerous undercurrents' in global economy

States, debt, nationalisation and money

Was your T-shirt made in North Korea?

Economic pain pushes N Korea to talks

But North Korea's economy is far from transparent and it is unclear how much
international scrutiny its leader, Kim Jong-un, would be willing to accept.

 

"The economy of North Korea functions like a mafia state. There aren't any
institutions as such except for the regime itself," said Anwita Basu, an
analyst at the Economist Intelligence Unit.

 

"I don't see any reason why the regime shouldn't remain secret - it's an
existential thing from them," Ms Basu said. "If they reveal too much they
will be weakened."

 

Measuring an unusual economy

Not only does North Korea not publish economic data, but it has an important
black market and rampant corruption.

 

Most people can't live off their official salaries and market activity has
blossomed in recent decades.

 

The typical North Korean household derives more than 70% of its income from
market activities - both legal and illegal - according to Byung-Yeon Kim,
economics professor at Seoul National University. He estimates more than
half of market activities are illegal.

 

This makes measuring its economy particularly challenging.

 

"These market activities are quite prevalent and how to measure GDP in this
kind of dual economy is a very big task," Byung-Yeon Kim said. "Even in
well-developed capital economies such as Italy, it's very difficult to
measure the informal economy."

 

Corruption is also widespread among the highest echelons of North Korean
power.

 

"High ranking officials and the leader, Kim Jong-un, are likely to get a lot
of money from foreign trade," Byung-Yeon Kim said.

 

"The North Korean elites export their items [to places like China] at a
lower price than the world price and then they get kickbacks which is some
proportion of this gap between the world price and the recorded price for
exports."

 

The right tools for the job?

It is also unclear how much economic data the North Korean government
already gathers and whether they will have the means to improve this.

 

"The DPRK [North Korea] hasn't published meaningful economic data since the
1960s," said Andray Abrahamian, Koret Fellow at Stanford University.

 

"They'll also probably need some technical assistance on collecting that
data."

 

South Korea's central bank releases GDP figures for the North every year,
based on government and intelligence service data. It says North Korea's
economy saw its lowest growth rate in 20 years in 2017.

 

Any further data is likely to shed a negative light on the regime -
something the North Koreans may consider when mulling increased
transparency.

 

How about its human rights record?

Movement on all of this would only be likely after North Korea has
dismantled its nuclear programme and economic sanctions are lifted.

 

But that process is taking time, with some observers saying the North is not
doing enough to move towards giving up its nuclear weapons since pledging to
do so at the historic Trump-Kim meeting in June.

 

Even then, there is the question of whether North Korea's alleged human
rights abuses would pose an obstacle to membership.

 

The answer is probably not.

 

The IMF's 2017 member list features plenty of countries with questionable
human rights records, such as Myanmar and Afghanistan.

 

The World Bank, meanwhile, has been accused of being a "human rights-free
zone".

 

"If Pyongyang can take steps to both improve some of its human rights issues
and transforms its political relationships with key countries, one can
imagine a number of opportunities opening up," Mr Abrahamian said.

 

Ultimately politics will prevail when deciding whether or not North Korea
could become a member.

 

"If black markets or underdevelopments were barriers to being a part of the
IMF, there wouldn't be that many members," Mr Abrahamian added.--BBC

 

 

 

The £50 note is changing and here's why

The £50 note will not be scrapped and will instead get a plastic redesign,
the Bank of England has said.

 

Fears that the largest denomination was widely used by criminals and rarely
for ordinary purchases had prompted a proposal to abolish it.

 

But ministers said the new version, to be printed in the UK, would be more
durable, secure and harder to forge.

 

Polymer £5 and £10 notes are already in circulation, while a £20 design will
be issued in 2020.

 

There are currently 330 million £50 notes in circulation, with a combined
value of £16.5bn, the bank said.

 

'Currency of corrupt elites'

In March, a review by the Treasury said that they were "rarely used" for
routine transactions.

 

"There is also a perception among some that £50 notes are used for money
laundering, hidden economy activity, and tax evasion," The Treasury said.

 

Peter Sands, former chief executive of Standard Chartered bank, has also
said high value notes are the "currency of corrupt elites, of crime of all
sorts and of tax evasion".

 

But Robert Jenrick, exchequer secretary to the Treasury, said: "People
should have as much choice as possible when it comes to their money and
we're making sure that cash is here to stay.

 

"Our money needs to be secure and this new note will help prevent crime."

 

Some vegans, Hindus and Sikhs have voiced concerns about the move to polymer
bank notes, however, after they were found to contain traces of animal fats.

 

Who will be on the new £50 note?

The decision will also raise questions over which famous Briton will feature
on the reverse of the note.

 

Steam engine pioneers James Watt and Matthew Boulton appear on the current
£50, issued in 2011.

 

Jane Austen was chosen to appear on the plastic £10 note after a campaign to
represent women other than the Queen on English notes.

 

The Bank of England now has a committee which asks for public nominations in
a chosen field.

 

In 2015, 30,000 people nominated 590 famous visual artists for the £20 note,
before JMW Turner was selected with the help of focus groups.--BBC

 

 

US bank gains help lift share markets

Three of the biggest US banks reported strong profits on Friday, helping to
lift US share markets after several days of steep declines.

 

The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 closed up more than 1%, while
the Nasdaq leapt nearly 2.3%.

 

The increases followed a rise on global markets.

 

The gains at JP Morgan Chase, Citigroup and Wells Fargo came despite
concerns about rising interest rates and trade tariffs.

 

Higher rates can help banks, as borrowing costs for customers rise. But they
also pose risks if lending slows.

 

The three big banks that reported on Friday - JP Morgan Chase, Citigroup and
Wells Fargo - suffered falls in new home loans, as did regional bank PNC
Financial Services Group.

 

But Marianne Lake, chief financial officer at JP Morgan, said the rising
rates had not troubled the bank, noting strong lending growth overall.

 

"The level of rates isn't surprisingly high, so from our vantage point we're
not seeing anything... that would suggest this is problematic," she told
financial analysts.

 

JP Morgan Chase boss, Jamie Dimon, said issues such as Brexit, trade
tensions and shifting monetary policy posed risks.

 

But economic data, especially in the US, has remained healthy, he added.

 

"So far, we still have a strong economy in spite of these increasing
overseas geopolitical issues bursting all over the place," he said on a
conference call after the earnings release.

 

Result details

The banks are some of the first companies to provide updates to investors as
the earnings season gets under way.

 

Overall, JP Morgan quarterly profit increased 24% year-on-year to $8.38bn,
with especially strong performance in its retail banking unit.

 

Revenues were up 5% to $27.8bn.

 

At Wells Fargo, quarterly profits were $6bn, rising by about 32% as the bank
took steps to cut costs.

 

The bank - which has been under orders restricting its growth due to a
series of earlier scandals - reported revenue of almost $22bn, unchanged
from the same period in 2017.

 

At Citigroup, profits in the period were $4.6bn, up 12% from the third
quarter in 2017.

 

The firm's revenues held steady at $18.4bn. The lack of growth, the bank
said, was due to earlier sales of some business units.

 

JP Morgan shares rose in morning trade, though they subsequently drifted
lower to close down 1%.

 

Wells Fargo shares rose 1.3%, while Citigroup ended up more than 2%.--BBC

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

 


 

INVESTORS DIARY 2018

 


Company

Event

Venue

Date & Time

 


 

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 


 <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> 

 


 

 


DISCLAIMER: This report has been prepared by Bulls ‘n Bears, a division of
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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
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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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